Advocate (Violence Against Women And Girls)

 Are you looking for a dynamic and rewarding role working for an organisation with the feminist agenda at the core of its ethos? Then Advance Charity could be the career choice for you!

We are looking for a Mentor Advocate 

Salary:                 £27,000 - £32,000 

Location:             Based in Advance’s offices, with some travel required to support service provision across London Boroughs of Hammersmith, Newham, Tower Hamlets, Hackney, Camden, Islington and Westminster Brent

Hours:                 35 Hours per week (core hours 9 am - 5pm and  11am - 7pm required)

Contract:            Fixed Term Contract – until December 2025 (possibility to extend)

This post is open to female applicants only as being female is deemed to be a genuine occupational requirement under Schedule 9, Paragraph 1 of the Equality Act 2010.  

Please note: Any offer of employment will be made subject to references, confirmation of the right to work in the UK, and satisfactory enhanced DBS check. This role is also subject to Police Vetting.

About us 

Advance is an award-winning and innovative women-only organisation, established in 1998, providing emotional and practical support to Women and Girls survivors of domestic abuse and supporting women with short-term sentences to reduce offending.   We believe in empowering Women and Girls to lead safe, non-violent, equal lives so that they can flourish and contribute to the community.  

We are a community-based organisation who lead in best practice approaches to supporting women in their local community. We achieve this by being available to meet and support women in local settings and at our women’s centres, and by working in close partnership with other agencies. 

Our values are to listen and support, to empower and respect, collaboration, innovation, and accountability.   

About the role:

This is an exciting time for a Young Women & Girls Mentor Advocate to join Advance as we embark on our journey to reach even more young Women and Girls in need of support. In recognition of the distinct challenges facing young Women and Girls (YWG), Advance has developed and delivered specialist provision for YWG and has recently been awarded funding to develop the Maia & LIFT programme in partnership with three other specialist organisations – Chance UK, Working Chance and Woman’s Trust. Advance are delivering the Maia service – a dedicated service to enable YWG (aged 13 to 25) at risk of domestic abuse, exploitation and offending to escape harm and thrive in their lives and aspirations. 

About You: 

To be successful as the Mentor Advocate you will need the below experience and skills: 

You will bring your experience and ability to work intensively with a selected cohort of YWG (aged 13-25), providing centre-based and outreach services and adopting a YWG-centred, strengths-based approach to deliver a range of support and interventions designed to: increase awareness and understanding of healthy relationships; reduce risk and increase feelings of safety; build self-confidence and confidence in professionals and support services; and empower YWG to assert their rights and make choices about future goals. Confidently and sensitively bring the ability to proactively assess risks and safety concerns, raising concerns with the Maia Service Manager, ensuring that, where possible, concerns are discussed openly with YWG, working within local safeguarding frameworks and taking appropriate action to safeguard YWG whilst working within a model of empowerment.

You will have a strong understanding of the challenges facing vulnerable YWG including issues related to Violence Against Women and Girls and/or the criminal justice system, and experience of community engagement, advocacy and support work with young people and experience of using motivational interviewing and coaching techniques, with the ability to demonstrate a YWG-centred approach to building trust and rapport. 

How to apply:

Please submit your up-to-date CV with a supporting statement. Please note that only applications made via the job advert on the Advance careers page, and those that include a cover letter will be considered. 

• Closing Date for Applications: Sunday 24 February 2024@ 23:59
• Interviews are taking place on a rolling basis

*Advance reserves the right to close the advert early, or on the appointment of a candidate.

What we can offer you - Employee Benefits: 

• A 35-hour working week
• An exceptional 30 days of paid holiday per year (pro rata for part time), PLUS public holidays on top (that's nearly 40 days paid holiday per year!) 
• Additional days off to celebrate International Women’s Day, and for religious observance and moving home
• Perkbox - an employee discount platform where you can receive free rewards as well as take advantage of savings on clothes, groceries, travel, leisure and more
• Pension scheme
• Enhanced maternity/adoption provision
• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme
• Employee eye-care scheme
• Clinical supervision for front line staff and first line management roles
• Refer a Friend Scheme - £250 for each referral who passes probation
• Organisation wide away days
• Thorough induction and training
• Career development pathways 

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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.

Safeguarding

Advance is committed to safeguarding and creating a culture of zero-tolerance of harm and expects all staff, including volunteers to share this commitment. We believe all individuals have the right to live their life free from violence and abuse and the right to feel and be safe.  We have a suite of safeguarding policies, procedures and practice guidance, accessible to all staff, which promotes safeguarding and safer working practices across all our services and activities. When we recruit staff, we follow rigorous safer recruitment practices, this involves carrying out pre-employment checks including references, Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks, and identity checks.  We ensure all staff undertake mandatory safeguarding training relevant to their role and responsibilities, to empower them to be competent and feel confident in recognising and responding appropriately to safeguarding issues and promote wellbeing.