Children And Young Person Senior Support Worker Jobs in Colchester, Essex
We have an exciting and challenging opportunity for a Team leader to join the National Homicide Service (HS), covering the London and the South of England.
You will work from home or a local VS office if available, 37.5 hours per week.
Do you want to be part of a unique service providing the highest quality support to families bereaved by homicide and those who are eye-witness to homicide? Do you want to lead a supportive, passionate and committed team? If yes, then we'd love to hear from you….
What we offer:
At Victim Support we believe in attracting & retaining the best people and offer a competitive rewards & benefits package including:
- Flexible working options including hybrid working
- 28 days annual leave plus Bank Holidays, rising to 33 days plus Bank Holidays
- An extra day off for your birthday
- Pension with 5% employer contribution
- Enhanced sick pay allowances, maternity & paternity payments
- High Street, retail, holiday, entertainment & leisure discounts
- Access to our financial wellbeing hub & salary deducted finance
- Employee assistance programme & wellbeing support
- Ongoing training & support with opportunities for career development & progression
About the role:
You will lead and support a team of Homicide Family Caseworkers to meet VS and Homicide Service standards and contractual requirements. You will be able to demonstrate the excellent organisational skills essential to managing a demanding and diverse workload and will have experience of achieving key performance indicators, as set by the Operation managers and Deputy Head of Service.
We pride ourselves on providing exceptional trauma informed advocacy and support to all service users and you will have an understanding of the impact that trauma and bereavement can have on individuals. We support staff to keep them safe within their role and you will lead on the importance of personal and professional resilience and wellbeing for the team.
You will have excellent communication skills and will support the Operation Managers to maintain the highest standards of service delivery, across a widely geographically dispersed team. You will be prepared to travel across the geographical area including occasional overnight stays to ensure you can meet team members in person as well as online. A driving license and use of a car are both essential as well as access to public transport. You will be reimbursed for all travel costs.
You will also enjoy working closely with a range of stakeholders (including Police Family Liaison Officers and Senior Investigation Officers within the Major Crime teams) and will have experience in building constructive working relationships, focused on delivering the best service for vulnerable service users. You should be a confident presenter, and able to share the service and work we do to inform, educate and encourage notifications and referrals into the service.
Please see attached Job Description and Person Specification for full details.
About Us:
Victim Support (VS) is an independent charity providing a range of specialist services to people who have been affected by crime across England and Wales. We work towards a world where there are fewer victims but who have stronger rights, better support and a real influence in the Criminal Justice System. Everyone at VS is driven by our Vision Ambitions and Values to play their part in making a difference for those who experience crime and traumatic events. Working for VS gives you the opportunity to play a key role in a national charity providing high quality services to victims and witnesses and being a vital force for change.
Victim Support are committed to recruiting with care and to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Background checks and Disclosed Barring Service checks may be required.
Victim Support strives to represent the diverse communities we serve and are passionate about creating an environment where all staff and volunteers feel respected and heard. Being a diverse organisation with an inclusive culture is integral to us being able to meet our aim of ensuring that anyone who is a victim of crime gets the support they need.
As part of our commitment to the Race at Work Charter we particularly welcome applicants from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. VS is also a Disability Confident Employer and we provide a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for candidates that are disabled and meet all essential criteria for a role.
If you have a disability, a learning difficulty such as dyslexia or a medical condition which you believe may affect your performance during any aspect of our selection process, we'll be happy to make reasonable adjustments to enable you to perform at your best.
How to apply:
To apply for this role please follow the link below to the Jobs page on our website, and complete the application form demonstrating how you meet the essential shortlisting criteria.
Please give examples where appropriate, and show your aptitude for post. Please ensure you answer each shortlisting criteria including the need to drive and have your own mode of transport.
We looking forward to hearing from you.
Interview dates: 2nd May 2024 - by Zoom.
We reserve the right to close this vacancy early, if we receive enough suitable applications to take forward to interview prior to the published closing date.
About us:
Action for M.E. is the only charity in the UK providing direct support including healthcare to children and adults with M.E.. We provide vital support services, campaign for change and invest in ground-breaking research to help put an end to the ignorance, injustice and neglect experienced by people with M.E.
Opportunity:
Having been paused to new referrals, Action for M.E.’s free, independent, Adults Advocacy service will soon be re-opening. It’s one of our range of free Support Services that work with adults, young people, and/or families living with M.E. We support colleagues across the team to take part in and share reflective practice, self-care, peer-support and training.
Our Adults Advocacy service offers non-statutory, single-issue, instructed advocacy for adults with a confirmed diagnosis of M.E. We encourage self-advocacy where possible, though many of our clients are too severely affected by M.E. to be able to take undertake this.
As an Adults Advocate, you will manage a caseload of clients, as well as inputting and contributing to the triage process along with your Advocacy colleagues. You will meet with clients by phone, email, Zoom and/or SMS; we can also facilitate communication by post if this is required. We are not able to offer home visits or face to face meetings.
What we can offer you:
We offer fully remote and flexible working with generous annual leave (30 days plus bank holidays, pro rata). The wellbeing of our staff is important to us, we offer a range of benefits to employees including (but not limited to) access to free counselling and voluntary wellbeing weekday sessions, examples of recent sessions include guided group meditations and a book club.
To view the full job description, download the job pack, and apply for this role, please visit our Recruitee site (please note that we only accept applications via Recruitee; any application sent directly to an Action for M.E. mailbox will not be considered).
Should you have any questions about the role, or require any reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process, please don’t hesitate to contact our recruitment team, details of how to do this are contained in the application pack, "how to apply" section.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Main purpose of job: To lead and develop CARA, taking overall responsibility for the operational and financial management, generating income, working closely with the board of trustees to achieve CARA’s strategic and budgetary aims, whilst ensuring compliance with statutory, contractual, and regulatory requirements.
Start date: To be agreed with the appointed candidate (subject to Enhanced DBS Check and satisfactory references).
Salary: £55,000 - £60,000
Hours: Your hours of work are as required to perform the duties of your role, for a full-time employee this is normally 35 hours per week.
Contract: Permanent
Place of work: At least two days a week in the Colchester office, with some home working, regular travel across Essex and occasional travel in the East Region.
Holiday: 25 days per year pro-rata, plus additional closure days between Christmas and New Year.
To apply: Please complete the application form, which can be downloaded from our website, explaining how your skills and experience relate to the person specification.
Application deadline: 10am, Thursday 16th May 2024.
Interviews: Tuesday 4th June, in Colchester.
This post is restricted to women applicants under the Equality Act 2010, Schedule 9, Part 1.
Job Description
The post of Chief Executive Officer offers an exciting opportunity to steer CARA through the next stage of its development, providing leadership to the talented and committed CARA team. The role will involve building on the considerable growth and development that CARA has achieved over the last 10 years, securing funding to ensure it can continue to provide excellent specialist services to survivors of sexual violence and take steps towards CARA's vision of a world without sexual violence and child sexual abuse.
CARA’s CEO is responsible for leading and developing CARA, taking overall responsibility for the operational and financial management, generating income, working closely with the board of trustees to achieve CARA’s strategic and budgetary aims, whilst ensuring compliance with statutory, contractual, and regulatory requirements.
The main responsibilities of the CEO are:
Strategic leadership
·Work with the Board of Trustees and the Head of Operations, and consult with staff, survivors, and others, to develop and define a clear, strong vision and direction for the future of the organisation.
·Lead on and be responsible for the creation, ongoing development and implementation of the organisation’s strategic, business and annual plans.
·Foster, model and promote an inclusive, feminist, anti-racist organisational culture that reflects CARA’s ethos and values.
·Be accountable to the Board of Trustees for the overall financial health of the organisation.
Good governance
·Report and present to the Board of Trustees on the organisation’s progress against its budgets, plans, any risks, challenges and changes, and all information relevant and necessary to the effective discharge of the Board’s duties, including strategic decision-making.
·Develop and share proposals with the Board for the implementation of its objectives and the ongoing development of the organisation.
·Support the Board of Trustees in its ongoing process of self-assessment, development and improving its diversity and representation.
·Ensure the charity meets its constitutional, regulatory and legal obligations.
Business development
·Develop and implement an income generation strategy that ensures the organisation’s sustainability and enables its sustainable growth.
·Work in partnership with the Head of Operations to develop and implement the organisational structures needed for effective delivery of CARA’s objectives and sustainable growth.
·Generate new and various funding and income opportunities through networking, developing partnerships.
- To research and identify new funding and commissioning opportunities and complete bids and applications on an ongoing basis.
·Increase the unrestricted income of the charity, including developing, proposing and implementing new and innovative approaches to its income generation activities, including working closely with the CEO of Icena.
·Be responsible for maintaining and developing strong, long-term relationships with a diverse range funders and donors, both existing and new.
Representation
- To act as lead representative for CARA in the Synergy Essex Rape Crisis Partnership, developing strong working relationships with the other partners and negotiating CARA’s role, responsibilities and the financial allocations it receives from the partnership.
- To keep up-to-date with current developments affecting victims and survivors of sexual violence and ensure that CARA responds appropriately to these developments.
- To be the chief spokeswoman for CARA, responding to media and other enquiries as appropriate and playing a pro-active role in bringing relevant issues to the attention of the public, issuing press releases and initiating debate, as appropriate.
- Build, support and oversee strong relationships with individuals and organisations across the voluntary, public and private sectors, and in local and national government.
- To contribute to Rape Crisis England and Wales campaigns and other campaigns, as appropriate.
- To remain informed of national and regional Rape Crisis perspectives, drawing on Rape Crisis England and Wales expertise and resources as appropriate.
Organisational management
·Ensure policies and processes that support good communication, staff health and well-being, and safe and effective delivery of work are in place and adhered to throughout the organisation.
·Take overall responsibility for the staff team, its management and performance.
·Capture the organisation’s work through robust monitoring and evaluation, and ensure CARA’s impact and any learning is shared throughout the team and with the Board, survivors, funders and other partners as appropriate.
·Oversee and ensure robust financial management processes for the charity.
Other
·To oversee safeguarding at CARA, working with the Designated Safeguarding Leads to ensure effective policies and procedures are in place and communicated to staff, trustees, sessional counsellors and volunteers, and that CARA follows best safeguarding practice.
·To adhere to all CARA’s organisational policies and procedures.
·To be administratively self-servicing, and to share responsibility for a range of day-to-day tasks with the Head of Operations and other team members.
·To undertake other related activities as required by Board of Trustees.
This list is indicative only, not exhaustive. It is intended to reflect a range of duties the post-holder will be expected to perform but additional duties commensurate with the role may be required. The job description will be reviewed from time to time and may change in light of experience and changing circumstances, in consultation with the post-holder.
About CARA
CARA (Centre for Action on Rape and Abuse) works with victims and survivors of sexual violence and child sexual abuse, providing independent, specialist support and promoting and representing their rights and needs.
CARA's vision is of a world without sexual violence and child sexual abuse. As a step towards this vision, we do all we can to create a culture where victims and survivors are believed, supported and treated with fairness and respect.
CARA is a registered charity working with adults, young people and children from across mid and north Essex. We have a head office in Colchester and outreach premises in Braintree, Chelmsford, Clacton-on-Sea, Great Dunmow and Harwich. We also provide remote services.
CARA currently employs 39 full and part-time staff and has an annual income of approximately £1.6 million.
CARA's Aims
1. To provide high quality, specialist support to victims and survivors of sexual violence and child sexual abuse.
2. To increase awareness and understanding of sexual violence and child sexual abuse and the impact they have on victims and survivors, challenging myths and misconceptions.
3. To promote and represent the rights and needs of victims and survivors, including advocating for a fairer criminal justice system.
CARA's Values
Feminism. Respect. Empowerment. Equality
CARA is a women-led organisation and we work from an intersectional feminist perspective. We actively seek to ensure equality of women as a service provider and as an employer.
The core values of respect, empowerment and equality underpin everything we do.
CARA's commitment to diversity and inclusion
CARA seeks to be an inclusive organisation that actively encourages, supports and values diversity amongst both our service-users and our workers. We wish to create a culture in which discrimination, in all its forms, is recognised and addressed. CARA is committed to anti-racism and are currently developing an Anti-racism Policy. Through this work, we will be aiming to dismantle barriers within CARA to ensure we do not continue to perpetuate institutional racism and can create a truly inclusive environment for our service-users and our workers.
You can read more about CARA’s commitment to diversity and inclusion here.
We encourage and welcome applications from candidates from Black, Asian, and ethnically diverse backgrounds.
About Synergy Essex
CARA is part of Synergy Essex – the Essex Rape and Sexual Abuse Partnership. We work with SERICC Rape and Sexual Abuse Specialist Service and Southend-on-Sea Rape Crisis (SOS Rape Crisis) to deliver the contract for the Office for the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) for Essex for services for victims and survivors of sexual violence and child sexual abuse across Essex, Southend and Thurrock. Synergy Essex also shares a number of other projects, funded by the Ministry of Justice, Essex County Council and the National Lottery Community Fund.
Our current PFCC contract ends in March 2025. Synergy Essex intends to submit a bid for the new contract, which is expected to be put out to tender in the summer of 2024.
About Icena
CARA is a founding stakeholder of Icena - a social enterprise offering training and consultancy to eradicate sexual discrimination and violence. The creation of Icena forms part of CARA’s sustainability strategy: Once Icena is generating sufficient profit, a share of this profit will be used to support CARA’s work.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.