Women's Centre IDVA

Closing Date: 09/12/25 at 5:30pm

Location: Harlow, Essex

Salary: £27, 500 pa. Plus payments for on-call duties

Report to: Service Manager

Responsible for: May oversee work of volunteers or placements

About Us

At Safer Places our team is our most important resource and asset. Having a highly competent survivor focused, experienced and resourceful team is key to delivering a high-quality service. We are committed to supporting our staff and to providing continued professional development and offer an excellent range of training and qualification packages.

We value diversity and recognise the strengths that different life and work experiences bring and welcome applications from people of all work and educational as well as all other backgrounds and cultures.

Main Tasks:

Women's Centre Operations

1. Oversee the day-to-day running of the Women' Centre to provide a safe, welcoming space for everyone using the Centre.

2. Coordinate the room rota to ensure adequate of provision at all times.

3. Plan and manage programme of workshops and activities providing practical support, wellbeing and empowerment for women attending the Centre (both in person and online), in collaboration with clients, other Safer Places staff/teams, volunteers and external facilitators. 4. To work with Safer Places staff to empower women/clients to facilitate survivor women's groups.

4. To confidently facilitate client programme work as indicated by the need of clients including Triple R and Empower and Embrace groups

Managing caseload and clients

1. To accept referrals allocated or directly referred within the Women's Centre and commence an initial need and risk assessment with the client within the specified timescales initiating plans to manage and address risks, needs and immediate safety

2. Managing own case load, plan and deliver trauma informed support to clients in line with a structured plan driven by the risks posed to the client and their needs and preferences.

3. To ensure clients have in place and continuously review with them and the line manager, robust risk management plans to support them living safely and ensure that they always have 24 hour access to support in the event that a crisis arises.

4. Ensure that all clients receive professional, evidence based, trauma informed specialist domestic abuse support to enable them to understand and recover from their experience of domestic or sexual abuse.

5. To work closely with external partner agencies, advocating on behalf of the client to meet their individual support needs in particular where those needs are specialist e.g. Mental Health, Substance Misuse, Legal etc and signposting and supporting clients to access the community based services.

General

1. The role holder will be expected to perform any other duties that may reasonably be asked of them.

2. Will be able to work within the Safeguarding arena following organisation policies and procedures, be able to Recognise; Respond to; Report and Record Safeguarding issues and understand and make quality Safeguarding Referrals.

3. Comply with data protection legislation, information sharing policy and procedures and all legislation connected to your work. Act in a manner which preserves the confidentiality of all stakeholders.

Essential Experience and Knowledge:

• Experience of Working with vulnerable people.
• Experience of Working within a multi-agency and legislative framework.
• Have a good understanding of domestic abuse including the impact of domestic abuse on victims and their children.
• Have theoretical, practical and procedural knowledge of civil and criminal justice remedies for victims of domestic abuse and their children.
• Understand Safeguarding and child protection issues, and the legal responsibilities surrounding these issues.
• Understand the principles of risk assessment, safety planning and risk management for victims of domestic abuse and their children

Skills and Knowledge:

• Have outstanding record keeping skills.
• Have excellent computer literacy skills and have experience of working with databases. Have excellent communication, negotiation and advisory skills, both written and verbal when interacting with a range of agencies and individuals.
• Have strong crisis management skills and the ability to deal with stressful and difficult situations.

Qualifications

• Hold a Safe Lives/Safer Places IDVA training certificate, working towards or hold Level 3 Skills for Justice NVQ, or demonstrable equivalent experience and the ability and commitment to achieve qualification within 6 months of appointment.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS

• Car driver with access to vehicle - Essential
• Subject to Enhanced DBS Check - Essential
• Ability to work outside the normal office hours working flexibly within the shift pattern allocated by the line manager - Essential

Benefits:

• Competitive salary
• 28 days annual leave plus public/bank holidays. Pro-rata for part-time employees
• Pension Scheme
• Occupational sick pay (on completion of probation)
• Access to Bupa Healthy Minds Support Service
• Cycle to work Scheme (on completion of probation)

Upon receiving an offer:

• All staff must complete a DBS disclosure due to the nature of our services.
• We are legally bound to check the eligibility of all candidates to work in the U.K.
• We will require two satisfactory references, one of which should be from your most recent/current employer.

This service is run by women for women and is therefore restricted to women applicants under the Equality Act 2010, Schedule 9, and Part 1. Section 7(2) e of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 apply. The post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: £27,500.00 per year

Benefits:

• Company pension
• Cycle to work scheme
• Health & wellbeing programme
• Sick pay

Licence/Certification:

• Driving Licence (required)

Work Location: In person

Reference ID: WCCH020425