Caseworker in Preston, Lancashire

We have an exciting opportunity for a Domestic Abuse Caseworker to join the team in Preston, working 37.5 hours a week. Do you want to make a difference every day? Do you want to contribute to change & improvement for those who need it? Do you have resilience & adaptability? Can you work effectively with a focus on customer service and care? If yes, then we would love to hear from you.

What we offer:

• Flexible working options including hybrid working
• 28 days annual leave plus Bank Holidays, rising to 33 days plus Bank Holidays
• An extra day off for your birthday & options to buy or sell annual leave
• Pension with 5% employer contribution
• Enhanced sick pay allowances, maternity & paternity payments
• High Street, retail, holiday, gym, entertainment & leisure discounts
• Access to our financial wellbeing hub & salary deducted finance
• Employee assistance programme & wellbeing support
• Access to EDI networks and colleague cafes
• Cycle to work scheme & season ticket loans
• Ongoing training & support with opportunities for career development & progression

About the role:

This role is based at Preston. Once your probation period is completed you will be eligible to apply for hybrid working. All travel costs to and from appointments from your office base will be reimbursed.

As a Domestic Abuse Caseworker, you will be focusing on victims of domestic abuse and will provide a pro-active, short to medium term crisis intervention service, through individual safety planning, advocacy, emotional and practical support. This will include supporting victims either face to face or over the telephone to assist them in accessing services to keep them and their family safe. It will involve developing individual safety plans to meet client’s needs as identified in the needs and risk assessment. You will provide advocacy, emotional and practical support and information to victims including exploration of legal and civil options, housing, health and finance and support clients through the criminal justice system.

You will participate fully in multi-agency meetings by being the voice of the client and follow up actions agreed in meetings keeping the client’s safety at the forefront of proceedings.

You will need to:

• Have a good understanding of domestic abuse including the impact of domestic abuse on victims and their children.
• Understand the principles of risk assessment, safety planning and risk management for victims of domestic abuse and their children.
• Understand Safeguarding issues, and the legal responsibilities surrounding these issues.
• Have theoretical, practical and procedural knowledge of civil and criminal justice remedies for victims of domestic abuse and their children.
• Experience of working within a multi-agency and legislative framework.
• Experience of managing a complex caseload, to prioritise work and deal with competing demands demonstrating an organised and methodical approach to work.
• Have strong crisis management skills and the ability to deal with stressful and difficult situations.
• Have excellent communication, negotiation and advisory skills, both written and verbal when interacting with a range of agencies and individuals.
• Demonstrate the ability to use IT applications competently including, Microsoft Word, Excel etc. and Case Management systems in order to keep accurate records and monitoring your performance.

This role involves regular travel and due to the location, a driving license and access to a vehicle is considered an essential requirement.

About Us:

Victim Support (VS) is an independent charity providing a range of specialist services to people who have been affected by crime across England and Wales. We work towards a world where there are fewer victims but who have stronger rights, better support and a real influence in the Criminal Justice System. Everyone at VS is driven by our Vision Ambitions and Values to play their part in making a difference for those who experience crime and traumatic events. Working for VS gives you the opportunity to play a key role in a national charity providing high quality services to victims and witnesses and being a vital force for change.

Victim Support are committed to recruiting with care and to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Background checks and Disclosed Barring Service checks may be required.

Victim Support strives to represent the diverse communities we serve and are passionate about creating an environment where all staff and volunteers feel respected and heard. Being a diverse organisation with an inclusive culture is integral to us being able to meet our aim of ensuring that anyone who is a victim of crime gets the support they need. As part of our commitment to the Race at Work Charter we particularly welcome applicants from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. VS is also a Disability Confident Employer and we provide a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for candidates that are disabled and meet all essential criteria for a role.

If you have a disability, a learning difficulty such as dyslexia or a medical condition which you believe may affect your performance during any aspect of our selection process, we will be happy to make reasonable adjustments to enable you to perform at your best.

How to apply:

To apply for this role please follow the link below to the Jobs page on our website and complete the application form demonstrating how you meet the essential shortlisting criteria. We look forward to hearing from you. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early, if we receive enough suitable applications to take forward to interview prior to the published closing date. If you have already registered & started an application, then we will contact you to advise of the amended closing date wherever possible.