Domestic Abuse Support Worker-(Maternity Cover)

We’re looking for a kind, compassionate and resilient Domestic Abuse Support Worker to join our domestic abuse service in Tower hamlets.

This post is restricted to female applicants pursuant to Section 9s of the Equality Act 2010. This position is advertised in accordance with para 1, Schedule 9 of the Equality Act 2010.

£23,019.00 per annum with average potential earnings of over £25,300 per annum, working 40 hours per week. Benefits include 25 days Annual Leave, pension schemes, staff discounts, healthcare and career progression.

*Potential average earnings are a culmination of base salary of £23,019.36/£20,592 and colleagues working average of 17 additional hours overtime in own or other services per month*

Want to feel in control of your career? You’ll feel at home here. Making you feel at home here means helping you thrive in every way. That’s why we offer a wide range of benefits, award-winning Learning & Development and a culture that welcomes all. These aren’t token gestures - we’ve thought long and hard about how best to support our team. After all, our people are doing something amazing: helping to transform lives every day.

Tower Hamlets Domestic Abuse Service is a refuge that provides emergency and short-term accommodation for women and their children with a range of support needs, who are at risk of or fleeing domestic abuse. This house supports fifteen families, in self-contained flats, during a 6-month placement and can offer support with safety planning, maximising income and accessing primary health care, schools and nurseries.

Domestic Violence Advocate you will be responsible for overseeing and coordinating families’ move-on pathway from the refuge into independent living. The post holder will be responsible for sourcing accommodation in the private rented sector - liaising with landlords and sourcing new move on routes for families. You will directly support customers to move into their new accommodation and ensure support staff are fully equipped to inform customers about the move on process. The post-holder will also a central contact point for local authority housing departments.

The role of an IDVA is to address the safety of victims and survivors at high risk of harm at point of referral into the refuge.

IDVAs work with their customers within the refuge from the point of crisis by safety planning and risk assessing using the DASH to ascertain the level of risk to the victim.

The post holder will be required to work alongside refuge staff to support customers with complex needs who have been referred into the refuge.

The post is restricted to females only due to the nature of the role. The occupational Requirement under Schedule 9 (Part 1) of the Equality Act 2010 applies.

You will be part of a rota and some evening and weekend work may be required.

• Domestic abuse service

• 12 flats

• Service is for single women and children.

• Total of a six months stay.

• Integrate back into the community or housing.

To offer practical and emotional support to children and young people aged 0-16 years, who are living with the effects of Domestic Abuse and Violence and overcoming the traumatic impact on their lives. The support is offered during their time in the refuge, through the transition from refuge to their new home and ongoing support in the community. Support is also offered to children who live in the wider community who access the service independently. To liaise and work together with all other agencies involved with the families, to meet their ongoing needs appropriately and effectively.

This role requires a valid Right to Work for the UK as Look Ahead are not a sponsoring organisation.

What you’ll do:

• Manage customer referrals, completing Dash Risk Assessments and obtaining and maintaining all relevant paperwork.

• Building supportive, trusting relationships with customers and creating a positive atmosphere.

• Oversee On Track implementation from an operational perspective during the initial upload of cases to ensure that any issues are highlighted to management.

• Regular attendance at Marac and oversight of all Marac referrals.

• Conducting regular Casework Management sessions with each member of the refuge team in order to oversee and close cases in a timely manner. .

• Support Customers to obtain Non Molestation Orders where needed and any other civil remedies available to them.

• Working proactively with other members of the team to handle the service caseload and administrative responsibilities.

• Attending all court and Case Management hearings with or as a representative for customers.

This is not an exhaustive list of all the duties and responsibilities that may be required from time to time and is subject to change in accordance with the needs of Look Ahead

About you:

What you’ll bring:

Essential:

-IDVA Qualification essential- prove to have a “safelives”- IDVA qualification- enables the person with that qualification to know all about the legal side of domestic abuse, law. Domestic abuse law.

• Has relevant sector work experience.

• Demonstrable experience of supporting survivors of domestic violence.

Desirable:

• Other relevant professional memberships and/or specialist qualifications.

-Speaks other languages- Bengali, Arabic, Hindi – really good if candidate can speak Arabic. .

About us:

Look Ahead is a dynamic, leading, not-for-profit care and support provider in London and the South East. As an organisation we deliver over 110 services, providing support to around 7000 customers each year. We work across mental health, homelessness, young people and learning disabilities so there are plenty of opportunities to grow and progress your career with us.

If your application for this role is unsuccessful, but we feel that you would be suitable for another role, we may contact you to discuss alternative opportunities. If this occurs you would not need to submit another application for the alternative role.

We reserve the right to close this advert early if we are able to appoint to the vacancy before the advertised closed date.

We are committed to diversity and inclusion at work and are accredited with Silver in the Inclusive Employers Standard 2021. We are a proud member of the Employers Domestic Abuse Covenant and encourage applications from a diverse range of applicants of all backgrounds.