Women\'s Safe to Serve Specialist Social Worker

This post is open to female applicants only as being female is deemed to be a genuine occupational requirement in accordance with the Equality Act 2010 (Schedule 9, Part 1).

As the Specialist Social Worker, you will lead the “Serving Women, Never Battle Alone” initiative. This pioneering project provides personalised, confidential advice, practical and emotional support, and advocacy for serving women in the military who are experiencing bullying, harassment, or sexual abuse. The service is available across the UK and open to women in both the Regular and Reservist Armed Forces.

The project is a brand-new service and will be a UK wide first for the Armed Forces. You will have the ability to shape a service that offers a specific service to females in the military, using data and ongoing casework to enhance support structures and ensure that women are truly ‘Safe to Serve’.

The role will involve travel to deliver in-person support to individuals accessing the service, which may include emotional and physical assistance in engaging with relevant authorities, in line with their wishes.

As the Specialist Social Worker, you will be responsible for delivering support and guidance through a Single Point of Contact (SPOC), responding to serving women who reach out to the service, and raising awareness and understanding of the initiative both within SSAFA and among external stakeholders.

The role sits within the Social Care Directorate, under the broader Safeguarding Team, and reports directly to the Principal Safeguarding Officer (PSO). While you will be the sole practitioner delivering the project, you will have ongoing support from the PSO. Additionally, the Specialist Social Worker will sit on SSAFA’s Safeguarding Board who meet quarterly.

The role involves collaboration with a range of stakeholders, including the Ministry of Defence (MOD), individual service branches, wider SSAFA teams, and other charitable organisations.

We are seeking a qualified and experienced social worker to take on this important role within SSAFA. Ideally, you will have a background in supporting individuals affected by trauma, experience within military environments or safeguarding teams, and a solid understanding of relevant legislation, policies, and best practice in these areas.

Strong communication, interpersonal, and organisational skills are essential, along with a positive, adaptable, and creative approach to problem-solving.

SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity is a trusted source of support for the Armed Forces community in their time of need. In 2024 our trained teams of volunteers and employees helped more than 54,000 people, including veterans, serving personnel (regulars and reserves) and their families.

SSAFA understands that behind every uniform is a person. And we are here for that person and their family, any time they need us and in any way, they need us.

SSAFA exists to support a diverse range of beneficiaries within the armed forces community, and we believe diversity within our teams is key to ensuring we can deliver our services effectively. We thrive on differences and believe it is critical to our success as a worldwide charity. SSAFA is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace that seeks to recruit, develop and retain the most talented people from a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We therefore encourage applications from all genders, races, religions, ages and sexual orientations, as well as parents, veterans, people living with disabilities, and any other groups that could bring diverse perspectives to our business.

SSAFA is committed to using the Disclosure & Barring Service to ensure we, as an employer, safeguard those we serve.

If you have any queries or would like to speak to someone about this role, please contact Heather Hammett for an informal discussion. No agencies please. Any unsolicited submissions from agencies will be accepted as a direct application from the candidate and no fees will be payable.

For more information and to apply, please click on the Apply button. If you need any adjustments to support you with the application process, please contact us.

Closing date: Midnight on Sunday 16 November 2025. SSAFA reserves the right to close the vacancy early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications. Interviews: Week Commencing 23 November 2025.