Health independent domestic violence advisor jobs

*This post is open to female applicants only as being female is deemed to be a genuine occupational requirement under Schedule 9, Paragraph 1 of the Equality Act 2010. 

Stop Domestic Abuse is a trauma informed organisation; the work we do to support those effected by domestic abuse may be triggering for those with past trauma. Please only apply if you are living free from abuse. If you’d like to talk to us about this, please get in touch.

Location: Southampton

Salary: £27,482 - £28,552

Hours per week: 37.5

Contract Type: Permanent 

Reference Number: STOPDA836

Main Purpose and Scope of the Job:

Working closely with Royal South Hants Hospital and Southampton General Hospital’s Safeguarding Teams, you will provide support and advice hospital-wide, with a focus on Accident and Emergency and Maternity Services.

Assessing the needs of individuals and ensure the service user have a clear pathway of support across services and agencies, both mainstream and specialist.

Working with those experiencing domestic abuse to increase their personal safety, and that of any children, and inform them of their rights and options and to identify the needs of their children and support them to access appropriate services.

Strengthening and developing links and pathways with RSH & Southampton General Hospital colleagues and other partnerships that collaboratively work within the RSH & General.

Promoting awareness of the experiences and needs of those living with domestic abuse, particularly in relation to their mental and physical health.

What We Offer:

Time off and Flexibility:

- 25 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays (Increasing with service)

- Birthday day off

- Child’s first day of school off

- Option to purchase up to 10 additional days’ leave per year

- Flexible and hybrid working

- Protected time of up to one hour each month

Family-Friendly Benefits:

- Enhanced Maternity, Paternity, Shared Parental and Adoption leave

- IVF Leave

Health and Wellbeing:

- Westfield Health Healthcare Cashback Plan (after probation)

- Westfield Health Personal Health Insurance (after 2 years’ service)

- Employee Assistance Programme

- Eye care vouchers

- Cycle to Work Scheme

About Stop Domestic Abuse:

Stop Domestic Abuse is a proud women-led organisation supporting victims and survivors of domestic violence and abuse across Portsmouth and Hampshire. Our vision is a world without domestic abuse, and we work to ensure that it’s ‘everyone’s business.’

We provide refuge and community-based support, delivering in a trauma-informed way for adults, children and young people, tailored to individual needs. Our 19 refuges offer safe, welcoming homes, and across our services we provide one-to-one support and group activities to help improve their safety and to meet others with similar experiences. We support children process their experiences and help regain a sense of safety.

Our UP2U programmes support those seeking to change abusive behaviours, and we also offer specialist support for victims of stalking. We also deliver training to professionals, including the hair and beauty industry, to recognise domestic abuse and connect people to specialist support services.

Our Values:

Equality, Openness, Honesty, Respect for individual dignity and diversity, Empowering women and children, and Care and Compassion – are at the heart of everything we do. By committing to these values, we aim to significantly improve the lives of those we support and work towards our vision of a world without domestic abuse.

Location: Tower Hamlets

Salary: Unqualified: £29,385 - £30,671 per annum

Qualified: £30,671 - £33,438 per annum

(Please note that applicants are usually appointed at the bottom of the relevant band based on fairness and our pay scales)

Hours: 37.5 hours per week 

Contract: Fixed Term Contract (Until 31st March 2027)

Closing Date: Monday 16th March 2026

Closing Time: 00:00am

Are you looking for a rewarding role working for an intersectional feminist organisation? If so, we have an incredible opportunity for you to join our team as an Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA) - Housing at Solace Women's Aid.  

You will be joining a team of committed and inspiring individuals whose dedication has saved the lives of thousands of women, men and children in the capital. We are looking for friendly and diligent individuals to join our services and help us make a difference.

Our core values reflect our history and were developed in consultation with staff and service users. Feminism and intersectionality are key to our work and we are committed to the principles of being survivor-led, trauma-informed, empowering, diverse, anti-racist and anti-discriminatory.

About the Service

The post holder will be acting as the housing lead for Tower Hamlets SASS, a service which supports survivors of domestic and abuse in the borough.

As the IDVA (Housing), you'll lead on all housing-related work within the SASS team. You will carry out risk and needs assessments, safety planning and support planning with survivors who present at the Tower Hamlets Housing, and advocate on their behalf. This role will be based within Tower Hamlets Council and our SASS office.

About the Role

As the Housing IDVA you will lead on all housing-related work within the SASS team. You will carry out risk and needs assessments, safety planning and support planning with survivors who present at Tower Hamlets Housing and advocate on their behalf. You will work closely with Tower Hamlets Housing colleagues, and support their training and awareness of domestic abuse and the project.

About You

We're looking for highly organised and self-motivated applicants who are passionate about ending VAWG. You will have a “can-do‟ approach and demonstrable commitment to Solace’s feminist approach to supporting women and their children to be safer. You will receive training and support for this role as necessary.

Successful applicants will have in-depth knowledge of domestic abuse and its impact on women and children, experience of dynamic risk assessment and providing emotional and practical support to victims of VAWG.  As this is a pilot programme where the delivery model may change, a flexible and adaptive approach to your work is important as well as willingness to contribute to programme evaluation. 

A relevant qualification in VAWG is desirable.

What we can offer you

We provide a comprehensive benefits package to all our employees, including:

• Flexible working
• Focus on learning and development (internal career progression and training)
• Generous holiday entitlement
• Employer pension contribution
• Family-friendly leave and enhanced maternity pay
• Access to Inclusion Networks
• Daily clinical debriefing
• Employee Assistance Programme providing free 24/7 support and advice
• Employee Benefits Platform offering staff discounts, benefits and savings
• Flow & Restore yoga classes
• Meditation sessions
• Cycle to Work Scheme

How to apply

When applying for this role, kindly highlight in your Supporting Statement how your values, knowledge, transferrable skills, and experience align with each point within the following sections of the Job Profile Document:

• Values, Behaviours & Competencies
• Knowledge, Experience and Skills

Solace Women's Aid values diversity, promotes equity, and challenges discrimination. We encourage and welcome applications from candidates of diverse cultures, abilities, perspectives, and lived experiences. We have policies and processes in place to ensure that all employees are offered an equal opportunity in recruitment and selection, promotion, training, pay, and benefits. Our Inclusion Networks support staff with protected characteristics and offer inclusive spaces to connect.

We are a Disability Confident Employer and committed to an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. We anticipate and provide reasonable adjustments as needed and support employees who acquire a disability or long-term health condition, enabling them to stay in work.

This service is run by women for women and is therefore restricted to female applicants under the Equality Act 2010, Schedule 9, and Part 1. Section 7(2) e of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 apply. The post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.

As part of safer recruitment practices, we carry out pre-employment checks including references, Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and right to work in the UK checks.

No agencies.

IDVA (Based in Children’s Services)

Location: County Hall, Exeter or Barnstaple or Totnes with travel between locations (with some hybrid working)

Salary: £24,955 - £28,666 (dependent on experience and relevant IDVA qualifications)

NDADA Children and Families Team – Devon Domestic Abuse Alliance

This is an exciting time to be joining this team, as funding has been extended and the project is really starting to make a difference to the lives of those families who are receiving support from Children Services.  The role will involve one to one work with the safe parent, raising awareness and training staff to understand and recognise signs of domestic abuse, working alongside each other to advocate for parents who are struggling with difficult and abusive relationships.

About the role

We are recruiting an Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (Qualified IDVA or IDVA Practitioner to work towards IDVA qualification) to join the NDADA Children and Families Team, part of the Devon Domestic Abuse Alliance (DDAA). This is a vital role working alongside Devon Children’s Services to ensure victims of domestic abuse and their children are safe, supported, and able to access the right services at the right time.

You will be embedded within the Family Assessment and Intervention Team at County Hall, Exeter, or at Totnes or Barnstaple, working closely with social workers and partner agencies. Some home working is possible, however you will be required to work from County Hall or one of the other locations at least two days per week. Your caseload will predominantly cover Exeter area alongside another Exeter based CSIDVA, and you will also need to be able to support clients in other areas depending on the needs of the service. 

This role involves multi-agency working, flexibility, and a trauma-informed approach to encourage engagement and improve outcomes for families affected by domestic abuse.

About you

As an IDVA, you will provide proactive, specialist support to victims of domestic abuse, carrying out risk assessments, safety planning, advocacy, and system navigation. You will work closely with professionals across children’s services, housing, health, police, and the voluntary sector to coordinate responses and keep families safe.

You will also play a key role in challenging harmful narratives, reframing domestic abuse as a perpetrator choice, and fostering empathy and understanding for abused parents within safeguarding processes.

We recognise that no candidate will meet every element of the person specification and encourage applications from people with transferable skills and lived professional experience.

What we’re looking for

Essential:

• At least two years’ experience as an IDVA, YPVA or ISVA or similar practitioner work with domestic abuse awareness
• Experience supporting people affected by domestic abuse or other forms of interpersonal violence
• Strong understanding of safeguarding and risk assessment (DASH, MASH, MARAC)
• Trauma-informed approach to practice
• Excellent communication, listening, and advocacy skills
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team
• Full driving licence with access to a vehicle for work purposes
• Commitment to confidentiality, equality, and anti-discriminatory practice

Why work with us?

• Be part of a values-led, trauma-informed alliance
• Work collaboratively across children’s and adult services
• Receive regular clinical and line supervision to support wellbeing and reflective practice
• Make a tangible difference to the safety and recovery of families across Devon

If you are passionate about supporting survivors, challenging systems, and working collaboratively to keep children and families safe, we would love to hear from you.

NDADA is committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion and welcomes applications from all sections of the community.

To Apply

If you feel you are a suitable candidate and would like to work for NDADA, please do not hesitate to apply.

FearFree delivers services across the Southwest for victims, children and perpetrators of domestic abuse, sexual violence and stalking, with the aim to break the cycle of abuse and support all to live free from fear. We provide trauma responsive support, and this post will be fundamental to ensuring service users, stakeholders and partners experience this in our daily delivery.

The varied and rewarding role involves delivering trauma-informed, one-to-one educational support to adult victims of domestic abuse.

Working collaboratively with our IDVA (Independent Domestic Violence Advisors), you will help ensure that support is safe, inclusive and effective for people with a range of experiences and risks. You will play a vital part in championing people to recover from trauma, build safe relationships and move forward with dignity and hope.This role will also involve delivering our empowerment and recovery groups for those who have experienced domestic or sexual abuse. 

FearFree is committed to flexible and hybrid working and this role will be a mix of home based and office based, alongside requiring travel for multi-agency meetings and other deliverables. 

This is a 12 month fixed term role and may include evening and weekend work when required. 

Key Responsibilities

• To provide 1:1 support for medium risk clients who have previously been supported by our IDVA team.
• Deliver structured, evidence-based and trauma-responsive group programmes for victims/survivors and individuals who have used harm. 
• Contribute to joint safety and support planning alongside IDVAs. 
• Monitor and respond to safeguarding concerns in with organisational practices. 
• Provide direct assessment, casework support, advice, information, and advocacy through telephone contact, and/or meetings at the relevant practice.  
• Provide support to increase people’s personal safety, and that of any children, and inform them of their rights and options in terms of housing, legal and welfare rights. 
• To provide signposting and onward referrals to patients. 
• To provide ongoing specialist advice and support around Domestic Abuse (DA). 
• To provide training to multi-agency partners on understanding, recognising and responding to DA. 
• Develop good working relationships and liaise with outside agencies where needed.   
• Keep accurate records of all referrals received and of work done with or on behalf of service users.  
• Work flexibly and manage your own schedule, including evening work on a rotational basis to meet the needs of those unable to access support during working hours.

Application

To apply, please download the full job description/person specification along with the application and equality monitoring forms. Please send the completed application form and optional equality monitoring form direct to FearFree. 

There is no specific closing date for this role and this vacancy will close once a suitable candidate is found, so early applications are encouraged. 

For information about the processing of your personal data at FearFree, please visit our website. 

FearFree is committed to encouraging equality and diversity in the workplace.  We strive to be a diverse and inclusive place to work where we can all be ourselves and individual differences are recognised and valued.