Early Help IDVA

Advance; Wembley; Hybrid; GBP 28,000 - 35,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

30 days holiday

Hybrid work up to 2 days remote

Pension

Employee Assistance Programme

Eye-care scheme

Refer a Friend £250

Career development pathways

Job summary

Advance is seeking an experienced Early Help Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA) for Brent CYP Specialist Services. You will support victims and their children to increase safety and access to services, applying a trauma-informed, survivor-centred approach.

The ideal candidate holds an IDVA qualification (or is working towards one) with experience supporting survivors of domestic abuse, including risk assessments and safeguarding.

Qualifications

• Experience of working directly with victims and survivors of domestic abuse.
• Experience of completing domestic abuse risk assessments (DASH where appropriate).
• Strong knowledge of safety planning and risk management.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist support to victims and survivors of domestic abuse and their children, increasing safety and wellbeing.
• Work in Brent CYP Specialist Services with a trauma-informed, survivor-centred approach.
• Collaborate with social care, health, education, police and other services to coordinate support.

Skills

Victim support

Risk assessment

Safeguarding

Multi‑agency working

Education

IDVA qualification / working towards

Job description

Are you looking for a dynamic and rewarding role working for an organisation with the feminist agenda at the core of its ethos? Then Advance Charity could be the career choice for you!

Early Help Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA)

Salary: £28,000 - £35,000

We advertise the full salary banding for our roles to provide transparency about what you can achieve in this position with us. The actual salary offered will be within that band, and dependent on skills and experience and whether you are a qualified IDVA.

Location: Brent Civic Centre and other locations in Brent. Please note that you will need to work from the Civic Centre on Mondays, and in other office locations for another 2 days per week. You will be able to work remotely up to 2 days per week.

Hours: 35 hours per week

Contract: 12 month fixed term contract

Internal Applications: If you are an internal applicant you may be able to apply for this role as a secondment opportunity with the option to return to your previous role at the end of the contract. In order to explore this please speak with your existing manager before you apply and contact Talent if you have any questions.

This post is open to female applicants only as being female is deemed to be a genuine occupational requirement under Schedule 9, Paragraph 1 of the Equality Act 2010. Please note: Any offer of employment will be made subject to references, confirmation of the right to work in the UK, and satisfactory enhanced DBS check.

About Us

Advance is an award-winning and innovative women-only organisation, established in 1998, providing emotional and practical support to women and girls survivors of domestic abuse and supporting women with short-term sentences to reduce offending. We believe in empowering women and girls to lead safe, non-violent, equal lives so that they can flourish and contribute to the community.

We are a community-based organisation who lead in best practice approaches to supporting women in their local community. We achieve this by being available to meet and support women in local settings and at our women’s centres, and by working in close partnership with other agencies.

Our values are to listen and support, to empower and respect, collaboration, innovation, and accountability.

About The Role

We are seeking an experienced Early Help Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA) to join our Brent CYP Specialist Services. The successful candidate will provide specialist support to victims and survivors of domestic abuse and their children, helping them to increase their safety, wellbeing and access to appropriate services.

The ideal candidate will have a recognised Domestic Abuse/IDVA qualification, or be working towards an accredited qualification, alongside relevant experience of supporting survivors of domestic abuse.

About You

• Experience of working directly with victims and survivors of domestic abuse, preferably within an Early Help, children and families, or community-based setting.
• Experience of completing domestic abuse risk assessments, including DASH assessments where appropriate.
• Strong knowledge and experience of safety planning and developing personalised risk management plans.
• An understanding of the impact of domestic abuse on children and young people and the wider family.
• Experience of multi‑agency and collaborative working, including working effectively with social care, health, education, police and other specialist services.
• Experience of co‑location, working alongside professionals within a multidisciplinary service to provide timely and coordinated support.
• The ability to identify escalating risk and respond appropriately to safeguarding concerns.
• Excellent communication, advocacy and case‑management skills.
• The ability to build trusting and professional relationships with survivors while maintaining appropriate boundaries.
• A commitment to trauma-informed, survivor-centred and culturally sensitive practice.

What We Can Offer You - Employee Benefits

• A 35-hour working week
• An exceptional 30 days of paid holiday per year (pro rata for part time), PLUS public holidays on top (that's nearly 40 days paid holiday per year!)
• Additional days off to celebrate International Women’s Day, and for religious observance and moving home
• Perkbox - an employee discount platform where you can receive free rewards as well as take advantage of savings on clothes, groceries, travel, leisure and more
• Pension scheme
• Enhanced maternity/adoption provision
• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme
• Employee eye-care scheme
• Clinical supervision for front line staff and first line management roles
• Refer a Friend Scheme - £250 for each referral who passes probation
• Organisation wide away days
• One weeks Carers leave
• Career development pathways

Diversity, Inclusion and Equal Opportunities

Under the Equality Act 2010, we are required to make any reasonable adjustments. If you have a disability as defined under this act and/or have special needs, please email the Talent Acquisition Team via the Advance website and will aim to make the necessary arrangements to accommodate your needs.

We are committed to providing equality of opportunity and actively seek to recruit people from groups underrepresented in our current team. We have policies and processes in place to ensure that all employees are offered an equal opportunity in recruitment and selection, promotion, training, pay and benefits.

Safeguarding

Advance is committed to safeguarding and creating a culture of zero-tolerance of harm and expects all staff, including volunteers to share this commitment. We believe all individuals have the right to live their life free from violence and abuse and the right to feel and be safe. We have a suite of safeguarding policies, procedures and practice guidance, accessible to all staff, which promotes safeguarding and safer working practices across all our services and activities. When we recruit staff, we follow rigorous safer recruitment practices, this involves carrying out pre-employment checks including references, Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks, and identity checks. We ensure all staff undertake mandatory safeguarding training relevant to their role and responsibilities, to empower them to be competent and feel confident in recognising and responding appropriately to safeguarding issues and promote wellbeing.