Main duties:    
Develop joint personal recovery plans with VOICES clients, with named routes and goals for recovery from the impacts of domestic abuse, whether historic or current.

Identify and assess risks, needs and wishes of people impacted by domestic abuse, using appropriate assessment tools where relevant.

Facilitate access to groups - addressing any barriers to supporting clients, to maximise the positive impact of group work and peer support for clients.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Work with people impacted by historic or current domestic abuse to help them access services to keep themselves and their children safe and to recover and thrive after abuse.
• Manage a case load ensuring that each client receives the appropriate service tailored to their needs and wishes
• Advocate for people impacted by domestic abuse with agencies who can address their needs and wishes, by:
• Understanding the role of all relevant statutory and non-statutory services available to those impacted by domestic abuse and how your role fits into them.
• Providing advocacy, emotional, practical and trauma-informed support and information including that relating to legal options, housing, health and finance.
• Working directly with all key agency partners to challenge barriers to support and to further recovery goals
• Support the empowerment of clients and assist them in recognizing the features and dynamics of domestic abuse
• Promote and support survivor consultation in research and training, being mindful that safety and recovery of clients is always paramount.
• Understand the value of multi-agency working practices.
• In accordance with VOICES case management policy, being proactive with your line manager in carrying out periodic case reviews, with regard to risk management, VOICES’ ethos of trauma-informed working and client’s own joint personal recovery plan.
• Include and abide by current COVID-19 Health and Safety guidelines to keep clients and staff safe. Work creatively to provide services, e.g using outside spaces or remote support if preferred by clients.
• Feed back into monitoring and action plans re. progress, signposting or closure of cases.
• Provide feedback to clients and agencies.
• Help maintain accurate and confidential case management records and databases and contribute to monitoring information for VOICES.
• Comply with data protection legislation, confidentiality and information sharing policy and procedures and all legislation connected to your work.
• Support colleagues and partner agencies through awareness raising and institutional advocacy, to promote and provide the best possible service for those impacted by domestic abuse, and their active role within services and policy.
• Respect and value diversity and equality, recognising the needs and concerns of a diverse range of people impacted by domestic abuse and ensuring the service is accessible for all.
• Remain up to date and compliant with all organisational procedures, policies and professional codes of conduct and uphold standards of best practice.
• Engage with clinical and case management supervision provided by VOICES
• Be able to work within a small team responding to the needs of the charity, staff and clients with the ability to be flexible about tasks. 

Person specification

Knowledge
You are required to:

• Understand the nature of trauma and be able to apply this understanding when working with people impacted by domestic abuse, and/or be willing to complete relevant training.
• Have a good understanding of domestic abuse including the impact on victims, children, family and friends.
• Have an awareness and be willing to learn more about the civil and criminal justice remedies for victims of domestic abuse and their children
• Understand child protection and safeguarding issues and the legal responsibilities related to these.
• Understand the principles of risk assessment, safety planning and risk management for adults and children impacted by domestic abuse.
• Be aware of the remits and resources of relevant statutory bodies and voluntary agencies
• Understand and be committed to equal opportunities and diversity issues in policy and practice. 

Experience
You are required to have experience of:

• Working with vulnerable people in a support or advocacy role, to include assessments, support planning, and referrals to other agencies.
• Managing a caseload
• Working within a multi-agency and legislative framework
• Group work experience and awareness of the benefits of peer support is desirable

Skills/Qualifications

You are required to:

• Have computer literacy skills and have some experience of working with databases.
• Have excellent communication, negotiation and advisory skills, both written and verbal when interacting with a range of agencies and individuals. 
• Have the ability to maintain accurate records.
• Knowledge of the Benefits and Housing system is desirable.
• Qualifications related to social work, youth work, psychology or counselling, which would all be relevant to this role, would be desirable.

Personal qualities
You are required to:

• Be collaborative, compassionate and non-judgemental in working with people impacted by domestic abuse. 
• Show initiative and be proactive when managing your case load and interacting with your clients and agencies you’re working with. 
• Act with integrity and respect when working with all clients, agencies and individuals.
• Work flexibly as part of a team. 
• Be optimistic about the possibility of personal growth and change. 
• Motivate individuals and agencies to move through courses of action and decision-making processes
• Be committed to a strengths-based approach to working with clients. 

EEDI statement
VOICES is a fully supportive of equality, equity, diversity and inclusion in the workplace and encourages applications from qualified people with protected characteristics and/or lived experience of domestic abuse.

Funding for this role is provided by the B&NES Public Health Covid-19 Contain Outbreak Management Fund (COMF).