JOB DESCRIPTION
StreetlightUK is a growing charity, delivering a specialist support service for women involved in prostitution across the UK. We are a passionate, enthusiastic and dedicated team of women who are determined to see sexual exploitation and violence end for women.
We are looking for someone with energy, motivation and dedication to support our service users. Taking a women-centred approach, your role would include providing care co-ordination and daytime support for women with complex needs who need support, or desire to exit prostitution.
Having experience of working with vulnerable adults is essential, as well as having a highly developed sense of self-awareness and the ability to work in a gender and trauma informed way.
This role based is based in Kent/Medway focusing on borough of Swale (Sittingbourne, Faversham and Sheerness) with one day a week based at the London Bridge office. The role also includes 2 hours night-time outreach per week.
This post is restricted to female applicants only under Section 9 of the Equality Act 2010.
Line Manager: Support Manager
Location: 3 days a week across Kent & Medway and 1 day at London Bridge Office
Hours of Contract: 28 hours per week (includes 2hrs weekly nighttime outreach)
Contract: 24 months contract
Salary: £20,384- £21,840 (£25,480 - £27,300 Full Time Equivalent)
PURPOSE OF THE ORGANISATION
Ending sexual exploitation and violence towards women involved in prostitution.
Recognizing the barriers to exit and providing women in the sex industry with direct support, enabling fresh choices to overcome these.
Shifting the burden of the law in the UK by influencing policy, practice and public discourse in the UK, alongside survivors regarding prostitution.
SCOPE OF THE JOB
- Care co-ordination of women with complex needs who want support, or to exit street-based or off-street prostitution.
- Advocacy and referral to Multi-Agency Meetings, which can include the PEAG Forum, VAWAG Forum, along with other multi agency meetings and support services across Kent and Medway.
- Development and Delivery of weekly night-time outreach to women in on-street prostitution. Ensuring smooth delivery of the service and continuity between the outreach and daytime support service.
- Delivering day-time support and follow up to service users and managing a personal caseload of service users.
- Effectively monitoring service user activities, preparing reports and ensuring funders’ targets are met.
- Supporting our East Police partners on live operations across Kent, ensuring the safety of women and participating in police welfare checks on properties with the aim of supporting and ensuring the safety of any women who may be trafficked, coerced or controlled.
- Representing the on at specified events and networks locally.
- Participation in StreetlightUK’s annual fundraising and awareness campaign.
- Supporting the preparation of research and reports for partners, funders, and other stakeholders
DUTIES AND KEY RESPONSIBILITES OF WOMEN'S SUPPORT WORKER
- Work in a flexible, woman-centered, trauma informed and strengths-based approach; recognising the woman as an expert of her own experience.
- Support women to build their confidence and self-esteem, enabling them to develop strategies to put control, direction and purpose into their lives within a supported environment.
- Complete assessments with women to ensure that structured support and care plans are in place and are regularly reviewed, with clear goals and objectives that are client-led and agreed with women.
- To provide intensive personalised support with a bespoke, holistic and integrated service to women encompassing a range of risk, health, social and relationship needs.
- Support women involved in prostitution to overcome the barriers they face in exiting e.g., mental health, housing, problematic substance use, homelessness, poverty, domestic abuse, sexual violence, the criminal justice system; and to make positive steps forward with their lives.
- Commit to taking a multi-agency and team approach to women’s support. Identify and develop strong working partnerships and links across Kent’s and Medway’s voluntary and statutory services to improve options for service users.
- Enable women to access other support services by building good working links and ensure women are getting the right support.
- Take into account the spiritual, religious and cultural needs of women.
- Use a range of StreetlightUK’s qualitative and quantitative tools and systems to monitor women’s journey of progress.
- Complete all back office administrative tasks in relation to the role in a timely and accurate manner on StreetlightUK’s systems.
- Conduct online outreach sessions, as directed by line Managers, to contact women and introduce them to StreetlightUK’s services.
TEAM WORKING
- Invest in the StreetlightUK and Kent’s and Medway’s multi-agency team and work collaboratively in order to share the case load.
- Attend the StreetlightUK team training and well-being days quarterly and any other training provided.
- Work safely and considerately in StreetlightUK’s office.
- Liaise with volunteers to support and increase the impact of the project.
- From time to time the contract worker may be required to perform other duties commensurate with their role and abilities, as reasonably required, to facilitate the smooth running of the charity.
DATA MANAGEMENT
- Responsible for recording and entering all interactions with service users and partners, including case notes, outreach recording and partner meeting recording onto StreetlightUK’s Data management system (Lamplight).
- Contributing towards data collection and impact recording for reports to trustees and other funders.
SUPERVISION
- Commit to supervision and performance management sessions with your line manager(s) and to external supervision as required.
- Commit to a good working relationship with the whole of StreetlightUK’s team, supporting the healthiness of the wider team.
PERSON SPECIFICATION:
EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS
ESSENTIAL:
Degree/ equivalent qualifications, counselling, social work, nursing, mental health, probation and/or significant work/life experience.
Valid UK Driving license.
EXPERIENCE
ESSENTIAL:
Experience of working with women in prostitution and/or vulnerable women.
Experience of working with safeguarding policies and procedures.
Experience of drop-in and/or 1-1 case work.
Experience of maintaining clear boundaries, crisis management skills and the ability to cope with stressful client-based situations.
Experience of communicating and organising with a variety of staff.
Experience of organising and delivering small group training.
DESIRABLE:
Experience of working within the criminal justice system and/or Health/Exiting prostitution (please state).
An understanding of how statutory bodies such as the police and Local Authorities operate.
Experience of service user involvement.
Working in a trauma and gender informed approach.
Experience of working with Local Authority services.
Direct experience of the charity sector.
SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE
ESSENTIAL:
Ability to co-ordinate and prioritise work load.
Excellent communication skills, a level of numeracy, literacy and comprehension that enables you to prepare and maintain case records, communicate in writing with other agencies and analyse written and numerical information and produce reports.
Ability to work alone and part of a wider team.
Ability to build strong relationships and partnerships.
Strong IT skills (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Database, Office365 and Outlook).
Ability to handle confidential and sensitive material.
DESIRABLE:
Knowledge of the DWP Welfare Systems (basic Housing, Benefits Law).
Experience of access support women regarding their mental health assessments.
Ability to make a homelessness application.
Experience of problem solving or developing existing strategies.
PERSONAL QUALITIES
ESSENTIAL:
Able to positively work within our ethos, vision and values.
Excellent team player able to work with a small team.
Highly developed sense of self-awareness, and ability to work with different points of view.
Committed to the vision and values of StreetlightUK as well as the local focus of the Medway Team.
Self-motivated and adaptable – flexible to change.
Thorough with a high attention to detail.
FURTHER INFORMATION FOR APPLICANTS
Equal Opportunities
Streetlight UK sets a high standard for its contract practices and its work. Many of our roles are restricted to Female applicants only, however people are recruited based on their merits, skills and abilities. We work towards ensuring that no job applicant receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of racial group, origin or nationality, disability, marital status, age, sexuality, political, religious beliefs or trade union activity.
STREETLIGHT UK Ethos
We are a charity inspired by Christian values that are foundational to the way we work. These values are core to our organisational culture and shape our working practices and service delivery.
This means:
- Compassion motivates us, and we seek to serve people who are often marginalised and misunderstood by society to the best of our ability recognising the inherent value or each individual we encounter. Jesus showed this humility and conviction throughout His life, and we continue to be inspired and invigorated by His example and message.
- Whilst these are our organisation’s core beliefs, we will never look to impose them on anyone.
- We are committed to social justice and opposed to all forms of discriminatory practice.
- By offering support we seek to show options, and increase an individual’s capability to make positive decisions for themselves.
Anyone looking to join Streetlight UK teams, either as staff, or in a voluntary capacity must respect this ethos and will be expected to work within this framework to assist the charity towards achieving our vision of exposing and ending sexual violence and exploitation of women.
At Streetlight UK, we come into contact with groups of individuals from various perspectives on prostitution/selling sex. We recognise that the routes into prostitution and women’s experiences of the sex industry vary but we view prostitution as a form of ‘violence against women and girls’ (VAWG) due to the harm we have found to be inherent.
Job Types: Part-time, Fixed term contract
Contract length: 24 months
Pay: £25,480.00-£27,300.00 per year
Benefits:
Shift:
Work days:
Work Location: In person
