Senior Specialist Housing IDVA

Advance Charity; Greater London; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 32,000; Full time

Job summary

An innovative women-only organisation is seeking a Senior Specialist Housing IDVA to empower survivors of domestic abuse. This role involves providing essential support and advocacy, ensuring women have access to safe accommodation tailored to their needs. Join a passionate team dedicated to making a difference in the lives of women and girls, and enjoy a rewarding career with exceptional benefits, including generous holiday allowances and professional development opportunities. If you're driven by a feminist agenda and want to contribute to a vital cause, this position is for you.

Benefits

30 days of paid holiday per year

Additional days off for International Women’s Day

Employee discount platform (Perkbox)

Pension scheme

Enhanced maternity/adoption provision

Employee Assistance Programme

Employee eye-care scheme

Clinical supervision for staff

Refer a Friend Scheme - £250

Career development pathways

Qualifications

• Solid experience supporting women who have faced domestic abuse.
• Excellent understanding of domestic abuse and its effects on survivors.

Responsibilities

• Provide intervention, advocacy, and support to empower women.
• Manage a caseload of survivors and support the duty team.

Skills

Support for women experiencing domestic abuse

Understanding of domestic abuse effects

Risk management and safety planning

Education

Feminist/VAWG higher level qualification

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!

We are looking for a Senior Specialist Housing IDVA

Salary: £30,000 - £32,000

Location: Hammersmith

Hours: 35 Hours per week

Contract: Fixed Term until March 31st 2026

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. This role is also subject to Police Vetting.

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:

The Specialist Housing IDVA will work within a dynamic, fast paced team to provide intervention, advocacy and support that empowers women and ensures that the voice of survivors informs every stage of their journey towards improved safety. This is a new and exciting service, and we are looking for someone passionate about ensuring that all survivors of domestic abuse are able to access safe and appropriate accommodation which meets their needs.

To be successful as the Senior Specialist Housing IDVA, you will need the below experience and skills:

1. You will bring solid experience of supporting women who have experienced domestic abuse in all its forms; coming from a sector with transferrable skills or possess a feminist/VAWG higher level qualification.
2. You will have an excellent understanding of domestic abuse and its effects on survivors and their children, and of best practice within the domestic abuse and housing sectors.
3. You will be skilled in risk management and safety planning, remaining calm in a crisis and in handling sensitive information on a daily basis.
4. The post holder will hold a caseload of survivors and will also be required to support Advance’s duty team on a rota basis which will involve completing intake assessments and providing crisis intervention support.

How to apply:

Please submit your up-to-date CV with a supporting statement. Please note that only applications made via the job advert on the Advance careers page, and those that include a cover letter will be considered.

Closing Date for Applications: 4th May 2025

Interviews are taking place on a rolling basis.

*Advance reserves the right to close the advert early, or on the appointment of a candidate.

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
• Thorough induction and training
• Career development pathways

Diversity, Inclusion and Equal Opportunities

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.