Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA) – male and complex needs

Vacancy ref: WIL23/21

Based within the Wiltshire Domestic Abuse Service, the IDVA teamwork within a multi-agency system to provide a proactive, person-centered independent service for victims of domestic abuse, empowering choice through informed decision making.

Key elements of the role include:

• Providing priority support to service users.
• Risk assessing and helping to keep service users safe through safety planning.
• Enabling victims to access statutory and other services.
• Engaging with and supporting the MARAC process, to ensure that the voice of victims is heard.
• Managing a caseload of high-risk victims and working proactively to support them and their families.
• To act as Duty Worker on a rota basis, answering calls from service users and professionals.

As the Male and complex needs IDVA, you will specialise in the unique needs of men and other complex or harder to reach groups, including but not limited to: substance misuse, offending history, homelessness, and mental health difficulties. Additional knowledge and responsibilities include:

• Supporting men and understanding their unique needs.
• Supporting complex cases and having an understanding of their additional needs
• Have additional knowledge of relevant complimentary services.
• Support and advocate for service user to access other relevant services for their needs.
• Develop and maintain working relationships with additional services relevant to this field.
• Ensure services and resources are appropriate and tailored to services users needs.

Main Responsibilities and Tasks

Key responsibilities:

• Provide a high-quality service to those at the highest risk.
• To provide practical and emotional support to service users, working jointly with them to carry out, implement and review needs assessments and support plans.
• To understand and work effectively within a multi-agency framework, consisting of the MARAC and local partnership responses to domestic abuse, in order to reduce the risk for service users and their families.
• Identify and assess the risks and needs of service users using an evidence-based risk identification checklist.
• Work with high-risk service users to help them access services, to keep them and their children safe.
• Advocate for high-risk service users with agencies who can help to address the domestic abuse.
• Understanding the role of all relevant statutory and non-statutory services available to service users and how your role fits into them.
• Providing information to service users in relation to legal options, housing, health, and finance.
• Working directly with all key agency partners to address the safety of high-risk service users and ensuring that their safety plans are coordinated particularly through the MARAC.
• Manage a case load ensuring each person receives the appropriate support, tailored to their needs.
• Support the empowerment of the service user – assisting people to recognise the features and dynamics of domestic abuse present in their situation and help them regain control of their lives.
• Support service users to maintain existing accommodation and to advocate on their behalf, in order to access accommodation and additional support.
• Develop and maintain working relationships with specialist agencies, both statutory and voluntary, to support those with multiple support needs.
• To recognise, respect and address the needs of service users who face barriers when seeking help to access the service, including those from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, LGBT communities, disabled people, those with complex needs and other groups which services have found difficult to reach.
• Provide practical and emotional support in relation to criminal and civil remedies, housing, health, education, employment, welfare benefits, counselling, legal aid, and children’s support.
• Accompany service users, when needed, to other relevant agencies and support them in their interactions with these agencies.
• To work alongside colleagues to deliver a whole family approach.
• Be proactive with your line manager to carry out periodic case reviews.
• Respect and value the diversity of the community in which the services work in and recognise the needs and concerns of a diverse range of survivors ensuring the service is accessible to all.
• Act as a duty worker within Wiltshire’s duty system.
• Help maintain accurate and confidential case management records and contribute to monitoring information for the service.

General

• Remain up to date and concordant with organisational procedures, policies and professional code of conduct, upholding standards of best practice.
• Attend and contribute to team meetings.
• Contribute to effective team working with a flexible and pro-active approach, including cover for other team members’ holidays and sickness where required.
• Undertake agreed training and keep updated on changes in legislation, policy, and best practice.
• To support additional duties at your team managers discretion.

Confidentiality and Data Protection

All employees must ensure that essential information of a sensitive and/or personal nature is not disclosed to, or discussed with, inappropriate persons and that all information is maintained in accordance with the GDPR and other related legislation/requirements.

Equality and Diversity

FearFree is committed to encouraging equality, diversity and inclusion among our workforce and our service users and eliminating unlawful discrimination. The aim is for our workforce to be truly representative of all sections of society and our service users, and for each employee to feel respected and able to give their best. The role has the responsibility to ensure all duties and responsibilities are carried out in a manner which promotes FearFree’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy.

Health and Safety

All individual employees are required to promote a health and safety culture within the workplace, observe all health and safety rules and procedures and attend training courses as required and where appropriate conduct risk assessments e.g. VDU, maternity, lone working, H&S audits etc.

Policies and Procedures

Responsibility for formulating, updating and monitoring relevant FearFree policies and procedures, updating manuals as and when required, ensuring that support staff have appropriate access to them and record sightings of updates.

All employees need to be aware of all FearFree’s policies and procedures and work within them at all times.

Safeguarding / Disclosure and Barring Service

FearFree is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment and bring any concerns (whether in respect of service users or members of staff) to the attention of Safeguarding leads immediately. This role will require an enhanced DBS check.