January 9, 2025
Role summary
Survivor Space is recruiting a frontline practitioner to lead and deliver a high-quality Independent Sexual Violence Advisor (ISVA) service to older adults and people with disabilities.
We are a small, forward-thinking, dynamic charity working to support survivors of sexual violence in Oxfordshire. This is a fantastic time to join Survivor Space Oxfordshire, following the successful launch of our new name and strategy in 2024.
The ideal candidate has:
• Experience of working with older adults or people with physical, learning or sensory disabilities
• An excellent understanding of sexual violence and its impacts
• Knowledge of the barriers survivors may face in accessing services
• The ability to form positive relationships with a wide range of colleagues and stakeholders
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• A driving license and access to a car (for outreach work)
Job location (usual place of work): A mixture of home based, East Oxford and outreach across Oxfordshire
Pay Rate: £27,560 rising incrementally to £31,720 with long service
Hours: 35 Hours – Full Time
Contract is: Permanent
1. Responsibilities
• Provide specialist and tailored ISVA support to survivors who are over 65; and/or who have a physical, sensory, neurodiverse or learning disability. This should include:
o Providing information and support to help service users understand and access their full legal and other rights and make informed choices about the options open to them.
o Providing practical and emotional support to service users in person and via video calls, telephone and email.
o Managing a caseload of service users (20-25 cases) and maintain case files, records and monitoring information.
o Undertaking risk and support needs assessment of service users and develop appropriate support plans.
o Helping service users access services, including making appropriate referrals and/or supporting service users to access services.
o Where appropriate, supporting carers/parents/guardians to understand trauma based behaviours and strategies to assist the person they care for.
o Providing information in relation to Criminal Injuries Compensation.
o Advocating for clients across a range of services and throughout the criminal justice system (when appropriate) and liaise with relevant agencies, ensuring service users welfare and needs and voice are central to the process.
o Providing support and facilitate access for service users who want to attend the SARC or report to the police.
o Accompanying service users to appropriate appointments, meetings and when in court.
o Helping service users develop their own support network, in line with a feminist empowerment model.
o Considering and respond to safeguarding issues when engaging with service users and for child protection and vulnerable adult policies.
• Conduct outreach with agencies and community groups in Oxfordshire who are working with older adults and/or people with disabilities to promote the specialist ISVA service and increase access.
• Maintain appropriate record keeping systems in line with data protection requirements and Survivor Space policies.
• Work with Survivor Space’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) action group to improve Survivor Space’s response to older survivors and survivors with a disability.
2. Leadership
• Lead on Survivor Space’s outreach to survivors with a disability and older adult survivors, to help increase and improve access to all Survivor Space’s services for survivors in these groups.
3. Impact
• Actively seek feedback from service users in line with Survivor Space’s monitoring and evaluation procedures.
• Participate in preparation of service statistics for Survivor Space and funders at regular intervals.
4. Working relationships and stakeholders
• Work closely with the ISVA Manager and other ISVAs in the team to ensure all survivors are receiving a prompt and high-quality service.
• Build and maintain excellent working relationships with specialist agencies in the local area working with older adults and people with disabilities.
• Maintain excellent working relationships with a range of other agencies including police, CPS, courts and other sexual violence support services.
• Attend Survivor Space and ISVA team meetings, training/team days and events as required.
5. Other
• Undertake regular clinical supervision and attend relevant training as required.
• Support, promote and work in accordance with Survivor Space values, policies, aims and objectives at all times.
• Work towards reaching Survivor Space’s vision for a world in which women and girls are free from the fear and experience of sexual violence, and supported when it does occur.
• Carry out any other work or duties that are reasonably requested.
Person specification:
Knowledge
• An excellent understanding of the impacts of sexual violence on individual survivors, and the wider community, and the support needs of survivors.
• An excellent understanding of the barriers faced by survivors with a disability and older adult survivors in accessing support services and the criminal justice system, and their support needs.
• Knowledge of child and vulnerable adult protection procedures and legislation.
• A good understanding of data protection and confidential working practices and how these apply to this role.
Experience
• Positive, self-motivated, pro-active, problem-solving approach, and the drive to develop new systems and processes as necessary.
Skills
• Ability to quickly understand new information and processes (e.g. legal/complaint/appeal processes), and to summarise these in a way that is accessible and relevant to service users.
• Good organisational skills and ability to keep accurate and appropriate records.
• Good written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to provide sensitive and appropriate support, negotiate and advocate.
• Ability to juggle a complex workload with competing priorities.
• Excellent team working skills, and ability to build positive relationships with colleagues, partners and other agencies.
• Strong administrative and IT skills, including ability to use Word, Excel, PowerPoint and databases.
• Ability to maintain clear boundaries and confidential working practices.
General
• A firm commitment to improving the lives of people who have experienced sexual violence and to working within a feminist organisation.
• Sensitivity to cultural differences, and the ability to work in a diverse setting.
• Ability to work within the ethos of the Rape Crisis Movement and Survivor Space’s core values, and commitment to equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory practice.
• Commitment to professional development and willingness to undertake training required for the role.
Knowledge
• A formal ISVA qualification from a recognised provider.
• Knowledge of the criminal justice system, particularly police and court procedures.
Experience
• Experience of providing 1-1 support to people facing challenges in their lives, including risk assessment, safety planning and supporting people in crisis.
• Experience of working (in a support/advice/teaching or related capacity) with children and/or young people, and the ability to work in an empowering way.
We are a certified Oxford Living Wage employer.
OCVA is a registered charity No. 1108504 and a company limited by guarantee No. 05363946. Registered in England and Wales. VAT registration no. 948566174
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