Domestic Abuse Practitioner

About Us

At West Sussex County Council (WSCC), we have a Fixed Term contract opportunity for a Domestic Abuse Practitioner in our Early Help Service. We are committed to supporting children, families, and young people to achieve their full potential. We are focused on improved service delivery with measurable outcomes for children, families, and communities.

The Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Service is part of the Children, Young People and Learning Directorate. This service identifies, assesses, and assists victims of domestic and sexual violence in order to increase the safety of victims, families, and their children and is an integral part of the Early Help Service.

The Opportunity

Salary: £35,235 to £37,938 per annum, plus Crawley Weighting allowance.

Working Pattern: 37 hours per week

Contract Length: Fixed Term Contract until 31 December 2025

Location: Crawley

Internal candidates wishing to apply for this role will be considered for a secondment position; however, please discuss and agree this with your manager before applying for this position.

You must be able to travel throughout the County, including to locations that are not always accessible by public transport.

You will work directly with clients and their families who have experienced domestic violence/sexual assault, to ensure they receive an appropriate service. You will work within a multi-agency setting and keep the clients' safety central to all coordinated responses. You will support colleagues and partner agencies to provide the best possible service to victims.

This will include crisis management of children and young people who are at high risk from domestic abuse, providing one-to-one or group work to promote safety and understanding of the impact of the abuse for victims and their families, and advocating for the victim to ensure their voice is heard.

You will be a team player whilst also being able to work on your own initiative to manage crisis situations. You will have a passion for supporting victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence and will be able to communicate effectively with multi-agency partners.

You will manage a caseload, focusing on all levels of risk in a proactive way, incorporating risk assessment and safety planning. Being both organised and adaptable, you will have the ability to respond to complex situations calmly and effectively.

Experience and Skills

Key Skills:

• Excellent crisis management skills with the ability to deal with stressful and difficult situations.
• Excellent interpersonal skills in order to work effectively with clients, and the ability to provide advice to victims in stressful situations with clarity and empathy whilst maintaining professional boundaries.
• Excellent advisory, guiding, negotiating, and persuasive skills in order to encourage others to adopt a course of action they may not wish to take.
• Ability to interpret individual needs and to develop appropriate safety and action plans.
• Experienced at judging and analysing, using these skills to solve difficult problems and develop solutions or plans over the medium term in order to work effectively with a wide variety of people.
• Ability to deliver one-to-one or group programmes to support the understanding of domestic abuse and its impact on children.

Qualifications and/or experience:

• Relevant qualification at degree level in a relevant subject, or demonstrable experience in a paid or unpaid capacity of providing support to people in stressful and difficult situations.
• IDVA qualification or willingness to work towards this.
• Demonstrable experience of working in a multi-agency environment with victims of domestic and/or sexual violence.
• Experience of working within legislative frameworks to support victims and using their application to develop, influence and promote safety for clients.
• Experience of working with vulnerable people and managing a complex caseload.
• Knowledge of safeguarding procedures and policies for both adults and children.

Valid and full driving licence.

Rewards and Benefits

As an employer, we recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance, and are rewarded for the work they do.

In addition to working within a great team and a brilliant opportunity, you will receive:

For a full list of the benefits offered to you as a West Sussex County Council employee, you can find them on our Rewards and Benefits page.

Further Information

The reference number for this role is CAFHE05671.

For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Jonathan Bertram.

For issues or queries regarding your application, please contact.

To apply, upload your CV and cover letter explaining the skills and experience you can bring to the role, ensuring that any gaps in employment are covered in your CV. Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website, as once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download it again.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check, 5 years referencing, and a health check.

Equity, inclusion, and accessibility are very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.

For information regarding your eligibility to apply for this role under our Disability, Veteran's, or Care Leaver's Guaranteed Interview Scheme and meeting the criteria, this can be found on our application help page.