Sexual violence advocate jobs in Milton keynes

This role will play a pivotal role in supporting Galop to achieve its mission to support LGBT+ victims and survivors of abuse and violence in the UK. You will work alongside another Executive Assistant to provide administrative and project support to the Co-CEOs, as well as supporting the Chair of the Board, Trustees, and Senior Leadership Team as needed. You will work closely with Galop’s Co-CEOs and the wider senior team to ensure the efficient and effective running of the executive office. You will proactively manage both internal and external demands, as well as supporting the Co-CEOs with some of their key projects, such as implementation of the strategy, high-level fundraising and culture development. 

This is a remote role, with the ideal candidate being available in person in central London on an ad hoc basis. This position is part-time and we are open for this role to be undertaken in either 3 or 4 days per week, and can show flexibility with working hours.

Your duties will include: 

Executive Support & Office Management 

• Support the Co-CEOs in all aspects of their roles, including strategic inbox and diary management, workload management, coordinating and minuting meetings, ensuring they are fully briefed, and tracking action points for the Co-CEOs and Senior Leadership Team.  
• Act as an effective gatekeeper to the Co-CEOs.  
• Ensure electronic files and systems are kept up to date and effective.  
• Undertake general administrative duties for the Executive Office as required.  
• Support the wider Senior Leadership Team as required.  
• Undertake any other reasonable duties as required.  

Governance & Board Administration 

• Work closely with the Co-CEOs and Board on the organisation's governance requirements, including compiling Board and Sub-Committee papers, maintaining minutes, and managing governance documentation.  
• Coordinate Board and Sub-Committee meetings, including preparing agendas, information packs, Co-CEO reports, and taking accurate minutes.  

Strategic Planning, Projects & Performance 

• Create and maintain systems to monitor operational work against strategic objectives, ensuring regular reporting of organisational KPIs and departmental operational plans.  
• Undertake research and project management related to the Co-CEOs' programmes and activities, producing briefings, summaries, and leading projects where required.  

Stakeholder Engagement & Communications 

• Serve as a key point of contact for the Co-CEOs and Senior Leadership Team, managing internal and external enquiries professionally and liaising with corporate, political, media, non-governmental, and other stakeholders.
• Represent the Co-CEOs internally and externally as required.  

Professional Standards 

• Always maintain the highest levels of confidentiality. 
• And any other duty as required.

Please download the job description attached for further information about the role. 

Closing date is Wednesday 15 July, 10am.

This is an exciting opportunity for a new leader to guide the organisation through its next phase of development, building from a position of strength. The organisation is in the first year of a clear and ambitious three-year strategy, with a strong core team of staff and a healthy financial position.

The outgoing Executive Director was previously also the organisation’s Advocacy Director, and continued to deliver both functions within one role. For this reason the Board of Trustees is advertising the position in two configurations. Applicants are welcome to express an interest in either:

• Option A — Part-time Executive Director. A 0.6 FTE part-time post which is a leadership and management role only, and does not include delivering the advocacy activities of the organisation. These will be undertaken by a separate part-time Advocacy Director, who carries the advocacy responsibilities covered by the associated Advocacy Director job description.

• Option B — Full-time Executive Director. A single full-time post in which the successful candidate takes on both the part-time Executive Director role and the responsibilities of the part-time Advocacy Director role being advertised concurrently. The successful candidate must meet the person specification requirements of BOTH roles.

• 24 hours per week (part time)
• £35,000.a. pro rata (Actual salary £22,702.70) plus 6% pension contribution
• Remote

Rape Crisis England & Wales (RCEW) is the national campaigns and membership body for a network of independent, community-based Rape Crisis Centres working to end child sexual abuse, rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment and all other forms of sexual violence.

The 24/7 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Line is a national service led by Rape Crisis England & Wales and funded by the Ministry of Justice.

We are looking for a thoughtful, committed and experienced *professional who can lead RCEW’s approach to survivor engagement within the 24/7 Support Line in line with our values and centred in care and safety for all survivors. 

*This role is restricted to applicants who are female. This is a Genuine Occupational Requirement (GOR) in accordance with Schedule 9, Part 1 of the Equality Act 2010. Due to the nature of the role, the post holder will be required to provide direct support to women and children who have experienced sexual violence and abuse. The role involves working in women-only spaces and delivering trauma-informed services where privacy, dignity, and the ability to build trust with service users are essential. We consider that being female is an occupational requirement for this role, and that applying this requirement is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim, namely the provision of safe, appropriate, and effective support services to survivors. This requirement has been carefully considered in line with equality legislation and is applied only where it is necessary for the effective delivery of the service.

Job Summary

The Survivor Engagement and Outreach Coordinator will lead our work with survivors to ensure that the 24/7 Support Line is a supportive and an effective service.  The post holder will re-establish the service’s Survivor Reference Group (SRG) which is the lead mechanism to shape the way we design, deliver and promote the 24/7 Support Line. They will work alongside people with lived experience in a respectful and supportive way at all times and ensure that all survivor engagement is centred in care, safety and ethics.

The post holder will also lead our outreach activities connecting with other organisations to promote the 24/7 Support Line in order to build collaborations with other survivors particularly from underserved and marginalised groups of people.

The post-holder will have a proven track record of lived experience engagement, and a good understanding of latest best practice including survivor-centred and trauma informed approaches. They will have excellent people skills including emotional intelligence, strong communication and facilitation skills, and be well versed in child and adult safeguarding. They will be committed to equality, diversity and inclusion.

Key Responsibilities

Working with survivors including the Survivor Reference Group (SRG)

•  Lead on the re-establishment and effective running of the Survivor Reference Group (SRG), including recruitment, induction and session planning and delivery.
•  Develop and/or update policies, procedures and practice to inform and support a survivor-centred, and trauma informed effective running of all engagement.
• Ensure that SRG meetings are facilitated safely, inclusively, and in line with best practice in the field of survivor engagement.
• Collect qualitative insights from SRG sessions to inform service improvements, and coordinate with the service’s operational teams to ensure they shape service development.
•  Ensure survivors are informed about how their contributions have influenced service changes. Where their contributions have not been able to influence the service, be transparent as to why, and learn and reflect about how to shape the approach to balance what could be seen as extraction with advocacy.
• Identify opportunities and liaise with other relevant organisations to design and deliver ad-hoc survivor engagement sessions with groups who may not otherwise join the SRG, but who are wanting to engage in a more limited way to share their views and recommendations.
•  Work to best practice in child and adult safeguarding while also centring survivor-centred approaches in all responses. 
• Always ensuring ethical practice. This includes but is not limited to informed consent.  
• Where necessary, work in collaboration with other colleagues to prevent and respond to complex safeguarding issues; and ensure that learning from concerns and complaints inform all efforts to improve the 24/7 Support Line service.  
• Work in collaboration with other colleagues to inform and improve our approach to ethical storytelling so that our survivor engagement work including the SRG safely features in promotional materials. Ensuring ethical practice includes but is not limited to informed consent.

Outreach work to other organisations and survivors

• Liaise with colleagues and partner organisations to ensure that the most marginalised voices are represented and included  in all engagement. This may mean adopting more agile and adaptive ways of working
• Build relationships with other suitable new organisations to help promote the scope and role of SRG in the 24/7 Support Line in order to learn about other survivor engagement models and reach other  survivors.
• Deliver outreach information sessions to other organisations and community groups about the 24/7 Support Line to raise awareness amongst underserved communities.
• Work with the other staff at RCEW as necessary including those in data to interpret trends in service demographic data, and in communications to develop specific outreach and other strategies to engage survivors and which aligns with broader promotion of the service.

Synergy with the wider work of RCEW

• Participate in team meetings, cross-organisational projects, and wider organisational activities as required.
• Maintain effective communication and collaborative working relationships with colleagues across the organisation and partner network.
• Keep up to date with relevant legislation, safeguarding guidance, sector developments, and wider organisational priorities relevant to the role.

This list is indicative only, not exhaustive. It is intended to reflect a range of duties the post-holder will be expected to perform but additional duties commensurate with the role may be required. The job description will be reviewed from time to time and may change in light of experience and changing circumstances, in consultation with the post-holder. We ask all employees to uphold our organisational values, support our mission and purpose, and to maintain respectful and collaborative relationships with colleagues at all levels of the organisation.

Person Specification

• Track record in leading survivor engagement programmes of work in the violence against women and girls or other relatable sectors.
• Proven experience in facilitating lived experience groups, advisory panels or other participatory projects or programmes in an accessible and inclusive way.
• Experience in outreach, engagement and partnership working, particularly with marginalised or underserved communities.
• Practical experience of safeguarding adults and children, ensuring safe and ethical engagement preferably in the context of VAWG.
• Experience of trauma-informed principles and practice and how to apply this to service delivery and survivor engagement.
• Experience of upholding confidentiality and managing data protection when working with  vulnerable groups of people.
• Ability to respond to challenges, feedback, and survivor needs in a respectful, flexible and solution-focused way.
• Up-to-date working knowledge of best practice in lived experience engagement including in survivor-centred or survivor-led approaches.
• Extensive knowledge of the barriers survivors (particularly women) face in accessing services and lived experience opportunities, and strategies to ensure inclusivity.
• Understanding of intersectionality and how this impacts a survivor experience and their ability to access and engage with services.
• Experience of working with different groups of people including those who may require reasonable adjustments to actively participate.
• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple tasks and projects concurrently.

Personal Attributes:

• Emotionally intelligent and trauma-informed, to engage with survivors in a sensitive, non-judgemental and empowering way.
• Trustworthy and ethical, with a strong commitment to confidentiality, safeguarding and ethical engagement with lived experience groups.
• An excellent communicator, to facilitate meaningful discussions and engage sensitively and effectively with survivors, colleagues and external stakeholders
• Empathetic in their approach while also able to actively uphold professional boundaries at all times.
• Committed to inclusion and accessibility, with a passion for ensuring that all survivors have a voice in shaping service design
• Actively anti-racist and anti-oppressive in all interactions.
• A strong belief in survivor-led service development and a commitment to meaningful engagement rather than tokenism.

Success in the role of Survivor Engagement and Outreach Coordinator is determined by the ability to build trust with survivors, facilitate meaningful and ethical engagement, ensure that survivor voices influence service development, and expand outreach efforts to reach and support diverse and underserved communities. Key metrics of success include:

• There are high levels of satisfaction from members of the SRG and they feel that their involvement is meaningful and impactful.
• SRG members feel that the group and any other engagement with them is safe, accessible and inclusive.
• Outreach sessions are considered to be useful and impactful by participants.
•  All engagement is ethical and complies with good practice in safeguarding and informed consent.
• Service improvements are meaningfully shaped by survivor voice.

 Eligibility

Applicants must have the right to work in the UK. Evidence of this will be required prior to appointment.

 Additional Information

Please note: We reserve the right to close this vacancy early should we receive a sufficient number of applications. We therefore encourage interested candidates to apply as soon as possible.

Due to the volume of applications received, only candidates selected for interview will be contacted.

VIDERE

Videre is an award-winning, UK-registered NGO that exposes human rights abuses and holds perpetrators to account. We work directly with communities in stressed environments, equipping networks of activists and community leaders with the technology and training necessary to safely capture visual documentation of political violence, human rights violations, and other systemic abuses. Our aim is to ensure that the concerns and knowledge of affected communities drive advocacy, policy, and legal action.

POSITION SUMMARY

This is a critical senior role in the organisation, reporting to the Senior Director-Programming. The role is responsible for managing the organisation’s programmes across 2 locations in Sub Saharan Africa and South East Asia, line managing three people. The position provides leadership on direct programming for community-led investigations and evidence gathering as well as our CSO partnership programme in two geographies. The Head of Programmes works closely with the Senior Management Team (SMT) on critical areas including fundraising and strategic development.   

The priority for this role is the safe and high quality performance of projects. The balance between ‘doing’ and ‘managing’ in this role varies depending on available resources for each project, and the ability to create competent teams to delegate to.

Location: UK, France, Nairobi or Thailand preferred. Remote applicants considered.

Package: Pay is dependent on location.  The UK salary of £62,000 plus pension contribution will be converted using ICSC scales. All locations receive 28 days annual leave, counselling support and annual wellbeing days.

Start date: 1st September

Duration: 7 months with possibility of extension

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

Programme Leadership and Delivery

• Working closely with the Senior Director- Programming, lead the development and implementation of programme strategy and annual plans, ensuring alignment with organisational objectives and priorities.
• Provide strategic and operational leadership to the Project Teams for both direct investigations and local CSO partnerships, ensuring programmes are delivered safely, effectively and to a high standard.
• Act as a member of the Management Team, contributing to organisational planning, decision-making, continuous improvement and cross-organisational initiatives. 
• Work closely with the Senior Director – Programming and other colleagues to identify organisational risks, opportunities and areas for improvement. 
• Work closely with the Head of Development and SMT to contribute to proposal development, programme design and concept note drafting in support of organisational fundraising efforts.
• Maintain and strengthen relationships with donors and programme partners throughout the project lifecycle, supporting effective communication, reporting and programme delivery.
• Ensure all aspects of programme design and delivery promote diversity, equity, inclusion and responsible partnership practices.

Civil Society Partnerships and Capacity Strengthening

• Provide strategic oversight of the organisation’s civil society partnership portfolio and approach in two geographic areas.
• Oversee staff responsible for partnership implementation to design, implement and continuously improve partnership and capacity strengthening activities, ensuring they have the guidance, resources and support required to deliver high-quality work.
• Ensure partnership activities are aligned with programme objectives, organisational strategy and donor commitments.
• Contribute to the development of organisational methodologies, learning and good practice relating to partnership working and capacity strengthening.

People Leadership

• Lead, support and develop a high-performing, inclusive and collaborative team culture.
• Provide ongoing management, coaching and mentoring to direct reports, including through annual performance reviews and regular development conversations.
• Support staff wellbeing and duty of care, ensuring teams have access to appropriate support and resources.
• Work with managers and staff to identify and facilitate learning and professional development opportunities.

Financial Management

• Oversee programme budgets and spending strategies, ensuring resources are managed effectively and in line with organisational priorities.
• Monitor programme expenditure and forecasts, ensuring appropriate financial oversight and accountability.
• Ensure compliance with organisational financial procedures, procurement requirements and donor regulations.
• Support the development of programme budgets for new funding proposals and organisational planning processes.

Security, Risk and Compliance

• Contribute actively to organisational security and risk management processes.
• Ensure programme activities are delivered in accordance with organisational policies, security procedures and compliance requirements.
• Support teams to identify, assess and manage operational, programmatic and security risks.
• Maintain oversight of security considerations affecting staff, investigators, partners and programme participants.
• Promote a culture of risk awareness, responsible decision-making and proactive risk management.
• Ensure the safety and quality of operational practices, including data collection, information management, secure data storage and transfer.

Skills, Experience and Characteristics

Essential

• Professional writing and speaking in either English or French, with at least effective operational efficiency in the other language (B2 or above).
• Experience managing teams or individuals across multiple international locations
• An understanding of risk management methodologies and experience applying them
• An understanding of human rights and a strong belief in their indivisibility and interdependence
• Excellent project management skills, with the ability to plan, organize, and prioritize tasks effectively to meet deadlines and deliver high-quality results.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, including experience working collaboratively with multi-disciplinary teams and building relationships with stakeholders at all levels.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to communicate complex concepts clearly and effectively to diverse audiences.
• Flexibility and adaptability to work in a fast-paced and dynamic environment, with the ability to respond to changing priorities and requirements.
• Commitment to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in all aspects of work.

Preferred

• Experience with human rights research, investigations or legal cases
• Experience with filming or documentary making
• Strong technology / IT skills and/or aptitude
• Experience with fundraising or confidence in public speaking and presenting

Application Process & Timeline

• Please submit your CV (maximum two pages) and a cover letter (maximum 400 words) describing your suitability for this position.
• Applications will close on Tuesday 7th July
• Interviews will be conducted remotely.
• We intend to complete the recruitment process by 31st July
• The successful candidate should be available to start work on Tuesday 1st September.

We are committed to providing equal opportunities for everyone regardless of their background. We acknowledge that people from certain backgrounds are under-represented in the human rights sector and we are committed to doing what we can to correct this. Our goal is to be a diverse workforce that is representative, at all job levels, of the communities that we serve. Therefore, we are particularly keen to receive applications from people who identify with minority and/or underrepresented groups (whether on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, disability, age, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other legally protected status). We also value diversity in terms of personal and professional experience; believing that different ideas, perspectives and backgrounds create stronger and more creative working environments.