Location: Various sites across Greater London

Salary: £29,500 - £32,000 per annum 

Hours:  full time (37.5 hours per week) 

Contract:  x1 FTC March 2022 and x1 permanent contract 

Vacancy Reference: SWA3054

Closing Date: 24/03/2021

Interview Date: 02/04/2021

Solace Women’s Aid is an innovative, exciting, grassroots charity working across London. Our purpose is to bring to an end the harm done through domestic and sexual violence to all survivors, and in particular women and children. Our work is holistic and empowering, working alongside survivors to achieve independent lives free from abuse.

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.

About the Service

Our peripatetic staff team provide front-line support to accommodation based and community services all over London across our organisation. Peripatetic workers enable our services to deliver a consistent, high standard of service.  The team was created in order to have trained, skilled staff ready to cover gaps in service and facilitate the continued smooth running of services, proactively supporting women and children who have experienced domestic abuse.

Senior peripatetic workers may also cover senior worker or specialist vacancies within the organisation, or assist in the set-up of new services. If you thrive on fast paced work settings, are able to adapt easily and quickly to new environments, and are willing to be deployed across our sites on a regular basis, then this is the opportunity for you.

About the Role

As a senior peripatetic worker you will:

• Provide a proactive and specialist service to survivors of domestic abuse in a variety of roles across our community and accommodation based services in a front-line or senior worker capacity

• Deliver high quality case work support to both victims and survivors of domestic abuse

• Assist in the set-up of new projects within the organisation

• Support the peripatetic service manager with the running of the peripatetic team including line management of the peripatetic workers 

• Attend case review and team meetings and contribute towards effective team communications

• Contribute to collation, monitoring and evidence of service outcomes to ensure coherent target are met

• Champion Solace’s Equality and Diversity and ensuring human rights and equality is the centre of your work

• Be a voice for service user feedback, delivery and shape future development.

The length of a placement within a service can range from several weeks to a few months. You will receive a local induction to the service at the start of the placement.

For all roles, you will carry out risk and needs assessments, safety planning, and individual support planning with survivors as well as advocating on  behalf of service users with external agencies, implementing the empowerment model and a strength based approach.  All work should be service user led and trauma informed.

Within Community Services, you will typically fill roles as a Caseworker or IDVA. As a Caseworker you will provide user led one to one support. As an IDVA you will also contribute to the local MARAC process to improve survivor safety.

Within Accommodation Services you will typically fill the role of Refuge Worker. You will ensure the smooth running of the refuge, including the admission of survivors of domestic violence to the refuge. You will work with women to devise a support plan that meets their immediate practical and emotional needs and starts the process of recovery, linking women into more specialist support services where required.

As a member of the Advice Service you will provide an effective and efficient advice and casework service to women affected by VAWG. The responsibilities include working on the advice line on a rota-basis and providing accurate advice, support, advocacy and casework to women and girls affected by all forms of VAWG as well as professionals. The role also includes supporting and supervising our volunteers on the line. Ensuring the duty inbox is checked and the referrals are processed.

About You

If you demonstrate commitment, innovation, passion, non-judgemental and collaboration, you’ll thrive in our diverse feminist team of professional women. 

Ideal candidates will:

• Have a sound understanding of practical, emotional, social and economic issues affecting survivors of domestic and sexual abuse.

• Have in depth knowledge and confidentially advising on a range of options including safe housing, criminal justice, civil remedies

• Have sound knowledge of adult and children safeguarding

• Have excellent written and verbal communication skills

• Thrive on working under pressure, prioritising workload and crisis management

• Have a sensitive and non-judgemental approach when working with vulnerable clients

• Be experienced in risk assessment, management and safety planning

• Have experience of line managing staff and/or setting up new projects

• Ideally CAADA/safe lives/women’s Aid IDVA or DAPA qualified, or willingness to study.

In return, we offer great employee benefits including three per cent employer pension contribution, generous holiday entitlement and a focus on learning and development.

Solace Women’s Aid values diversity, promotes equality and challenges discrimination. We encourage and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds.