Title:
Senior Domestic Abuse Practitioner – First Response
Service
TDAS Community Team / First Response
Reporting to:
TDAS Community Service Manager
All paid members of staff are accountable to the CEO, and ultimately the
Trustees of TDAS
Location:
Hybrid – Co-located within Children’s Social Care First Response (minimum 3 days) and TDAS offices (2 days) – subject to service need
Hours of Work:
37 hours per week
Salary:
£30,366.18 FTE
Closing: 5th August 2026
Interviews: TBC
Benefits:
A generous package including 33 days holiday per year inclusive of bank holidays (FTE), extra holidays, for long service, Employee pension scheme with 3% employer contribution (after 3 months of employment), Cycle2work Scheme, Life assurance benefit, 365 days a year Employee Assistance Programme.
Background
Trafford Domestic Abuse Services (TDAS) is a specialist organisation providing support to individuals and families affected by domestic abuse. We are committed to delivering person-centred, trauma-informed, and empowering services in partnership with statutory and voluntary agencies.
This role forms part of a strengthened partnership between TDAS and Children’s Social Care to improve early identification, risk assessment, and coordinated responses for families experiencing domestic abuse.
TDAS Values
Innovative: introduce new ideas, are creative and foreword thinking.
Collaborative: work in partnership with key stakeholders to enable people to achieve a defined & common purpose
Openness: create an open culture, provide transparent reporting, good fundraising and governance.
Person centred: provide coordinated, personalized and enabling services to everyone
Empowering: empower our service users to become stronger, more confident, being aware of their rights and privileges and live a more meaningful and fulfilling life.
Purpose of the role
To act as the dedicated Domestic Abuse practitioner within Children’s Social Care First Response, providing specialist domestic abuse screening, risk assessment, and decision-making support at the front door.
The post holder will:
- Complete initial contact and screening for referrals where domestic abuse is identified
- Assess risk and need using recognised tools and professional judgement
- Support timely, informed decision-making alongside social care colleagues
- Coordinate referrals into TDAS and other appropriate services
- Strengthen partnership working to reduce duplication and improve outcomes for families
The role will not typically hold an ongoing caseload but will focus on triage, coordination, and partnership-based intervention.
Main Duties
Front Door / Screening Function
- Act as the first point of contact for domestic abuse-related referrals within First Response
- Complete initial conversations with families (non-abusive parents)
- Undertake structured risk assessments (e.g. DASH) and safety planning
- Identify thresholds for intervention and recommend next steps
Risk Assessment & Safeguarding
- Assess and analyse risk to adults and children, ensuring safeguarding is prioritised
- Provide professional challenge and guidance within decision-making discussions
- Ensure responses are proportionate, timely, and trauma-informed
- Escalate high-risk cases appropriately, including MARAC where required
Partnership & Multi-Agency Working
- Work co-located within Children’s Social Care to support integrated working
- Liaise closely with TDAS teams to identify if families are known to the service
- Link with existing TDAS case workers where appropriate to ensure continuity
- Work collaboratively with Families First and wider partners to coordinate support
Referral & Coordination
- Make appropriate referrals into TDAS services with informed consent
- Identify and refer to other specialist services where required
- Reduce duplication of assessment and re-telling of experiences for service users
- Support joined-up planning across agencies
Information Sharing & Systems
- Share information in line with GDPR, safeguarding, and organisational policies
- Maintain accurate and timely records across relevant systems
- Ensure clear documentation of decisions, rationale, and outcomes
Joint Working & Outreach
- Participate in joint visits with Social Workers where appropriate
- Contribute to strategy discussions, case consultations, and multi-agency meetings
- Support a whole-family approach to intervention
Practice Development & Expertise
- Provide domestic abuse expertise, advice, and guidance to professionals
- Support consistent understanding of thresholds, risk, and response
- Contribute to learning, reflection, and service development across agencies
Safeguarding Leadership & Duty Cover
- Act as a senior safeguarding point of contact for the TDAS Community Adult and CYP teams in the absence of the Team Leader
- Provide guidance, advice, and decision-making support to staff on safeguarding concerns, risk management, and thresholds
- Triage and allocate incoming referrals across Community services in the absence of the Team Leader, ensuring timely and appropriate responses
- Review incoming information to prioritise risk and ensure high-risk cases are escalated appropriately
- Support staff with complex case discussions, offering professional challenge and safeguarding oversight where required
- Ensure all safeguarding decisions are clearly recorded, justified, and aligned with organisational and statutory frameworks
- Work closely with managers to maintain oversight of service demand, capacity, and risk during duty cover periods
General
- Work with the Chief Executive Officer and other staff members to promote and support the development of TDAS.
- To adhere to TDAS Code of Conduct at all times.
- To attend staff meetings when required
- To work in line with, and follow, the policies and procedures of TDAS.
- To ensure that all TDAS policies and procedures are implemented and promoted by staff.
- To actively promote diversity in the organisation.
- To act as an ambassador for and represent the TDAS at external functions.
- To represent TDAS on local and regional forums.
- To build positive relationships and partnerships with key local agencies
- To embody TDAS’s values and act as a role model.
- To participate actively in the management team, contributing to the strategic development of the organisation.
- To undertake any other duties as may be deemed consistent with the requirements of the post.
Application Criteria and Process
To apply for this position, it is essential that you have NNEB/NVQ level 3 or equivalent qualification in Domestic Abuse, Social Care or Education or similar (essential) and/or a Safelives IDVA Qualification or equivalent (desirable).
You must also have significant experience working within domestic abuse services, including high-risk casework and risk assessment (DASH), and have worked within multi-agency safeguarding environments and with families with complex needs.
TDAS is committed to delivering a compassionate, non-judgmental, and specialist domestic abuse support service. As such, we welcome applications from ex-service users, provided A minimum of 12 months has passed since the individual last accessed TDAS services.
Applicants with minimum qualifications and experience will only be considered. Please do not send CVs, as they will not be processed.
This post is subject to an enhanced DBS. No CVs and no agencies please.
An application pack is available to download from: Senior Domestic Abuse Practitioner - First Response | TDAS
For further information please contact [email protected] Tel: 0161 872 7368
Equality, Diversity and Accessibility
TDAS is committed to fostering an inclusive, supportive and accessible workplace where everyone can thrive. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, identities and abilities, and we ensure a fair and transparent recruitment process.
Applicants are welcome to submit their application in the format that works best for them; written form, video, or audio recording.
As a recognised Disability Confident Employer, we are committed to inclusive recruitment practices and guarantee an interview to all applicants with a disability who meet the minimum essential criteria for the role.
There may be occasions where we are required to specify the gender of a role due to the nature of the work, predominantly within our safe accommodation services. Where this applies, it will be made clear within the recruitment pack and will be in line with the Equality Act 2010.
Pay: £30,366.18 per year
Benefits:
- Company events
- Company pension
- Cycle to work scheme
- Flexitime
- Free parking
- On-site gym
- On-site parking
- Sick pay
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Trafford (Greater Manchester)
