Job info	Job info details
Job title	Domestic Abuse Worker
Strategic team/Directorate	Children's Services
Service	Safeguarding
Business unit	Family help
Responsible to (day to day issues)	Service Manager 1 – Family Help
Accountable to (line manager)	Service Manager 1 – Family Help
Salary grade	I
JE ref	JCT78

1. Key purpose of job

• To lead in the operational development and delivery of Torbay Children’s Services response to domestic abuse and sexual violence (DASV).
• To ensure that Torbay Children’s Services staff are able to provide safe, robust, child centred interventions to children and families where domestic abuse and sexual violence is present in the child’s lived experience.
• To ensure that Torbay Children’s Services are represented at Torbay Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference (Marac) and are actively engaged with the wider Council and partnership agenda.
• To lead on the development of data, recording, quality assurance and auditing processes that will evidence best practice in Torbay Children’s Services’ response to Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence.

2. Anticipated outcomes of post

• All Children’s Services staff will be equipped to respond to DASV consistently through early and timely identification of risk and the ability to safety plan which will ensure that children and young people are protected from immediate risk or harm where they or their parents are in a domestically abusive relationship. 
• Children’s Services staff will be supported with specialist knowledge and training to ensure that children and families receive a safe, informed response where they are experiencing or have experienced the impact of domestic abuse and sexual violence.  
• Torbay Children’s Services will be able to demonstrate a consistent, up to date and informed multi agency response to DASV which will be evidenced through robust data and quality assurance.  
• Torbay Children’s Services will be represented and robustly engaged with the wider council DASV strategy, local partnership forums and will have strong and effective partnership relationships with community stakeholders and providers, which will ensure that Torbay Children’s Services is at the centre of the local DASV strategy for Torbay. 

3. List key duties and accountabilities of the post

• As an Employee of Torbay Council all roles are expected to work in a way that ensures vulnerable children and adults are safeguarded and report any safeguarding concerns in accordance with established policies and procedures. The Designated Senior Lead for Safeguarding is the Chief Executive and Director of Children’s Services.
• Responsible for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children at all times, supporting colleagues in addressing all immediate risks and issues of safety and security; safety planning and referring to appropriate agencies where necessary, paying particular attention to safeguarding issues. 
• Using professional expertise, lead on the development of risk assessments for victims of DASV in Early Help, MASH, Operational, Single Assessment Teams and Cared For / Care Leavers’ service for all clients where DASV is evident, conducting initial need, DV-RIM and DASH risk assessments with social workers to support service users. 
• Responsibility to ensure that social work and Early Help teams are kept up to date with changes in legislation and DASV news and services such as using your expertise to ensure that colleagues have the knowledge to advise clients through the Criminal and Civil Justice System, explaining the procedures and their role and rights within that system. 
• Have responsibility to attend, prepare and present reports at the multi-agency risk assessment conference (MARAC), ensuring that communication between social care teams and the MARAC process promotes multi agency informed safety for children. 
• Attend and contribute to strategy meetings and child protection case conferences both as a support for clients and as a professional presenting a report dependent on circumstances – contributing to the formulation of safety plans drawing on professional expertise.  
• To utilise your professional expertise in MASH screening of all contacts and referrals that are received by Children’s Services where DASV is evident; to share knowledge and expertise with colleagues to inform the outcome of the MASH assessment and for the IDSVA “footprint “to be evident on all DASV screening. 
• Understand the legal framework relating to the protection of children, and work within the policies and procedures. 
• To lead on the development and delivery of drop-in/ bitesize sessions to offer advice and guidance to social work and Early Help practitioners. 
• Provide safe, non-judgemental support whilst exploring solutions that are tailored to the individual needs of our service users.   
• To ensure that the development and delivery of support and advocacy recognises the additional barriers and inequalities faced by survivors of abusive relationships from marginalised groups and communities and strives to promote at all times inclusive and anti-discriminatory practice across all aspects of the service.   
• To operationally lead on the development and delivery of short and long term projects within the DASV arena internally and across the wider partnership, in order to address emerging issues.  
• To lead on the development of domestic abuse related performance data and provide necessary reporting on domestic activity in Torbay Children’s Services. This will include using your domestic abuse expertise in the development of recording processes of DA activity on Paris and engaging with relevant auditing and quality assurance processes and practice development and learning in relation to DASV work in Torbay. 
• To be responsible for sourcing and delivering any relevant DASV training to the Children’s Services staff group to promote learning, understanding and the development of skills; actively promoting any relevant DASV frameworks, models and approaches to practice in line with Torbay’s DASV strategy. This will include directly providing training to staff and attendance at training events – including ‘train the trainer’.   
• To be the lead practitioner in creating, maintaining and constantly developing effective professional relationships with operational and senior managers within Torbay Children’s Services; external stakeholders including national government departments; and representatives from the local community, to support the delivery of projects, initiatives and services. Leading operationally in the multi-agency and multi-disciplinary delivery of joint partnership DASV strategic aims and objectives in Torbay. 
• To operationally lead on the embedding of RPC and Craft interventions across Torbay Children’s Services. To be responsible for the development, delivery and / or monitoring the delivery of DASV programmes and projects to ensure strategic Council priorities are met. 

4. Budgetary/Financial Responsibilities of the post

• None. 

5. Supervision/Line Management Responsibilities of the post

• There is no direct line management responsibility.  

6. Working environment and conditions of the post

• Normal working environment and conditions, with attendance at occasional meetings outside of office hours. 

7. Physical demands of the post

• Normal physical demands. 

8. Specific resources used by the post

• Normal office and agile working equipment. 

9. Key contacts and relationships

External: 

• Any relevant partners including but not limited to: Devon and Cornwall Police; Devon and Cornwall Probation Service; Voluntary sector organisations.

Internal: 

• Staff at all levels across Torbay Children’s Services and the wider Council.

10. Other duties

• To undertake additional duties as required, commensurate with the level of the job. 

Other Information

• All staff must commit to the Workplace Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Practice and Policy.
• Torbay Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and applicants must be willing to undergo the checks appropriate to the post applied for.
• The post holder is expected to work in a way that ensures vulnerable children and adults are safeguarded and report any safeguarding concerns in accordance with established policies and procedures. And are aware that the Chief Executive and the Director for Children’s Services are the Safeguarding Leads for the Council.
• This post is office based at Electric House but the post holder may be required to move their base to any other location within the Council at a future date.
• The post is eligible for hybrid working.
• As this post meets the requirements in respect of exempted questions under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, all applicants who are offered employment will be subject to a criminal record check (Disclosure) from the Disclosure & Barring Service before the appointment is confirmed. This will include details of ALL cautions, reprimands or final warnings as well as convictions, whether “spent” or “unspent”. Criminal convictions will only be taken into account when they are relevant to the post.
• The Council operates a Smoke-Free Policy and the post-holder is prohibited from smoking in any of the Council's buildings (including Council owned and Council leased buildings, but excluding designated areas in residential schemes), enclosed spaces within the curtilage of buildings, and Council vehicles. The Council does not permit smoking breaks within work time, however, in services where the flexi-scheme is in operation, employees may take reasonable break times outside of core hours, in accordance with flexi-time arrangements. Employees should follow the flexi-scheme procedure for agreeing time away from their duties in the normal manner with their immediate colleagues and line manager, with break start and finish times being recorded, as with any other break-time arrangement. 
• The post-holder is expected to familiarise themselves with and adhere to all relevant Council Policies and Procedures.
• The post-holder must comply with the Council’s Health and Safety requirements as outlined in the H&S policy appropriate to the role.
• The post-holder must be committed to the Council’s Core Values for employees – “Torbay Council employees are committed to being forward thinking, people orientated and adaptable - always with integrity”. Evidence will be sought during the probation and appraisal processes.
• If this post is customer facing, it will require the ability to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence and fluency in English.
• If you are required to access a government system such as HMRC, DWP or The Public services network (PSN) as part of your role with the Council you will be required to complete a basic disclose with your line manager before you can access these systems. Your manager will be required to complete a verification form that confirms your identity, nationality and immigration status, employment history and unspent convictions (third party).
• If you are required to use your own vehicle on Council business or drive a council vehicle you will be asked to provide information on any driving endorsements by accessing gov.uk/view-driving-licence and providing a code to your Line Manager in order to share your driving licence information with the Council.

Person Specification

Note for Candidate

All Candidates

The supporting statement on your application form will be used to assess ability to meet the essential requirements of the role, so you should explain how you meet each of the numbered essential requirements within your supporting statement. In a competitive situation, the desirable criteria may be taken into consideration, so you are encouraged to show how you also meet each of the desirable criteria.

Candidates who consider that they have a disability

Reasonable adjustments will be made to the job, job requirements or recruitment process for candidates with a disability.

If you consider yourself to have a disability you should indicate this on your application form, providing any information you would like us to take into account with regard to your disability in order to offer a fair selection interview.

Where ever possible and reasonable we will make adjustments and offer alternatives to help you through the application and selection process.

If you have indicated that you have a disability on your application form you will be guaranteed an interview if you clearly demonstrate in your supporting evidence how you broadly meet the essential requirements of the role.

Job info	Job info details
Job Title	Domestic Abuse Worker
Strategic team/Directorate	Children's Services
Service	Safeguarding
Business unit	Family help

Skills and effectiveness

Essential skills and effectiveness

• Excellent communication skills with young people (groups & individuals). 
• Effective communication skills with other professionals and an ability to maintain composure under pressure and to ensure that appropriate strategies are adopted to ensure personal resilience and a professional client-led service is delivered.
• Sensitivity, empathic understanding and diplomacy in all interpersonal relationships. 
• Able to motivate individuals and other agencies to move through courses of action and decision making processes and taking proactive action.
• A methodical, organised approach to work, self-motivation and personal drive to complete tasks to the required quality and within timescales.
• Ability to work with corporate policies. 
• Committed to, and able to demonstrate, anti-discriminatory practice. 
• Ability to work on own initiative and as part of a team. 
• Ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships with colleagues in a range of organisations. 
• Ability to look beyond the job in hand, plan and prioritise work. 
• Flexible approach to working hours. 
• Experience of working with Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint).

Desirable skills and effectiveness

• Effective presentation skills.
• Ability to deliver training to other professionals. 

Knowledge

Essential knowledge

• A sound understanding and application of the legal framework relating to the protection of children and vulnerable adults as well as associated safeguarding policies and procedures. 
• Knowledge of working with multi agency/ multi-disciplinary teams. 
• Extensive knowledge of the impact of witnessing domestic abuse as children on neurological development. 
• Extensive knowledge of the impact of abusive and controlling relationships on young people.
• Awareness of Sexual Health issues affecting children and adults. 
• Awareness of Drug & Alcohol issues affecting children and adults. 
• Theoretical, practical and procedural knowledge of civil and criminal justice remedies for victims of domestic abuse.
• Knowledge of the issues face by the LGBTQIA+ Community. 
• Knowledge of group work and individual programmes such as Respect and Crush Programmes, Recovery Toolkit, the Freedom Programme, CRAFT and Reducing Parental Conflict.
• Understand the principles of risk assessment, safety planning and risk management for those affected by controlling and abusive relationships.

Desirable knowledge

• Promoting a culture to safeguard the welfare of young people. 
• Understanding the importance of inter-agency work. 
• Effective IT skills. 

Experience and achievements

Essential experience and achievements

• Experience of working with children, young people and adults involved in controlling and or abusive relationships. 
• Experience of working with vulnerable children and adults with multiple and complex needs.
• Delivery of face to face and Group work with children, adults and/ or professionals.
• Experience of multi-agency working. 
• Experience of assessment, risk assessment, safety planning and risk management.
• Experience of lone working in the community and in clients’ homes. 
• Experience of delivering training programmes to colleagues and other professionals.

Desirable experience and achievements

N/A

Qualifications/professional memberships

Essential qualifications/professional memberships

• Qualified to at least Diploma level or equivalent qualification in either one of the following: Education, Health, Social Work, Youth Work or related field.
• CAADA/YPVA/ IDVA training certificate, or a relevant degree, or demonstrable equivalent experience, and/or be willing to undertake relevant study. 
• Commitment to undertaking professional in-service training. 

Desirable qualifications/professional memberships

• IDVA Trained. 

Other requirements

Other requirements of the job role

• Demonstrates a commitment to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people. 
• Ability to travel efficiently around the Bay/South West/UK in order to carry out duties. 
• Ability to accommodate unsociable hours. 
• Ability to accommodate shift patterns. 
• Ability to accommodate on-call working. 
• Ability to accommodate occasional homeworking.