Refuge Referral Worker
Would you like to be part of our team, working with our charity to prevent domestic abuse in all its forms and to support and empower those affected by it?
At Safe in Sussex, we provide a range of practical and confidential help and support services for residents in West Sussex, including refuge accommodation for women and their children, recovery support groups, 1 to 1 guidance and advocacy, and training and support for professionals.
We are committed to providing a service that prioritises the specific needs of children who have been affected by domestic abuse. Our aim is to protect children’s rights to be listened to and believed.
As a Safe in Sussex Refuge Referral Worker your job will be to co-ordinate all new referrals into our service, ensuring timely acknowledgement, assessment and processing of all referrals, liaising with the referrers to obtain missing information. The Refuge Referral Worker is responsible for accepting, and declining, women and their children into our refuges. Careful, consistent screening coupled with risk assessing at the point of referral will help ensure safe placements into the refuges.
The role is pivotal to the Refuge Support Workers who provide high-quality support to the women and children at a time when they need it most, ensuring that they have a safe place to work towards taking control of their own lives and rebuilding their self-esteem, whilst making them aware of their options for a permanent home and helping them achieve this.
Location: This role is based across facilities in Littlehampton and Worthing and will occasionally require travel to other sites within a reasonable travelling distance, as needed.
Hours: 35 hours per week across 5 weekdays.
Salary: £26,173 per annum (£27,669 FTE)
Benefits: 5 working weeks holiday plus bank holidays (pro rata)
Auto-enrolment into the NEST pension scheme after 3 months’ service
Enhanced sickness pay after probationary period (4 months)
Personal and professional development opportunities
Employee Assistance Programme (24-hour access to wellbeing, legal and family support)
As Refuge Referral Worker, you will:
- Act as the initial point of contact for referrals into Safe in Sussex, receiving referrals from statutory and voluntary agencies as well as individuals by telephone and email.
- Clarify referral information, ensuring all relevant details are obtained to support safe and informed decision-making.
- Complete accurate referral records using our secure SharePoint database, maintaining high-quality information for monitoring and reporting.
- Assess immediate safety needs and provide appropriate safety planning advice and signposting.
- Undertake initial risk assessments in line with organisational policies and escalate high-risk referrals to the Refuge Manager.
- Work closely with the Refuge Manager to make decisions about referrals and communicate acceptance or decline decisions sensitively and within agreed timescales.
- Ensure women and families understand the refuge service, accommodation, support available and any conditions attached to an offer of refuge.
- Maintain communication with referrers, professionals and individuals, providing updates and identifying alternative sources of support where refuge cannot be offered.
- Liaise closely with refuge colleagues to ensure new arrivals are well prepared for, including sharing relevant information about their circumstances and support needs.
- Support travel and arrival arrangements, working with Refuge Support Workers to ensure appropriate accommodation and a welcoming arrival.
- Refer individuals to the Safe in Sussex Community Group team where appropriate.
- Provide advice and information to victims/survivors and professionals while maintaining confidentiality, safeguarding and professional boundaries.
- Develop and maintain positive relationships with statutory and voluntary partners and keep up to date with local services and resources.
- Support the Refuge Manager with referral monitoring, including information on referrals received, accepted and declined and the reasons for decisions.
Supporting the wider refuge service - although referral work is at the heart of this role, you will also be an important part of the wider refuge team.
During periods of high demand, full capacity or staff absence, you may be required to support other areas of refuge work. This could include welcoming and inducting new women and children, supporting key work and resettlement activities, and providing advocacy and practical support to residents when dealing with external agencies.
You will contribute to a safe, supportive and cohesive refuge environment, always following our health and safety, security, safeguarding and confidentiality procedures.
What we're looking for - someone who can combine professional judgement with compassion and empathy. You will be comfortable working with sensitive and sometimes complex information and able to make decisions where there may be significant safeguarding and risk considerations.
You will need to be:
- An excellent communicator, both verbally and in writing.
- Highly organised, with strong attention to detail and the ability to manage referrals within time-sensitive processes.
- Confident in gathering information, assessing risk and making or contributing to informed decisions.
- Able to work calmly and professionally in challenging or high-pressure situations.
- Compassionate, non-judgemental and committed to supporting victims/survivors of domestic abuse.
- Able to always maintain confidentiality and clear professional boundaries.
- Comfortable working collaboratively with colleagues and external agencies.
- Able to maintain accurate records and work confidently with secure databases and digital systems.
- Committed to safeguarding, equality, diversity and the safety and wellbeing of women and children.
- Working knowledge of domestic abuse, safeguarding and risk assessment.
- Experience of refuge services or working with vulnerable adults and children would be valuable.
Above all else, we would like to hear from you if you are looking for a busy, varied role that allows you to utilise your skill set and become an integral part of our charity to optimise service delivery.
To Apply: Please email [email protected] your CV along with a covering supporting statement which gives examples of how your skills and experience are relevant to this role. This could draw from current or past employment, voluntary or community work, leisure activities or homebased experience, or your training and education history. Unfortunately, we will be unable to process applications that do not include a separate supporting statement.
The closing date for applications is 25th August 2026. Interviews will be held on Wednesday 2nd September 2026.
Thank you for taking an interest in Safe in Sussex, and we look forward to receiving your application.
Please note that due to the nature of the work this post has a genuine occupational requirement to be open to females only and is exempt under the Equality Act 2010 pursuant to Schedule 9, Part 1.
As part of our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, we actively encourage applicants from Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority backgrounds.
For the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998, information provided as part of your application may be stored for reference purposes by Safe in Sussex for up to 36 months after the recruitment process has been completed. If you are appointed, such information and any supplementary papers you provide will form a part of your personnel records during your employment with Safe in Sussex and will be archived for 7 years after the end of your employment.
Worthing Women's Aid t/a Safe in Sussex is a registered charity, number 1098726.
Pay: £14.38 per hour
Benefits:
- Additional leave
- Casual dress
- Company pension
- Health & wellbeing programme
- Sick pay
Work Location: In person
