Independent victim advocate jobs

About the role:

Step into a role where your drive, resilience and belief in young people can truly change lives. As a Young Person’s Worker across our accommodation services in Islington and Waltham Forest, you will be right alongside young people at risk of homelessness, helping them move from uncertainty towards stability and independence. This is hands on, purposeful work where every day matters, and where your determination can unlock real opportunity for those who need it most.

In this role, you will manage a caseload of young people, building trusted relationships and empowering them to lead their journey forward. You will create and review personalised support and safety plans, support moves into independent accommodation, and help young people take confident steps into education, training or employment. Working within a trauma informed and strengths based approach, you will champion each young person’s goals while developing practical life skills such as budgeting, self care and cooking. You will also support access to essential services including mental health support, housing advice and employment pathways, motivating and coaching young people to take ownership of their futures.

At Single Homeless Project (SHP), you will be part of a tenacious, values driven team that does not shy away from challenge and believes in doing things differently to achieve lasting change. We will support your ambition with ongoing training, development and the chance to grow your career while making a genuine impact. If you are ready to bring your energy, compassion and persistence to a role that truly matters, we would love to hear from you.

About you:

• You bring experience working with young people in the community and in accommodation services.
• Your toolkit includes practical skills in motivation and coaching young people
• Your approach is creative, analytical, trauma-informed and rooted in a strengths and recovery model.
• You can creatively inspire opportunities for our young people to thrive and to develop to their highest potential.
• A non-judgmental approach to working with complex needs young people and to promote a strengths-based approach and an understanding of and commitment to Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion.
• Strong team-working and interpersonal skills, maintaining a collaborative approach to supporting young people achieve the outcomes and goals we support them to set for themselves.

About Us:

We’re London’s leading homelessness charity – and we get things done.

In a city where hundreds are forced into homelessness every day, our work has never been more needed or more challenging. And we’re not shying away. We’re rolling up our sleeves to make change and helping over 10,000 Londoners every year. We prevent homelessness, provide safe places to live and give people the opportunity to rebuild their lives and transform their futures. And we never give up. 

We’re here for Londoners wherever they are on their journey. We start with trust, building relationships that help people feel safe, supported, and ready to move forward. Every day, we put people first in everything we do, challenging injustice and barriers that keep people from the safety, stability and opportunity they deserve. We stand alongside people as they rebuild and shape a future that feels their own. 

Joining Single Homeless Project means joining a team that’s bold, compassionate and determined to do better for the people we support and for each other. You’ll work alongside colleagues with lived experience, in a space that’s trans-inclusive, disability-friendly, and actively striving to be anti-oppressive and equitable. 

We’re not perfect, but we’re real. We listen. We learn. And we push forward, together. Because this isn’t just a job. It’s a chance to lead with empathy, spark change, and help build a London where no one is left behind.

Important Info:

Please note we will be reviewing applications as they are received and progressing those suitable to interview at our Head Office in Kings Cross on an adhoc basis. Therefore please submit your application as soon as possible as we reserve the right to close the advert once suitable candidates are identified. 

Please note there will be a second round of interviews in service for progressed candidates.

This post will require an Enhanced DBS check to be processed (by SHP) for the successful applicant.

Please note applications are reviewed for AI use in application questions. Applications requiring sponsorship or with insufficient right to work will not be accepted or progressed.

Overview

Resilience Duty Worker (Young People)

Change Grow Live – Hertfordshire

Do you believe in the potential of young people—and in your ability to help unlock it?

At Change Grow Live, we see possibility in every person. Guided by our values — Be Open, Be Compassionate and Be Bold — we work alongside young people and their families to create safer, healthier futures. Our approach is grounded in evidence, shaped by compassion and rooted in the communities we serve.

As part of our 2030 Strategy, we are strengthening early intervention, safeguarding and whole-family responses so that young people can access the right support at the right time. This role is central to that ambition.

About the Role

We are seeking a Resilience Duty Worker to join our Integrated Whole Family Recovery Service across Hertfordshire. Working within a multidisciplinary team, you will support young people affected by substance use and associated safeguarding risks—helping to reduce harm, build resilience and improve outcomes.

This is a varied, frontline role requiring strong engagement skills, sound judgement and a clear understanding of safeguarding practice. You will work flexibly across the county, responding to need and ensuring timely access to appropriate pathways.

Key Responsibilities

You will:

• Act as a key point of entry into the service, processing referrals and completing initial triage assessments.

• Identify, respond to and escalate safeguarding concerns in line with statutory guidance and best practice.

• Reduce drug- and alcohol-related harm for young people and the wider community through evidence-based interventions.

• Hold a small caseload, delivering brief interventions focused on substance use and risk reduction.

• Manage and monitor waiting lists, maintaining contact with young people awaiting allocation to a keyworker.

• Advocate for access to partner services and coordinate support across agencies.

• Support positive, holistic outcomes for young people’s health and wellbeing—reducing risk and increasing resilience.

• Monitor referrals, identify appropriate treatment pathways and ensure timely progression through services.

• Work peripatetically across Hertfordshire to meet the needs of young people and families.

• Build strong partnerships with families, professionals and community services.

Where: This role will be based across Hertfordshire County (Full UK driving licence and access to a car will be essential)
Full Time Hours: 37.5 per week
*Salary: £27,861.26 - £32,002.35
Allowance: Outer Fringe £683.99

*Please note: Full-time hours at Change Grow Live are 37.5 hours per week. For part-time roles, the salary and payments will be pro rata based on contracted hours. 

Responsibilities

Working in Hertfordshire

Across Hertfordshire, Change Grow Live works in partnership with children’s services, education, health and community organisations to deliver integrated, safeguarding-led support. Our services are designed to reflect local need, remove barriers to access and ensure young people receive timely, effective interventions. In this role, you will contribute directly to a coordinated, whole-family approach that is built on evidence and compassion and rooted in local communities.

About You

You will bring:

• Experience of working with young people and a strong understanding of the challenges they face.

• Knowledge of safeguarding practice for children and young people, including the Fraser Competence framework.

• A sound understanding of drug and alcohol issues and experience in a related field.

• Familiarity with evidence-based approaches to young people’s substance misuse treatment and best practice guidance.

• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, with strong IT capability.

• The ability to maintain accurate records and meet reporting deadlines.

• The ability to work flexibly and collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team.

• A full UK driving licence and access to a car (essential).

We Thrive at Change Grow Live By:

• Recruiting for success and recognising the contribution of our people.

• Creating safe, healthy, agile and flexible environments where people can do their best work.

• Learning, developing and growing together, building confidence and capability.

• Fostering belonging, inclusion and openness, where every voice counts.

• Delivering world-class learning and organisational development, aligned to our values and strategy.

What We Offer

• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays (rising by one day per year of service, capped at 30 days)

• A paid weekly Wellness Hour, access to our Wellness Hub and Employee Assistance Programme

• Contributory pension scheme

• A wide range of benefits, including discounts for shopping, cinema and holidays

• A friendly, supportive team environment

• Training, career development and progression opportunities

• Refer-a-Friend scheme

Apply Now

Please ensure your application and supporting statement clearly demonstrate how your experience aligns with the requirements outlined in the job description.

Please note: This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship. Applicants must already have the right to work in the UK at the time of application. Unfortunately, we are unable to support new visa applications or extensions.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications, so early application is encouraged.

Salary Range (pro rata if part time)

CGL points 23 to 28 (£27,861.26 - £32,002.35)

ILW / OLW /Fringe

Outer Fringe (£694.25)

Interview Date

26/1/2026

Closing Date

15/1/2026

This post is subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check at an enhanced level.

Hours: 37.5 hours per week (negotiable and could be job share).

Contract: Fixed-term until 31.03.27.

Location: Hertfordshire - Working from home with options to work within local authority co-located spaces and expectations that there will be regular travel across the county to SafeLives offices in London & Bristol plus other locations across the UK as required.

Benefits: Travel expenses and subsistence provided for travel away from home, 25 days annual leave + bank holidays, contributory pension scheme, access to Employee Assistance Programme, childcare voucher and cycle to work scheme.

Hertfordshire County Council (hereby, The Council) and the Hertfordshire Domestic Abuse and Violence Against Women and Girls Partnership (hereby, the Partnership) are committed to strengthening the response to domestic abuse across the county. It is their ambition that anyone subjected to domestic abuse has access to right support for them, at the right time. The Council believe that those with lived experience, who may also have experience of using services, should have a say in how they are designed, developed, and commissioned.

The existing Co-Production Panel forms part of the Partnership’s governance structure, acting as a critical friend across the Partnership and supporting the delivery of the County’s Partnership Hertfordshire Domestic Abuse Strategy 2022-2025. The full Hertfordshire Domestic Abuse Strategy and Strategy Plan on a Page are published on the Domestic abuse posters, leaflets and strategy section of the Herts Sunflower Website.

SafeLives have been commissioned to facilitate the Partnership’s Co-Production Panel and support the development of a network of survivors with lived experience of domestic abuse in Hertfordshire, through their Authentic Voice practice model.

Key purpose of role:

• To truly transform the response to domestic abuse, we must place the experience of survivors at the heart of everything we do.
• Supporting the organisational commitment of SafeLives, and that of the Partnership, to Authentic Voice.
• Working within the Innovation team and alongside the Partnership to develop an influential panel, a powerful approach to gathering and amplifying survivor voices, challenging ‘them and us’ attitudes, you will have the skills and values to support and engage with survivors of domestic abuse.
• Coordinating the implementation of the Authentic Voice principles, embedding co-creation throughout the work of the Partnership.
• Establishing creative ways to reach out to survivors across Hertfordshire including those who have increased vulnerability or multiple disadvantage, those who are marginalised and others who have not yet found their voice.
• Ensuring all who want to have their voice heard, are heard and that what we learn from their lived experience shapes the response to domestic abuse in Hertfordshire and nationally.
• Demonstrating the value of expertise by experience to influence all stakeholders, breaking down perceptions of ‘them and us’ and uniting voices of experts by experience to keep families safe and end domestic abuse.

Further information about the role can be found in the Job Description which includes the Person Specification. 

If you believe you have the qualities we have described, please take a look over the full job description and submit your 500-word cover letter and CV.

Closing date: 9.00am on 12th January 2026.

Interviews: w/c 12th January 2026.

As part of our commitment to become a Disability Confident Committed employer we are happy to accept alternative applications such as video, voice note etc

Please note that SafeLives reserves the right to close campaigns early if we receive a high volume of applications. To ensure your application is considered, we encourage you to apply as soon as possible, as no further applications will be accepted once the recruitment campaign has closed.