Senior Support Worker - Domestic Violence

We are Hestia. We make a difference.

At Hestia, we live by our values and are committed to a more equitable, diverse, and inclusive organisation that provides a variety of services such as Domestic Abuse, Modern Slavery, Mental Health & Complex Needs and Criminal Justice. We are committed to empower people to rebuild their lives and regain independence.

The service you will work in .

Our service provides immediate high quality trauma informed support and advice to victims of domestic abuse. We link service users to longer term community support as well as providing hospital staff with training and advice. This role is Hospital based in Slough.

A day in this role looks like .

As a Senior Hospital Based Independent Domestic Violence Adviser at Hestia, you will play a crucial role in our Domestic Abuse Service. Your contributions will directly influence the lives of our service users, guiding them towards a path of empowerment and independence.

A day will never look the same and some of the things you can expect to do/be responsible for are:

• Provide practical and emotional support to victims of domestic abuse and other gender based violence. This includes supporting and signposting Trust staff who are victims of abuse.
• Establish the risks to the survivors using DASH-RIC and other tools and methods, to safety and support plan jointly with the service users, working directly with all key partner agencies including Multi-agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) process.
• Develop, and regularly review person-centred support plans to address individual support needs relating to domestic abuse, legal advice, housing needs, tenancy support, support of children, access to learning or employment dependent on the individual's aspirations and needs.
• Create and provide a detailed discharge plan for those people experiencing Domestic Abuse and ensure that this is communicated to the appropriate services and individuals at discharge to reduce the risk of re admission.
• Ensure that all safeguarding requirements are met in line with organisational, local and legal procedures, which includes working closely with the Safeguarding Adult and Children Team.
• Identify, develop and deliver training and on-going support to staff at the Trust by introducing frequent Domestic Abuse professional development sessions through range of methods including briefing sessions, workshops, drop in sessions.
• Be an ambassador for Hestia, working in partnership with other agencies to ensure an effective, coordinated community response to survivors of Domestic Violence and their children.
• Attend meetings or forums addressing the needs of the service users and children who have experienced domestic abuse and other gender-based violence.
• Ensure that the Lone Working policy is adhered to and all staff members have a risk assessment in place.
• Provide written reports and verbal representation to internal and external stakeholders when required.

Why Hestia?

Joining Hestia means more than just a job; it's an opportunity to be part of something bigger. We offer a supportive, inclusive and resolution driven work environment where your contributions are recognised and valued. As a member of our team, you will have the chance to grow both personally and professionally while making a lasting impact on the lives of those we serve.

We are looking for candidates who bring a combination of passion, expertise, and dedication to the table. To excel in this role, you should possess:

• Excellent knowledge of the impact of domestic abuse and other gender based abuse on survivors and their children.
• Experience of providing emotional and practical support to survivors of domestic abuse and other gender based violence
• Ability to build positive relationships with the service users and to work in a non-judgmental way and non-directive way to empower the service users to
  achieve their goals and aspirations.
• Experience of risk assessing, safety and support planning for the survivors of domestic and other gender based violence.
• Working knowledge of the relevant housing law and welfare benefits that apply to survivors and their children using the service.
• Knowledge of legal remedies and welfare benefits available to survivors experiencing Domestic Violence and other gender-based forms of violence/abuse.
• Experience of working within a multi-agency setting while developing strong links.
• Knowledge and experience of participating in the MARAC process.
• Experience and ability to design and deliver specialist DA training to relevant professionals within the Trust.
• Knowledge and understanding of safeguarding issues and ability to address them appropriately.
• Evidence of being able to work effectively and be calm and resilient under pressure.
• Highly developed interpersonal, written and oral communication skills and ability to manage complex tasks in clearly defined time frames (including accurate records, reports, case notes and interpersonal communication).

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

Our services users come from all walks of life and so do we. We hire great people from a wide variety of backgrounds because it makes us stronger. We are committed to creating and maintaining a diverse and inclusive workforce and value the skills, abilities, talent and experiences, different people and communities bring to our organisation.

We are a disability confident employer

Hestia is a disability confident employer, committed to the employment and career development of individual with disabilities. As part of this commitment, we operate a guaranteed interview scheme for all applicants with disabilities who meet the minimum criteria for the role they have applied for. We will also accommodate reasonable adjustment during the selection and interview process and throughout your employment with us.