Independent Domestic Sexual Violence Adviser

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 is fully inclusive and provides support for all survivors age 16+ of all genders and identities.  The primary aim of the service is to offer a person centred approach offering choices and enabling survivors to access support to increase their safety. The service is accessible from a number of co locations sites in Newham.

A day in this role looks like….

As an Independent Domestic Violence Adviserat Hestia, you will play a crucial role in our Domestic Abuse Support 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:

• To address the safety of victims at high risk of harm from intimate partners, ex-partners or family members to secure their safety and the safety of their children.
• Provide a single point of access to males and females at all levels of risk, aiming to return calls within 24 hours.
• Ensure completion of DASH risk assessments are completed for survivors.
• Ensure that written ‘Individual Safety and Support Plans are written following completion of DASH.
• Ensure victims assessed as highest risk are supported through the MARAC process through personal attendance at MARAC meetings and present their cases.
• To work towards key outcomes; to increase feelings of safety, to decrease feelings of fear, to increase the feeling of ‘quality of life', to increase the feeling of confidence.
• Provide flexible focused support for vulnerable service users.
• To 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.
• Support victims at the point of crisis identifying a range of options available, including access to civil or criminal legal routes, housing options, social welfare benefits and safety planning.
• To advocate for and on behalf of the service users with external agencies where appropriate in order to meet the service users needs.
• To create and provide a detailed safety plan for those people experiencing Domestic Abuse and ensure that this is communicated to the appropriate services and make relevant referrals at discharge to reduce the risks.
• Target intensive support for victims identified as medium to high risk by the DASH Risk Assessment and risk assessment based on professional judgement.
• Signpost and target casework and volunteer support for victims identified as medium to lower risk by the DASH Risk Assessment and risk assessment based on professional judgement.
• Make appropriate adult and child safeguarding referrals when safeguarding issues are raised.
• To 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.
• To ensure that the Lone Working policy is adhered to and all staff members have a risk assessment in place.
• Together with the Service Manager adopt a collaborative approach to create a truly co-produced service, ensuring that the service users are fully involved in the review, planning and delivery of the service.

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:

• 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 nondirective 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.
• Awareness of risks associated with domestic violence in a working environment.
• Experience of working within a multi-agency setting.
• Ability to develop and cultivate strong multiagency links.
• Experience and ability to design and deliver specialist DA training to relevant professionals within the Trust.
• Experience of promoting and developing service user involvement/co – production.
• Ability to work confidently on own initiative.
• Evidence of being able to work effectively and be calm and resilient under pressure.
• Previous experience of using computer-based systems to accurately record work.

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.