Vulnerable victims advocate jobs

The Methodist Church is committed to ensuring its churches are safe spaces for all. We work hard to ensure compliance with legal requirements, develop good practice, provide effective training and give professional advice on individual cases. We have an exciting opportunity to join our new safeguarding regional team operating in the northwest region and take this forward supporting Methodist churches and work.

Hours of work: 21 per week

About you

The post holder will join a team of safeguarding officers who will carry specific responsibility for individual cases, undertake risk assessments, lead training and advise churches. The post will be aligned to the Cumbria Methodist District requiring regular travel within this District area, and to provide support to colleagues across the regional area of the North West, which may involve occasional travel. The successful candidate will hold a relevant professional qualification and relevant experience and expertise in child and/or adult protection.

Our Culture, Values and Benefits:

Thank you for considering joining our inclusive and welcoming team that strives for excellence and values employee wellbeing.

We value and support all those who join our team through a positive work-life balance augmented by generous annual leave (plus an extra 3 days over Christmas/New Year), TOIL, flexi-leave and an on-site Wellbeing Adviser service. We offer a generous occupational pension scheme with pensions matched up to 8%.

The Methodist Church is an inclusive and supportive employer. We are actively committed to encouraging applications from people of all backgrounds. We welcome applications from people of Black, Asian and other Minority Ethnic groups. We are a Disability Confident Committed employer, and welcome applications from disabled people. 

If you have questions about the vacancy or require reasonable adjustments to be made at any stage of the recruitment process, please contact HR Team.

Closing date: 6th February 2026

Shortlisting date: W/C 11th February 2026

Interview (in person): 23rd February 2026

We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications.

About Woman’s Trust

The charity was established in 1996 to meet the gap in specialist mental health services. Woman’s Trust is led by and for women and aims to ensure that women affected by domestic abuse can live a life free from further harm and abuse. Our approach is trauma-informed and person-centred, empowering survivors on their journey to recovery from the trauma. We are committed to a positive, inclusive and equitable environment for our staff, service users and volunteers.

Alongside delivering our existing 1-1 counselling, self-development workshops and therapeutic support groups for women who have experienced domestic abuse, we are focused on developing our innovative mental health services for young women and girls, delivering new peer-led support groups and providing therapeutic groups to children and their mothers. We are also committed to developing further awareness-raising workshops and training for professionals, building on our research and policy to improve systems nationally.

Background

The lack of recognition of domestic abuse as a mental health issue within the NHS leads to delayed and inadequate support for survivors. This gap in understanding and response often result in survivors only being able to access and receive appropriate care when their mental health deteriorates to the point of requiring secondary mental health services (Women’s Aid 2021).  Meta analysis suggests that CBT, one of the NHS’s most prescribed approaches for mental ill-health, is not the best approach for domestic abuse survivors as it does not recognise and take into account the external factors and dynamics of abuse, specifically power and control, the role of the perpetrator and the resulting trauma for the survivor.

In March 2025, WT published its first major report, ‘Living Without Hope’ which consolidates existing and increasing academic, government and sector research demonstrating the significant impact of domestic abuse on women’s mental health. Outlining the current agency responses at national, regional and local levels and the gaps in provision; the report also makes recommendations for change and improvement across the VAWG and health sectors.

Building on the research highlighted in our ‘Living Without Hope’ report, WT has secured funding to work with key stakeholders in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to examine the links between domestic abuse and mental health, the specific experiences of Arab and Moroccan women and their access to safe, appropriate services that meet their needs.

Purpose

This is an exciting new role and will be focused on developing Woman’s Trust’s (WT) response to addressing the systemic issues female survivors of domestic abuse face when trying to access support.

Working with key stakeholders in the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (LBKC) and specifically Al-Hasniya to ensure that professionals have a clearer understanding of the link between domestic abuse and mental health and its impact on survivors.

Contract & hours: Part-time, 22.5 hours per week (0.6 FTE). Fixed term as dependant on funding.

Location: Woman’s Trust premises including co-location with statutory partners and community partnership locations.

Closing date: 10 February 2026.

Interviews: 18 February 2026.

Please note, this post is open to female applicants only – Equality Act 2010, Schedule 9, Part 1 applies.

Job Title: Refuge Worker x2

Location: Derby City (on-site)
Salary: £25,857.12 per annum
Contract type: Full Time, Permanent 

Hours: 37.5 hours 

We want kind and empathic people to work at Refuge, who believe in equality, diversity, and inclusion, are experts in their area of knowledge, want to make a positive difference and improve the lives of the women and children we support.

The post holder will provide high quality support and safety planning to women and children in crisis. This includes enabling women to access housing, welfare, benefits and legal advice.  A key requirement is to provide personal welfare support and to ensure that women are provided with a safe, supportive and welcoming environment in accordance with Refuge’s philosophical principles. 

This is a rewarding role where your work has a direct impact every day. In return, we offer a supportive team environment, opportunities for training and development, and the chance to be part of a cause that truly matters.

For further information about this role, please view our job information pack. 

This post is restricted to women due to the nature of the role. The Occupational Requirement  under Schedule 9 (part 1) of the Equality Act 2010 applies.

As part of this role, you will be required to participate in an out-of-hours on call Rota. 

Closing Date: 09:00am 30 January 2026

Iterview Dates: 9 and 10 February 2026

ob Title: Refuge Worker

Location: Hillingson. This is an on-site role, located within the London Borough of Hillingdon, there may be requirement to occasionally work in the London Borough of Hounslow
Salary: £28,857.12 per annum, Inclusive of London Weighting, which may not be applicable depending on your home location and any agreed permanent homeworking arrangement
Contract type: Full Time, Permanent

Hours: 37.5 hours per week 

This is an opportunity to join Refuge as a Refuge Worker to provide high quality practical and emotional support to survivors of domestic violence and their children living in our refuges.

The post holder will provide high quality practical and emotional support to survivors of domestic violence and their children living in our refuges. This includes safety planning and enabling women to access housing, welfare, benefits, and legal advice. A key requirement is to provide personal welfare support and to ensure that women are provided with a safe, supportive, and welcoming environment in accordance with Refuge’s philosophical principles. 

For further infomation regarding the role, please view our downloadable job pack. 

As part of this role, you will be required to participate in an out-of-hours on call rota

Please note that this post is restricted to women due to the nature of the role. The Occupational Requirement under Schedule 9 (part 1) of the Equality Act 2010 applies.

Closing Date: 09:00am 9 February 2026

Interview Date: 23 and 24 February 2026

This is a unique opportunity to make a meaningful frontilne impact with a London-based charity, supporting individuals affected by scocial exclusion, particularly those who are involved in or at risk of sexual exploitation as well as survivors of human trafficking and modern slavery. If you are driven to make a difference, thrive in a role where organisation meets purpose, please apply.