Domestic Violence & Abuse Practitioner

Domestic Violence & Abuse Practitioner

Location: Remote (UK based)

Salary: £29,450 per year (plus Inner London Weighting of £3,483.94, if eligible)

Length of contract:  Fixed term until October 2027

Hours per week: 37

Closing date: We reserve the right to adapt the advert at any time per organisational circumstances and to close this vacancy early for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

Interviews: Interviews will be scheduled on a rolling basis

Who are Women’s Aid?

Women’s Aid is the national charity working to end domestic abuse against women and children. We are a federation of just under 180 organisations which provide over 300 local lifesaving services to women and children across England. For 50 years we have campaigned on behalf of our members and survivors to shape policy and practice, and to raise awareness of domestic abuse.

Our support services, which include the Survivors’ Forum, the No Woman Turned Away Project, the Survivor’s Handbook, Love Respect (our dedicated website for young people), the national Women’s Aid Directory and our advocacy projects, help thousands of women and children every year.

Purpose of the Domestic Violence & Abuse Practitioner role:

The No Woman Turned Away Project (NWTA) provides telephone advocacy and support to women experiencing domestic violence and abuse who have barriers to accessing safe or refuge accommodation.

The role of the NWTA Practitioner is to secure positive outcomes for women seeking refuge accommodation and to seek and collate evidence of the demand, availability and barriers to refuge provision.

Key duties and responsibilities of the Domestic Violence & Abuse Practitioner:

Respond to referrals from VAWG organisations and offer personalised support to survivors of domestic abuse in their search for a safe space to live.

Assist in the placement of survivors who face barriers to accessing refuge, monitoring the barriers and the roles placed by different agencies

Provide appropriate responses and support to survivors of domestic abuse and specialist service providers.

Establish constructive working protocols with Women’s Aid Survivor Services and Women’s Aid Member Services.

Establish information sharing protocols respectful of service users rights to confidentiality with project stakeholders

Monitor the availability and usage of refuge spaces on Routes to Support throughout the day

Liaise with local statutory and voluntary agencies to identify and overcome barriers to accessing refuge provision

Collect detailed data to support the analysis of the above activities

Work closely with the Research team to enable the analysis of data collected

Contribute to team meetings and organisational priorities, to prepare and participate in supervision

What we are looking for in our Domestic Violence & Abuse Practitioner:

A good knowledge and understanding of the experiences and effects of domestic violence and abuse on women and children

Knowledge of the rights and options available to women and their children living with and fleeing domestic violence

A working knowledge of the role of refuge and support services

A good understanding on intersecting forms of oppression & how this affects women’s lives

Experience of delivering services for women experiencing domestic violence and abuse

Experience of working in a multi agency context to secure refuge accommodation appropriate to need

Experience of working to secure positive outcomes for survivors who face additional barriers to seeking help

Ability to notice risk and escalate through safeguarding processes as needed

Good written and verbal communication skills

Ability to secure positive outcomes for survivors, often in crisis situations with complex needs

Benefits of joining us as our Domestic Violence & Abuse Practitioner include:

Generous Annual Leave: 25 days + 2 Company Holidays + 8 UK Bank Holidays, with an extra 1 day per year after 1 year of service, up to a maximum of 5 additional days.

Valuable Pension Benefits: a generous 7% employer contribution.

Flexible Working:

NB:

Women only need apply under schedule 9 (Part 1) of the Equality Act 2010

All posts, including remote posts, must be based in the UK.

Women’s Aid is committed to quality, equality, and valuing diversity. Applications are particularly welcome from Black and minoritised women. Please see the Reasonable Adjustments Statement on Job Description.

Please read our Single Sex Statement on the Women’s Aid Website

Please note that applications will be reviewed, and interviews arranged, on a rolling basis, so for the best chance of success, please apply ASAP