Advance

Who we are

Organisation Overview

Advance is a national women's organisation established in 1998 which empowers women and girls to lead safe, violence-free, equal lives so that they can flourish in the community. We do this through our mission of saving and changing lives, by working with women who experience domestic abuse to be safe and lead the lives they choose, and women who have committed crime or are at risk of offending to break the cycle.

Our approach is holistic and centred on the survivor, working with them to develop a safety and support plan that responds to their needs and empowers them, on the often-long journey to recovery from the trauma of their experiences. Our services reach over 8000 women and children annually across England, with an annual income of £6m and 125 staff. Our values are to listen, empowerment, collaboration, innovation and accountability.

Advance evokes systemic change by engaging with professionals within statutory agencies, including commissioners and policymakers, to deliver sustainable impact for women. Through a coordinated community response, we work in partnership with over twenty charities, as well as regional and national government to develop innovative responses and influence policy.

Why work for us

We are an innovative and award-winning organisation, led by and for women. You can become part of the Advance team, and join our life-saving and life-changing work, supporting women and children to cope and recover from suffering domestic abuse and those who are at risk of offending or with short term sentences, to rebuild their lives and keep families together.

We recruit people who are passionate about what we do and support them to ensure we are a team that is motivated and committed to learning and sharing.

In 2021 95% of staff who took part in our employee engagement survey said they are proud to be working at Advance and 91% enjoyed their work and felt involved.

We are committed to developing all of our staff via routes such as secondments, transfers and promotion. Since April 2021, 31% of our vacancies were filled by internal promotion or moves.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are central to the organisation's values and how we work and we are proud of our commitment to diversity and inclusion. We are creating Diversity Network groups to support staff from different backgrounds so they are able to be their best selves.

Our culture and values

Listen and support

We listen without judgement, supporting women and girls to openly express themselves and to better understand their experiences and options available.

Empower

We empower women and girls to make their own informed decisions so that they can lead the lives they choose and we respect their choices.

Innovate 

We innovate, while managing risks, through our passion for continuous learning and developing solutions for new  challenges.

Collaborate 

Within and outside the organisation to maximize our shared knowledge and bring greater impact to the women and girls we support.

Accountability 

We are accountable and deliver high quality services, through our expertise, our collaborative and proactive approach, which enable better outcomes for women and girls.

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy

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.