Advocacy Development Worker - Domestic Abuse

NHS Scotland; Hospital; On-site; EUR 38,000 - 54,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual leave 35 days

NHS pension

Incremental salary progression

Paid sick leave

NHS discounts

Job summary

NHS Lanarkshire is seeking a gender-based violence advocate to support women who have experienced domestic abuse by providing information, advocacy, and access to services. You will manage a complex caseload and work with other professionals to assess risk and coordinate responses.

The role requires degree-level education, experience in abuse survivor work, strong communication, and the ability to work in a multidisciplinary team. A driving licence is required.

Qualifications

• Degree level education with experience in a relevant field.
• Additional training in working with domestic abuse survivors is desirable.
• Understanding of the prevalence and effects of domestic abuse on women from direct experience.
• Experience of providing advocacy.
• Experience of partnership working.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Keyboard skills and proficiency in MS Outlook, Word and Access.
• Ability to work within a multidisciplinary team.
• A driving licence is required; this must be a full UK/EU/EEA licence.

Responsibilities

• Provide an advocacy service to women who have experienced domestic abuse, including information gathering and facilitating access to services.
• Manage a complex caseload with advocacy and support needs arising from recent experiences of domestic abuse.
• Carry out risk assessments, identify high-risk clients and involve other professionals as appropriate.
• Provide input at Lanarkshire high-risk multi-agency processes such as MARACs.

Skills

Communication skills

MS Outlook

MS Word

MS Access

Driving licence

Education

Degree level education

Training in domestic abuse survivors

Tools

MS Office

Job description

Due to the nature of the service and the needs of the client group, this post is restricted to female applicants under Schedule 9, Part 1 of the Equality Act 2010. Applicants must meet all essential criteria for the role.

About The Organisation

Here at NHS Lanarkshire, we put the patient at the heart of everything we do. Each colleague within the organisation plays a key role in how we deliver our healthcare services.

We proudly serve a population of 655,000 across rural and urban communities in both North and South Lanarkshire. NHS Lanarkshire is comprised of Acute Services (which currently provide hospital based services over 3 main sites), Corporate & Property & Support Services, North and South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnerships which provide integrated primary healthcare and social care services to local communities and surrounding areas.

The Role

Gender-Based Violence Services is a specialist service within NHS Lanarkshire providing information, support and therapeutic services to women who have experienced violence or abuse at any time in their lives. Gender-Based Violence Services also works at a strategic level to improve service responses to women survivors of abuse across the NHS and partner agencies in Lanarkshire.

Support the aims of Gender-Based Violence Services by providing an advocacy service to women who have experienced domestic abuse, and by working to improve the coordination of services for women in Lanarkshire who have experienced domestic abuse.

In This Key Role, You Will

• Provide an advocacy service to women who have experienced domestic abuse. This may include information gathering/sharing and facilitating access to appropriate voluntary and statutory services.
• Manage a complex caseload of clients referred to Gender-Based Violence Services with information, advocacy and support needs arising from recent experiences of domestic abuse.
• Carry out risk assessments, identify clients at high risk of further assaults or abuse and involve other professionals and services as appropriate.
• Provide input as required at Lanarkshire very high risk multi-agency processes eg MARACs (Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conferences).

What You'll Bring

• Degree level education, with experience in a relevant field.
• Additional training in working with domestic abuse survivors is desirable.
• A thorough understanding of the prevalence and effects of domestic abuse on women, gained from direct experience of working with survivors of domestic abuse.
• Experience of providing advocacy.
• Experience of partnership working.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Keyboard skills, proficiency in MS Outlook, Word and Access.
• The ability to work within a multidisciplinary team.
• A driving licence is required; this must be a full UK/EU/EEA licence.

What We Offer

As a valued employee of NHS Lanarkshire, you can enjoy an extensive range of benefits including:

• Annual Leave - 35 days including public holidays
• Generous NHS pension scheme
• Annual incremental salary progression
• Paid sick leave increasing with length of service
• NHS discounts and more.

NHS Lanarkshire is dedicated to building a diverse workforce where everyone can thrive, develop, and succeed based on their skills, knowledge, and talent - regardless of race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, or care experience* or any other dimension that can be used to differentiate people from one another.

• Care experienced applicants include those who have lived with foster parents, kinship carers, or in residential/secure children’s settings.

For informal discussion, please contact Ann Hayne, Gender-Based Violence Manager on [e-mail].

If you have any questions about the recruitment process or require support with your application, contact Anna Zastawnik-Baran, Recruitment Administrator on [e-mail].

• Show us the real you: Your application should reflect your skills, experience, and motivations authentically.
• Use AI wisely: It's fine to use AI for ideas or to check spelling and grammar, but don't let it write your answers.
• Why this matters: Applications that rely on AI-generated content may be withdrawn. By applying, you confirm your responses are based on your own knowledge and achievements.

Tip: Think of AI as a helper, not a substitute. We want to understand you, not an AI tool.

Full details about the role are provided in the attached Job Description and Person Specification.

Unless otherwise stated, the deadline for applications is 23:59 hours on the closing date. Please note, CVs will not be accepted.

This advert may close early if we receive a high number of applications, so we encourage you to apply early.