Homelessness and housing advice manager jobs

Are you looking for a dynamic and rewarding role working for an organisation with the feminist agenda at the core of its ethos? Then Advance Charity could be the career choice for you!

We are looking for a Senior IDVA

Salary: £30,000 - £32,000 depending on experience

Location: Hammersmith

Hours: 35 Hours per week including Thursdays early shift (8am) and evening between 6-9pm on rota basis (so approximately every 4-5 weeks)

Contract: Permanent

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.

Please note: Any offer of employment will be made subject to references, confirmation of the right to work in the UK, and satisfactory enhanced DBS check.

About us

Advance is an award-winning and innovative women-only organisation, established in 1998, providing emotional and practical support to women and girls survivors of domestic abuse and supporting women with short-term sentences to reduce offending. We believe in empowering women and girls to lead safe, non-violent, equal lives so that they can flourish and contribute to the community.

We are a community-based organisation who lead in best practice approaches to supporting women in their local community. We achieve this by being available to meet and support women in local settings and at our women’s centres, and by working in close partnership with other agencies.

Our values are to listen and support, to empower and respect, collaboration, innovation, and accountability.

Job Summary

As Senior IDVA you will work within a dynamic, fast-paced crisis intervention, advocacy, and support service to ensure the voice of survivors informs every stage of the process. This role combines oversight of the Duty IDVA service with specialist responsibility for MARAC coordination and participation. You will lead on MARAC responsibilities, oversee the Duty service, line manage two Duty IDVAs, support the Angelou Service Manager with administrative tasks, and hold a reduced caseload providing high-quality advocacy and support based on client-led needs and risk assessments.

You will ensure that the Duty service runs effectively, maintaining referral pathways, ensuring that documents and procedures are in place and embedded into working practice supporting those covering duty as required.

You will line manage the Duty IDVAs and will manage the allocation of cases from duty, liaising with Managers. You will assist the Manager with data collection, data analysis and problem solving.

Acting as the MARAC lead for the team you will oversee the quality of the internal MARAC process, ensuring cases are prepared and presented effectively, attend MARAC meetings on a rota basis and follow up on agreed actions.

You will also contribute to duty work, conducting calls and initial assessments and responding to crises, working within the team to make proactive contact and provide high quality advocacy and support based upon a client led needs and risk assessment to women referred to our service.

You will have an excellent understanding of domestic violence and its effects on women and children and of best practice within the domestic abuse sector and in working with women with children. The post holder will be proficient in data collection and case work recording. As an experienced domestic violence advocate who has worked with complex and multiple needs, you will be skilled in risk management and safety planning, remaining calm in a crisis and in handling sensitive information on a daily basis. Experience of direct work with female survivors of domestic violence and of working within safeguarding procedures is essential for this post, as is the need to adopt and promote a strong partnership approach to service provision.

How to apply:

 Please submit your up to date CV along with a covering letter vie our careers site.

• Closing Date for Applications: 15th January 2026 @ 23:59

• Interviews will be taking place the week of the 26th January 2026

*Advance reserves the right to close the advert early, or on the appointment of a candidate.

What we can offer you - Employee Benefits:

• A 35-hour working week

• An exceptional 30 days of paid holiday per year (pro rata for part time), PLUS public holidays on top (that's nearly 40 days paid holiday per year!)

• Additional days off to celebrate International Women’s Day, and for religious observance and moving home

• Perkbox - an employee discount platform where you can receive free rewards as well as take advantage of savings on clothes, groceries, travel, leisure and more

• Pension scheme

• Enhanced maternity/adoption provision

• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme

• Employee eye-care scheme

• Clinical supervision for front line staff and first line management roles

• Refer a Friend Scheme - £250 for each referral who passes probation

• Organisation wide away days

• Thorough induction and training

• Career development pathways

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Under the Equality Act 2010, we are required to make any reasonable adjustments. If you have a disability as defined under this act and/or have special needs, please email the Talent Acquisition Team via the Advance website and will aim to make the necessary arrangements to accommodate your needs.

Diversity, Inclusion and Equal Opportunities

We are committed to providing equality of opportunity and actively seek to recruit people from groups underrepresented in our current team. 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.

Safeguarding

Advance is committed to safeguarding and creating a culture of zero-tolerance of harm and expects all staff, including volunteers to share this commitment. We believe all individuals have the right to live their life free from violence and abuse and the right to feel and be safe. We have a suite of safeguarding policies, procedures and practice guidance, accessible to all staff, which promotes safeguarding and safer working practices across all our services and activities. When we recruit staff, we follow rigorous safer recruitment practices, this involves carrying out pre-employment checks including references, Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks, and identity checks. We ensure all staff undertake mandatory safeguarding training relevant to their role and responsibilities, to empower them to be competent and feel confident in recognising and responding appropriately to safeguarding issues and promote wellbeing.

Emmaus Overview

Emmaus is a community that provides accommodation and work for vulnerable people. We are committed to providing support while promoting independence. Staff and volunteers must work closely with Companions while observing appropriate professional boundaries in performing their role. They must also learn and engage with the Emmaus ethos.

The key task for this role is to manage a caseload of up to 16 Companions and to ensure that new companions get the information and support they need to help them settle in quickly and easily to the community and to working in our charity shops, warehouse and delivery / collection service. The support worker role is central to the team and close teamwork is essential.

The support worker will undertake direct support work with companions. Each companion has a personal support and development plan to help them achieve their personal goals and ambitions, in compliance with our Emmaus ethos, strategic aims, organisational objectives, policies and procedures.

Staff are expected to participate in and support solidarity activities undertaken by the Community.  Solidarity within the context of Emmaus is the working with groups and individuals towards the alleviation of poverty, social exclusion and suffering, and responding to local, national and international appeals for relief and support.

We expect you to carry out your job responsibilities in an environmentally aware manner.  Our aim is to ensure all resources are utilised effectively and efficiently.  You will be expected to apply sound ‘value for money’ principles in undertaking purchasing or supply of goods and services.

In Emmaus, volunteers are an important resource and make a vital contribution to Emmaus’s aim to take action to help disadvantaged people.  You will be expected to encourage and support volunteer involvement in our work.

Main duties and responsibilities

Support for Companions

• Support a caseload of companions to reach their potential through both practical and emotional support.
• Tailor support plans to meet individual needs – setting goals, assigning actions and taking a holistic view of the person and their wishes.
• Guide induction and exit processes for companions – to ensure that they understand the core principles of the offer at Emmaus and move on to long term, sustainable accommodation after us.Use de-escalation techniques to manage challenging behaviour as it arises, with consideration to positive conflict resolution.Support with incident response, including responding to risk, e.g. anti-social behaviour, mental health concerns, fire alarms etc.
• Liaise with external providers (CMHT, GP, DWP, hospitals, probation, prisons, CAB etc) to ensure that specialist advice and guidance is sought where needed.

Administrative duties

• Maintain accurate records in line with internal policy and with consideration for GDPR principles.
• Perform tasks to support the effective running of the community.
• Contact external providers to make them aware of who we are and what we do to drive referrals.
• Provide written updates for key stakeholders and internal meetings.
• Provide structured support for companions as agreed in the support plan.
• Participate in an emergency on-call rota to ensure 24/7 support is available for companions where needed.

Health and Safety

•  To apply the organisations health and safety policy.
• To carry out risk assessments as and when required and to ensure actions arising from this are carried out.
• To ensure that health and safety procedures are understood and followed by all companions.
• To report any incidents or concerns to the Community Support Manager.

At YMCA DownsLink Group, our mission is to help children and young people have a fair chance to be who they want to be. We do this by providing a safe home, building life skills and self-confidence, and supporting emotional wellbeing and mental health.

Our Values - we do what’s right, we work with heart, and we build real connections - guide and shape how we show up for children and young people we support and for each other.

YMCA What is Sexual Exploitation (WiSE) is our child sexual exploitation project which works with children and young people across Sussex and Surrey. Our primary focus of work is supporting young people affected by exploitation through raising awareness, education and empowerment.

We have an exciting opportunity to join the WiSE team as a Male Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) Practitioner. This role involves providing specialist support, working across Sussex and Surrey to provide case work support and group interventions to boys and young men at risk of or experiencing sexual exploitation, as well as those exhibiting harmful sexual behaviour. You will deliver outreach sessions in various settings, collaborate with professionals to support interventions leading to prosecutions, and provide training on boys/young men and sexual exploitation.

Due to the sensitive nature of the client group and in order to ensure that the young people feel safe, supported and understood, there is a genuine occupational requirement for the post holder to be male, as permitted under the Equality Act 2010.

A full driving licence and access to a car are essential due to the wide geographic area covered by the service. You will be required to visit head office in Hove once a week for an anchor day. The other days will be across Sussex and Surrey in the community

In delivering the role, the key responsibilities are:

• Carry a caseload of boys and young men identified as exhibiting harmful sexual behaviours and/or being sexually exploited
• Work collaboratively with other professionals to provide intensive and holistic support
• Maintain detailed case notes and contribute to reports
• Facilitate group work interventions in schools, accommodation projects and youth groups
• Deliver detached sessions in various settings to engage at-risk boys and young men
• Provide expertise and increase awareness of harmful sexual behaviour and sexual exploitation
• Contribute to WiSE Child Exploitation training and awareness campaigns

About You – If you are enthusiastic about this opportunity but don’t meet every single requirement, we still encourage you to apply. Your skills and experiences may be more transferable than you think, and you could be exactly the person we are looking for.

Experience and Knowledge:

• Proven experience in safeguarding young children
• Experience providing casework support to boys and young men
• Group work experience with young people
• Safeguarding children and young people at risk of serious harm
• Delivering and risk assessing outreach work with young people
• Knowledge of risks posed to vulnerable young people through sexual exploitation and harmful sexual behaviour
• Significant knowledge and understanding of boys and young men and their lives

Qualifications:

• Qualification in Youth Work/Social Work or equivalent, or comparable experience working with vulnerable young people.

CLOSING DATE: Sunday 4 January at midnight. We reserve the right to close this advert early if a successful candidate is found, so please submit your application as soon as possible.

Successful candidates will already have the right to live and work in the UK without restrictions. We are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role

An inclusive workplace We are committed to policies and practices of equity, diversity, and inclusion and to supporting our people to make sure our culture is consistent with this commitment. 

Accessibility If you require assistance or have questions regarding the application process, please do contact us.

YMCA DLG requires all staff and volunteers to be committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and to respond proactively to safeguarding concerns. Successful applicants are required to undertake an Enhanced DBS (including the Children’s and Adults’ barred lists) check, along with a reference and background check carried out by a third-party service provider. 

YMCA DLG requires all staff and volunteers to be committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and to respond proactively to safeguarding concerns. Successful applicants are required to undertake an Enhanced DBS (including the Children’s and Adults’ barred lists) check, along with a reference and background check carried out by a third-party service provider.