Vulnerable victims advocate jobs in walkden, greater manchester

We have an exciting opportunity for a Homicide Family Caseworker to join our team. The team you will be joining within the Homicide Service covers the North West and Wales. This position is for the Merseyside area also covering Cheshire and North Wales, working 37.5 hours a week and applicants should live within one of these areas.

Do you want the unique opportunity to work in a fast-paced service, delivering exceptional support to families bereaved by and witness to homicide, coordinating a tailored package of support to service users and their families?

Would you enjoy working closely with Police Major Crime teams providing briefings on the work we do in the Homicide Service (HS)?

If yes, then we'd love to hear from you.

What we offer:

At Victim Support we believe in attracting & retaining the best people and offer a competitive rewards & benefits package including:

• Flexible working options including hybrid working
• 28 days annual leave plus Bank Holidays, rising to 33 days plus Bank Holidays
• An extra day off for your birthday & options to buy or sell annual leave
• Pension with 5% employer contribution
• Enhanced sick pay allowances, maternity & paternity payments
• High Street, retail, holiday, gym, entertainment & leisure discounts
• Access to our financial wellbeing hub & salary deducted finance
• Employee assistance programme & wellbeing support
• Access to EDI networks and colleague cafes
• Cycle to work scheme & season ticket loans
• Ongoing training & support with opportunities for career development & progression

About the role:

You will be joining a passionate and committed team who provide high quality and bespoke support to service users. We pride ourselves on exceptional trauma informed advocacy and support to all service users.

You will be driven to make a difference every day with the ability to focus on the needs of vulnerable service users. You will have resilience and adaptability; understand the importance of professional boundaries; have excellent listening skills and the ability to demonstrate empathy. You will enjoy the challenge of a busy caseload and will be able to demonstrate the excellent organisation skills essential to managing a demanding and diverse workload.

Once in post you will benefit from the mandatory comprehensive training programme which will build on your existing skills and experience to prepare you for the role. Homicide Service training includes, criminal justice process; trauma informed approach to support; supporting traumatically bereaved families; personal and professional resilience.

As a trained Homicide Family Caseworker you will be responsible for managing your own complex caseload to the highest quality standards.

You will need to be able to travel to home visits within, and occasionally outside of area, and therefore a driving license and use of a car are essential. You will be reimbursed for all travel costs.

Please read carefully the attached Job Description and Person Specification for further details, this is essential for your application.

You will need:

• Understanding of the impact of crime on victims.
• Effective verbal and written communication skills.
• Proven track record of successfully delivering services and working directly within a statutory, voluntary or multi agency setting(s).
• Ability to balance competing needs and priorities.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• A successful track record of building effective working relationships across internal and external stakeholders

This role involves regular travel and due to the location, a driving license and access to a vehicle is considered an essential requirement. If you are unable to drive because of a disability please indicate this in your application in your personal statement so we can explore the feasibility of alternative arrangements.

About Us:

Victim Support (VS) is an independent charity providing a range of specialist services to people who have been affected by crime across England and Wales. We work towards a world where there are fewer victims but who have stronger rights, better support and a real influence in the Criminal Justice System. Everyone at VS is driven by our Vision Ambitions and Values to play their part in making a difference for those who experience crime and traumatic events. Working for VS gives you the opportunity to play a key role in a national charity providing high quality services to victims and witnesses and being a vital force for change.

Victim Support are committed to recruiting with care and to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Background checks and Disclosed Barring Service checks may be required.

Victim Support strives to represent the diverse communities we serve and are passionate about creating an environment where all staff and volunteers feel respected and heard. Being a diverse organisation with an inclusive culture is integral to us being able to meet our aim of ensuring that anyone who is a victim of crime gets the support they need.

As part of our commitment to the Race at Work Charter we particularly welcome applicants from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. VS is also a Disability Confident Employer and we provide a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for candidates that are disabled and meet all essential criteria for a role.

If you have a disability, a learning difficulty such as dyslexia or a medical condition which you believe may affect your performance during any aspect of our selection process, we'll be happy to make reasonable adjustments to enable you to perform at your best.

How to apply:

To apply for this role please follow the link below to the Jobs page on our website and complete the application form demonstrating how you meet the essential shortlisting criteria.

We look forward to hearing from you.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early, if we receive enough suitable applications to take forward to interview prior to the published closing date.

If you have already registered & started an application, then we will contact you to advise of the amended closing date wherever possible.

Respect is the UK charity stopping perpetrators of domestic abuse. We want a world where everyone is free from domestic abuse. Where it is never ok to control, harm or cause fear. Where those who perpetrate domestic abuse are stopped, held to account and given the chance to change. We will not stop, until domestic abuse stops. Founded in 2000 by Jo Todd CBE, who is still at the helm, Respect was established to focus on perpetrators of domestic abuse, and this, including our vital work with young people who cause harm, remains our key priority. Alongside this work, we deliver expert support to male victims of domestic abuse. Everything we do is shaped and driven by our values: we are pioneering, collaborative, accountable, and respectful.

This role is based within the Drive Partnership and be part of the pilot for the roll out of the positive requirement element of the DAPO’s.

We would particularly welcome applications from individuals from a wide range of backgrounds and across all protected characteristics1, particularly from people from the following under-represented groups:

• Black and minoritised people 

• Disabled people

We always welcome and support applications from those who have personal experience of domestic abuse.

About The Drive Partnership

The Drive Partnership, formed by Respect, SafeLives and Social Finance, is working to transform the national response to perpetrators of domestic abuse. We work to end domestic abuse and protect victims by disrupting, challenging, and changing the behaviour of those who are causing harm. Together we have developed the Drive Project to address a gap in work with high-harm, high-risk perpetrators of domestic abuse. We also work to advocate for systems and policy change- to develop sustainable, national systems that respond more effectively to all perpetrators of domestic abuse.

 The Drive Partnership vision 

Our vision is that by 2026 there will be a consistent approach which sees agencies in all PCC and local authority areas across England and Wales – backed by national leaders – working together to disrupt abuse and change behaviour to increase safety for victim survivors, including children and families.

Our Focus  

Respect was founded to focus on perpetrators of domestic abuse and this, including our vital work with young people who cause harm, is our key priority. Our work with male victims is an important, distinct, project.   

Our Vision   

We want a world where everyone is free from domestic abuse. Where it is never ok to control, harm or cause fear. Where those who perpetrate domestic abuse are stopped, held to account and given the chance to change.   

Our Mission  

We work with our members, partners and allies to stop the harms done by those who perpetrate domestic abuse. With innovative practice, robust research and quality data, we build evidence of what works, promote safe, effective practice and drive high standards. We use our voice, in collaboration with others, to call for a response to domestic abuse that matches the scale of the problem. We will not stop, until domestic abuse stops.   

Our Values  

• Pioneering:  We explore innovative ideas and develop new approaches with curiosity and rigour  

• Collaborative:  We work in partnership with our members, partners and allies to bring about individual, societal and systems change  

• Accountable:  We listen to survivors and centre their needs in our work. We hold perpetrators to account for their behaviour and hold ourselves and our members accountable for ours  

• Respectful:  We live up to our name. We are committed to equity, diversity and inclusion in all that we do. We are honest, compassionate and boldly challenge injustice  

Our way of working

Partnership is fundamental to our way of working. We are second-tier organisation focusing on the continuous improvement of service models, sharing best practice and supporting specialist service providers to deliver. 

 We have three core strands of work: 

The Drive Project is our flagship intervention working with high-harm, high-risk and serial perpetrators of domestic abuse to prevent their abusive behaviour and protect victims. The Drive Project challenges perpetrators to change and works with partner agencies – like the police and social services – to disrupt abuse. It is currently being delivered in 9 police force areas. 

Restart is an innovative pilot project providing earlier intervention for families experiencing domestic abuse. It brings together domestic abuse services, children’s social care and housing teams to identify and respond to patterns of domestic abuse at an earlier stage. Restart is currently being delivered in five London Boroughs.  

The Drive National Systems Change programme works across the domestic abuse specialist sector, public sector partners and beyond to develop sustainable, national systems that respond to all perpetrators of domestic abuse.  We identify systemic gaps and build solutions that keep survivors safer by addressing those causing harm.

Background for the role

In April 2021 the Domestic Abuse Act received Royal Assent. The Act introduces a new civil Domestic Abuse Protection Notice (DAPN) to provide immediate protection following a domestic abuse incident, and a new civil Domestic Abuse Protection Order (DAPO) to provide flexible, longer-term protection for victims. DAPOs can impose both prohibitions and positive requirements on perpetrators. Positive requirements can be in the form of interventions aimed at reducing and managing risk, meeting the needs of an individual (for the factors that are not the causation of abuse but impact on risk e.g. mental ill health, substance misuse) and behaviour change interventions.

We were commissioned by the Home Office to design a triage model that will assess individuals for the suitability of these interventions, this triage model launched in November 2024 and will be tested and evaluated in order to prepare for national roll out in 2026.

 Purpose:   

The DAPO Service Manager will manage the operational, and strategic delivery of the DAPO team pilot working closely with the Practice and Development Lead and Programme Manager.

The postholder will have responsibility for managing all DAPO triage teams who are working locally and remotely in the DAPO pilot sites.

This role will require 

a) the effective line management of Triage Team Leaders (who in turn manage triage workers and IDVAs), in providing a high-quality frontline service triaging DAPO referrals for positive requirements

b) the development and maintenance of a multi-agency infra structure that actively engages with the triage team and the triage process 

c) working with the Practice and Development Lead and Programme Manager to ensure safe and effective delivery of the DAPO pilot triage process. 

d) support the development of the DAPO triage model through learning and analysis of the pilot delivery e.g. to initiate, develop, maintain and monitor multi-agency links through procedures and protocols, and to keep safety central to all services for perpetrators and victims of domestic abuse.   

For further information, please review the job description.