Director Of Services

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 aDirector of Services

Salary: From £65,000

Location: Hammersmith with travel to different delivery sites as required

Hours: 35 Hours per week

Contract: Permanent

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 and Prison Vetting.

Thank you for your interest in joining us as the next Director of Services at Advance. The Director of services will provide senior strategic leadership for all Advance front-line services, including overseeing our criminal justice work, domestic abuse service delivery and young women and girls’ programmes.

We are a community-based organisation who lead in best practice approaches to supporting women. Everything we do is driven by our six founding principles:

• By and for women
• For young women and girls
• Justice for Women
• Wrap around Community Support
• Collaboration and Partnership
• Systems Change

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:

As the Director of Services, you will provide senior strategic leadership for all Advance services across London, East and South England, including our Domestic abuse services, Criminal Justice services and Women’s Centres, Diversion services, Young Women’s services and other work which compliments the mission and values of Advance.

The Director of Services will be responsible for building and maintaining strong relationships and engagement with voluntary and statutory partners, funders and commissioners. Working alongside the CEO, Directors and Trustees, the post holder will be responsible for developing and delivering high quality services aligned with Advance’s strategic aims. Representing the organisation externally on services’ groups, events and conferences, the post holder will support the development of the organisation’s strategic plans to ensure the sustainability, development, and excellence in the delivery of the services to the communities we serve.

The post holder will work to adhere to and develop quality systems, lead, motivate and inspire passionate and dedicated teams of staff and volunteers and develop policies as part of the senior leadership team to ensure strong systems and working practices across Advance. They will also work closely with the Advance board, reporting to and participating in relevant sub-committees, to ensure effective governance.

To be successful as the Director of Services you’ll need the below experience and skills:

• A proven track record of senior leadership in providing services to women experiencing violence and abuse, women in contact with the criminal justice system or similar social care or social justice services
• Exemplary relationship and networking skills, experience of developing and maintaining strong partnerships and stakeholder relationships.
• Thorough knowledge of safeguarding adults and child protection issues
• An excellent understanding of management and quality assurance processes and systems such as Women’s Aid accreditation framework.
• Experience of managing and working within budgets and of tendering/fundraising processes.
• Ability to lead by example, inspire and motivate teams and manage a complex workload.

We recognise that women often only apply to roles if they meet 100% of the criteria. We encourage you to demonstrate how your skills and experience would make you an asset to the role, and if you don’t have the exact skills/experience, tell us in your cover letter how you think you might grow and develop in the role.

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: Wednesday 3 April 2024 @23:59.
• First stage interview taking place on 17 April 2024.

*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   

**************************************************************

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.