Domestic Abuse Support Worker

**Domestic Abuse Caseworker**

**Location**: Main Base Ilford **Hours**:39 hours **Salary**: £29,000 per annum
(Redbridge, Havering, Barking and
Dagenham)

**Job **The post holder will provide high-quality support and safety planning to victims and survivorsof domestic abuse, including supporting access to a wide range of relevant services (including but not restricted to statutory crisis support services).

**Purpose**:The post holder will support survivors and victims of domestic abuse through their journey to rebuilding an independent and empowered life and be their point of contact during their time with Aanchal Women’s Aid.

They will also provide guidance and training to volunteer advisors, and support Aanchal’s sharing of learning based on survivors’’ experiences with decision-makers.
We are keen to recruit staff who can speak community languages, particularly a South Asian language or can demonstrate a clear cultural understanding of south Asian communities.

**Responsible To**:
Aanchal’s Chief Operations Officer

**Direct reports**: Senior IDVA

**KEY DUTIES**:

- To provide a specialist and holistic service to survivors of domestic abuse.
- Deliver high-quality casework support to include risk and needs assessments, safety planning, and individual support planning.
- Support with Housing, Homelessness, Welfare Benefits, recourse to funds, legal remedies to flee domestic abuse - this can involve traveling to housing departments, solicitors, and one-to-one support preparing historical evidence of domestic abuse, liaison with met police and probation officers.
- Attend regular Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARACs) and undertake follow-up Action plans.
- Advocate on behalf of service users with external agencies.
- Attend case review and team meetings and contribute towards effective team communications
- Contribute to monitoring and evidence of service outcomes.
- Demonstrate Aanchal Women’s Aid Equality and Diversity ethos and policy and ensuring human rights and equality is the center of your work.
- Be a voice for service user feedback, delivery and shape future development.
- Build a rapport with service users and encourage continued engagement with Aanchal’s follow-on support services.
- Provide and develop a continued support framework/network for service users during their journey to rebuilding their lives and integrating into the community. This can include work with external support agencies.
- Provide ongoing emotional support and guidance to help survivors to overcome barriers to support and raise confidence and self-esteem.
- All your work should be service user lead.
- Working on the 24-hour helpline (out of hours) on a rota-basis, providing advice and guidance, and continued casework to victims and survivors of domestic abuse and external support agencies.
- Support and supervise volunteers.

**OVERALL RESPONSIBILITIES**:

- To establish the risks to and the needs of survivors of domestic violence by enabling women to assess and manage risks to their own and their children’s safety.In accordance with our organization’s case management policy: Be proactive with your line manager in conducting periodic case reviews based on a review of risk and abuse.
- Help maintain accurate and confidential case management records and update databases and contribute to monitoring information for the service.
- Respect and value the diversity of the community where the services work and recognise the needs and concerns of a diverse range of survivors ensuring the service is accessible to all.
- Remain up-to-date and compliant with all organisational procedures, policies and professional codes of conduct and uphold standards of best practice.
- Comply with data protection legislation, confidentiality, and information sharing policy and procedures and all legislation connected to your work.
- Understand multi-agency partnership structures and work within a multi-agency setting which will include participation at the MARAC. You will contribute to interventions and help design a plan to protect survivors and any children while maintaining an independent role on behalf of your client, keeping their safety as central to any response.
- To prevent or delay future homelessness amongst survivors of domestic violence and their children
- To ensure that any issues in relation to safeguarding children are brought to the immediate attention of the Services Manager, or if unavailable, another Senior Officer.
- To work in partnership with other agencies and to advocate for survivors to ensure their needs are met.
- To provide monthly statistical monitoring or reports as required.
- To ensure that the views and experiences of survivors and agencies are sought actively and inform the development of the service.
- To report any problems/difficulties/complaints to the Services Manager and participate in follow up investigations as required.

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**_Managing security_**
- To maintain