Support and Advocacy Practitioner Coventry, England
Job description
About Us
Kairos Women Working Together (Kairos WWT) was established in 1999 and is a specialist organisation in Coventry run by women, for women. We provide holistic, trauma informed, long term support and advocacy for women who are subject to or at risk of sexual exploitation; including women who face multiple disadvantage and have ‘complex’ unmet needs. We empower women to increase their safety, stability, self-belief, and self-reliance; improve their choices and life chances, and build fulfilled lives, free from violence, abuse, and exploitation.
‘Kairos’ is an ancient Greek word meaning 'the right, critical, or opportune moment for the accomplishment of crucial action’. In Greek mythology, Kairos was the god of opportunity. We meet women where they are at, until the time is right for them to take action towards their goals. We provide options and create opportunities, supporting women to accomplish the change they want for their lives.
Vision:
A world where every woman matters, and all women live free from sexual exploitation.
Mission:
We empower women to increase their safety, stability, self-belief, and self-reliance, through the provision of emotional and practical support, advocacy, and awareness raising.
Values:
As a values-driven organisation, our work reflects our shared core values:
Compassion- We believe that women have the right to be respected and treated fairly. We act with humanity, listening with curiosity to come to an understanding of what is causing them difficulties or distress. We value them as unique individuals, hold space for them, and empathically seek to understand their priorities, needs, abilities, and aspirations.
Empowerment- We recognise that the women we support have a right to self-determination. Rather than ‘rescue’, we support women to develop self-belief and establish a sense of choice, control, and agency within their lives. We do not treat women as passive recipients of help and we maintain strong professional boundaries to ensure we facilitate independence.
Justice- We understand that women subject to or at risk of sexual exploitation face significant injustice in their lives. They are often ignored, silenced, or pushed to the margins. As passionate advocates, we ensure their voices are amplified and rights are upheld. We seek to positively challenge and influence policy and systems to improve outcomes for all women.
Who We Support:
We support women subject to or at risk of sexual exploitation. This includes young women who were subjected to childhood sexual exploitation (CSE) and continue to be exploited or are at risk of further exploitation as adults, young women generally at risk of being sexually exploited, women actively involved in street-based prostitution and/or the wider sex industry, and women who wish to exit/have exited the sex industry and want support to maintain this. Because we support women at risk of exploitation, we also, more broadly, support women who are facing multiple disadvantage and have ‘complex’ unmet needs.
The Need We Address:
The women we support have all experienced trauma and struggle with the lasting impact of this. The majority were subjected to at least one form of childhood abuse. For those involved in prostitution, most were exploited into it as teenagers, some as young as 14 years old. Around three-quarters grew up in care and many have never experienced a safe, loving relationship. Many have had children removed from their care. The vast majority are routinely subjected to at least one form of violence and abuse: sexual violence, domestic violence, and/or coercive control. It is no surprise that many turn to substance use as a coping strategy. Two thirds of the women have spent time in prison. Most live in abject poverty, and have no safe space to call home.
The women face various barriers to accessing other services and typically, their needs are such that they benefit from a holistic, flexible, long term approach. When involved in multiple services at the same time, this can be overwhelming and particularly difficult for women to navigate.
The Way We Work:
We believe that every woman matters. Our work is women-centred, trauma-informed, and hopeful. Our support is holistic, relational, and collaborative. As an organisation, we are striving to become more reflective, outcomes focussed, and evidence based in our professional practice.
Our approach is rooted in a critique of the institution of the sex industry, from a Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) perspective, and places no moralistic judgement on the women we support.
We’re there for women in crisis, supporting them to increase their safety, reduce harm and ensure basic needs are met. We take time to build trusting relationships; persistence and flexibility are key.
We also recognise the need for women to move beyond entrenched cycles of crisis and harm. We support them to believe in their ability to achieve their goals and empower them to take the necessary steps along the way. We journey alongside them as they increase their stability and self-reliance. We fully recognise that such a journey is unique to each individual woman, is never linear, and needs to be long term.
Our Impact:
Put simply, we empower women to change their lives. Women typically start with us when they are in crisis and find it difficult to envision life beyond their day to day (or perhaps even hour to hour) existence in ‘survival mode’. It takes time to build trust and it is understandable that women can cycle in and out of crisis several times at the beginning of and at times throughout their journey. Maintaining a period of stability is a big achievement in itself. This is often the opportune time for women to experience hope about their future and to set some longer-term goals for themselves.
Women report that with our support they feel safer and have developed greater self-belief. They’re more able to cope. Financial circumstances are better, and they are maintaining stable accommodation. Their family, peer, and intimate relationships have improved and they’ve built up positive support networks. They’ve broken free from the grip of perpetrators. Women tell us our support made all the difference in them addressing their substance use, being able to exit prostitution, or being able to keep their children in their care. Ultimately, we help women build fulfilled lives, free from violence, abuse, and exploitation.
Our Services:
Feeling Safe supports young women aged 18-25. Many have been subjected to childhood sexual exploitation (CSE) and some have transitioned from children’s services. Some continue to be exploited as adults or are at risk of further exploitation. Some are young women at risk of exploitation because they face multiple disadvantage and have ‘complex’ unmet needs.
Aspire supports women over the age of 25. Many are or have been actively involved in street-based prostitution (and/or the wider sex industry) and some want support to exit or to maintain their exit. Some women are more generally at risk of sexual exploitation because they face multiple disadvantage and have ‘complex’ unmet needs.
A Home Of Her Own supports women subject to or at risk of sexual exploitation, who are homeless, at risk of homelessness, facing housing instability, or are currently in unsafe and/or unsuitable accommodation.
Women’s Justice supports women subject to or at risk of sexual exploitation, who are involved in the criminal justice system, including those facing charges, going through the courts, on a community sentence or in custody, and those planning release or who’ve recently been released.
What We Offer:
We provide a range of support, based at both our Women’s Hub in Coventry and in the community, including:
- Evening street-based outreach and drop-in
- Crisis intervention to address safety issues, reduce harm, and meet basic needs
- Support in response to domestic and/or sexual violence; make ‘Ugly Mug’ reports, access the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC), ISVA/IDVA support, and/or to report directly to the police
- Support to access physical, mental, and sexual health services
- Support with benefits and financial management
- Access to free legal advice
- 1-2-1 practical and emotional support to achieve identified short and long term goals
- Multi-agency case coordination, liaison, and advocacy
- Support to engage with maternity services and children’s social care
- Support to navigate the criminal justice system and engage with the police, courts, probation, prison, and women’s justice services. Support at court, prison in-reach, release planning and community reintegration
- Housing and tenancy advice and advocacy, assistance with homelessness applications, support into and to maintain safe and suitable accommodation
- Wonder Women Wednesdays: a daytime multi-agency ‘one stop’ support drop-in, providing access to a safe space, hot meal, shower, housing support, IDVA, ISVA, and substance use support, legal advice, a therapist, and support staff from other partner organisations
- Queen Bees: a semi-structured group for Feeling Safe participants focussed on women’s right to feel safe, through exploration of issues such as grooming, consent, abuse, coercion, exploitation, boundaries, assertiveness, and healthy relationships. The group provides a safe space to develop confidence, self-esteem, and wellbeing while building a positive support network.
- Blossoms: a peer support and ante/post-natal group for women across our services who are pregnant or have recently had a baby, many of whom have experienced and/or are facing child removal. Delivered in partnership with a Specialist Midwife, the focus is on maternal health and wellbeing, positive engagement with services, and improved outcomes for children
- Warrior: a semi-structured support group for Aspire participants who are further along in their support journey. Bringing women together to reduce social isolation and enable them to use their time positively, the sessions focus on developing self-confidence, self-care, and helpful coping strategies to improve wellbeing and self-belief
- Therapeutic gardening
- Opportunities for new experiences, therapeutic interventions, peer mentoring/leadership, training, development, volunteering, and employment support
- Access to counselling
- Support to exit prostitution for those who wish to
Support and Advocacy Practitioner Job Description
Overview of Role
Job Title: Support and Advocacy Practitioner
Post Salary: £24,150 per annum
Working hours: 37hours per week. Will work some evenings to deliver our outreach & drop-in provision, on a rota basis. Will support weekend events on an occasional basis.
Reporting to: Team Manager
Contract: Permanent
Location: 50 Walsgrave Road, Coventry CV2 4EB. The role will require flexible working, from our office base and in the community. There is some flexibility to work from home in specific circumstances.
*Due to the nature of our work, this post is restricted to female applicants only under Section 9 of the Equality Act 2010. An enhanced DBS (Disclosure Barring Service) disclosure will be required for this role.
Overview of Post
The Support and Advocacy Practitioner provides woman-centered, trauma-informed, holistic support to women with unmet needs (i.e. ‘multiple and complex needs’) who are subject to or at risk of sexual exploitation. They play a vital role in the delivery of our services by supporting women to increase their safety, stability, self-belief, and self-reliance, primarily though the delivery of 1-2-1 support and advocacy, group work, outreach and drop-in, and awareness raising sessions in the community, in and around Coventry.
Main Responsibilities
1. Manage a busy caseload of women with multiple ‘complex’ needs, subject to or at risk of sexual exploitation.
2. Undertake thorough risk and needs assessments to identify women’s support needs and to safely deliver 1-2-1 support and advocacy, group work, outreach & drop-in, and awareness raising sessions from our Women’s Hub and in the community.
3. In collaboration with service users, develop and regularly review holistic, achievable person-centred support plans based on an assessment of individual circumstances, needs, risks, and identified goals.
4. Support service users to build resilience and independence to facilitate a journey towards their goals and eventual move on from the service.
5. Provide holistic support and advocacy (and appropriate onwards referrals) to service users regarding a range of issues including (but not limited to) safety, housing, benefits, substance use, offending, violence, abuse, and exploitation, trauma, and mental, physical, and sexual health.
6. Provide emotional support, assist with identifying risks and triggers, and support service users to establish helpful coping strategies and improve their wellbeing.
7. Provide practical support, for example (but not limited to), support women to attend essential appointments and statutory meetings, assist with homeless applications, access legal advice services, support with court hearings and police interviews, attend food banks, apply for service user grants and explore/participate in education, training and employment opportunities.
8. Develop and maintain partnerships with key agencies to ensure service users have access to appropriate support, possibly acting as lead professional and ensuring effective case coordination. This may include signposting, advocacy, completing referrals and attendance at multi-agency meetings.
9. Advocate on behalf of service users to ensure their voices are heard.
10. Research, develop, plan and deliver one-to-one and group programmes based on best practice and the needs of service users.
11. Manage group dynamics, facilitate discussion on sensitive topics, manage conflict or conflicting ideas.
12. Support the delivery of community-based education/awareness raising sessions around sexual exploitation and related topics as required.
13. Support the delivery of evening street-based outreach and drop-in.
14. Assist and support volunteers in their role.
General
1. Use a women-centred, trauma-informed, reflective approach and be aware of biases.
2. Undertake all work in accordance with Kairos WWT vision, mission, values, policies and procedures.
3. Undertake all work with a view to continuous improvement in service quality and outcomes for service users, with due regard to the public image of the organisation.
4. Work flexibly, including some evenings and occasional weekends.
5. Cover other posts/responsibilities during staff absences as necessary. Provide ‘office cover’ and crisis support to service users as required.
6. Participate in research projects.
7. Contribute to the planning and delivery of organisational events.
8. Maintain a very high threshold of professional confidentiality and strong professional boundaries.
9. Take an active role in managing personal wellbeing.
10. Respond appropriately to safeguarding related disclosures and to any professional safeguarding concerns, in line with Kairos WWT Safeguarding policies, processes and current legislation.
11. Work collaboratively and respectfully with the wider Kairos WWT team, partners and stakeholders.
12. Manage competing priorities, utilising good time management.
13. Ensure all information recorded is accurate and up-to-date, in line with best practice, Kairos WTT policy and in compliance with data protection regulations.
14. Carry out administrative tasks necessary to fill the role.
15. Attend meetings, team away days, conferences, training and fundraising events as required.
16. Support the promotion of Kairos WWT.
17. Attend and actively participate in regular support and supervision sessions.
18. Follow Kairos WWT financial policies and provide financial information as required.
19. Support across all Kairos WWT services, as needed.
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent
Salary: £24,150.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company pension
- Sick pay
- Wellness programme
Schedule:
- Day shift
- Monday to Friday
Application deadline: 23/03/2023
