JOB DESCRIPTION:
DOMESTIC ABUSE REFUGE ADVOCATE
OVERALL RESPONSIBILITY
In this role one needs:
· To work as an equal member of the team in the refuge to maximise the well being of women and children escaping domestic abuse.
· To carry out all duties with regards to Equal Opportunities for all women and children, regardless of their class, culture, ethnic origin, religion, sexuality, ability, marital status or age.
RESPONSIBILITIES
This role will be based at the Refuge and you will be expected to work as a member of the team.
In this role you would be responsible for:
· Providing direct domestic abuse services for women and children who live in the Refuge. This includes information, emotional support and practical help.
· Fostering relationships with partner agencies to enhance and develop services delivered by I Choose Freedom.
SPECIFIC DUTIES
Operational Responsibilities:
1. To assist in managing requests for refuge accommodation and referrals to the refuge.
2. To take a primary role in welcoming families to the refuge and responding to their immediate needs.
3. To act as key worker for residents and provide individually tailored support services to women.
4. To regularly develop and review individual support plans with residents to ensure positive outcomes during their stay at I Choose Freedom.
5. To work creatively with the women to assist them to plan for their future.
6. To be sensitive to the needs of women at risk from abuse and provide support and information to enable self-determination of the women involved.
7. To give support and information over the phone, as well as face-to-face to other agencies and women for whom refuge is not an appropriate option.
8. To participate in group work with the women.
9. To be responsive to women's needs for other support services.
10. To liaise with other agencies to ensure the delivery of appropriate and individually tailored packages of support for each service user.
11. Where appropriate, to accompany women to appointments, and interviews, with relevant agencies, acting as an advocate on the women's behalf.
12. Keep up to date with changes to legislation and other matters which affect women fleeing abuse, and the delivery of the service.
13. To facilitate and organise house meetings and other appropriate activities with the women.
14. To be responsible for ensuring those residents entitled to housing benefit make their claims in a timely manner.
15. To participate in the maintenance of appropriate financial records.
16. To ensure the safety and security of I Choose Freedom refuges
17. Where appropriate, to attend, contribute and write reports on child protection case conferences.
18. To be self-servicing in terms of correspondence, report writing, maintenance of logs and statistics, etc.
19. To participate in the on- call rota if required to do so.
Developmental Responsibilities:
1. To keep up to date with both local and national developments and to ensure that I Choose Freedom take advantage of potential opportunities for service delivery
2. To represent I Choose Freedom at relevant strategic meetings, to bring ideas and developments back into the organization and to contribute to their implementation where appropriate.
General responsibilities:
1. To promote the aims and objectives of the organisation and ensure that all contacts with external people and organisations fully reflect the professional approach of I Choose Freedom.
2. To participate fully in the running of I Choose Freedom projects in conjunction with co-workers, volunteers, management and service users.
3. To comply with relevant legislation and I Choose Freedom’s policies, practices and codes of conduct as laid out in the I Choose Freedom Handbook and associated documentation.
4. To act within these requirements at all times ensuring that you work within a framework of safeguarding, equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory practice.
5. To ensure the security and confidentiality of I Choose Freedom projects and the women and children involved at all times.
To support co-workers and volunteers and to attend and make best use of team meetings and regular supervision.
6. To attend management meetings (when required) and prepare and present reports as appropriate.
7. To attend relevant training and work towards qualifications as appropriate.
8. To maintain whatever records are deemed necessary by the Management Team
9. To take direction on projects and priorities from the Management Committee. This may vary from time to time.
10. To be self-servicing and carry out data entry, filing and administrative tasks necessary to comply with the job description.
11. To undertake any other reasonable duties as required by the Management Team
SKILLS AND PERSON SPECIFICATION
Essential experience & skills:
· Able to demonstrate understanding of the causes and effects of domestic abuse.
· Experience of working with and supporting women.
· Proven ability to assess needs.
· Self-starter able to work on own initiative.
· Proven ability to participate in and work effectively as part of a team, both single and multi-agency.
· Ability to achieve targets, particularly whilst working under pressure and in crisis situations.
· Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.
· Excellent numeracy and IT skills.
· Understanding of and commitment to upholding confidentiality.
· Possess proven organisational skills.
· Proven experience of advocacy.
· Ability to work in an anti-oppressive way.
· Commitment to I Choose Freedom’s aims and objectives.
· Possession of a full, clean driving license and car.
Desirable experience & skills:
· Some experience of working with women and children experiencing domestic abuse.
· Additional language spoken.
· Ability to and experience of, designing, implementing and reviewing written support plans.
· Awareness of the needs of women and children living with domestic abuse.
· Experience of working in a supported accommodation setting.
· Experience of inter-agency liaison and co-operation.
· Ability to set clear boundaries and maintain them.
· Experience of dealing with conflict and crisis.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: £25,233.00-£26,949.00 per year
Benefits:
- Casual dress
- Free parking
- On-site parking
- Private medical insurance
- Sick pay
Work Location: In person
