Job Description

JOB DESCRIPTION

POST:

Starfish Support Worker

REPORTS TO:

Senior Support Officer

LOCATION:

Coleraine

HOURS:

24 hours per week

There will be some evening work and occasional weekend work. Time-in-lieu can be taken for additional hours worked.

SALARY:

16298.88

General

Women's Aid is the lead voluntary organisation in Northern Ireland addressing domestic violence and providing related services for women and children. Women's Aid recognises domestic and sexual violence as one form of violence against women and seeks to challenge attitudes and beliefs that perpetuate domestic violence and, through Women's Aid work promote healthy and non-abusive relationships.

Self-help underpins all the work undertaken by Women's Aid in order to create an environment, which encourages women to support each other and allows learning through shared experiences.

Summary of main responsibilities

The Support Officer will be responsible for-

Ensuring that women accessing the project receive appropriate support to develop their own self-reliance and play an active role in progressing their own independence through establishing positive connections with their community.

Key Objectives

Encourage women and empower them to make their own choices

Establish and maintain good interagency working with all statutory, voluntary and community organisations.

Provide a follow-on service to women that is client led.

Promote and develop the role in conjunction with key stakeholders.

Promote the core aims, policies and procedures of Women's Aid and to do this through the highest standards of practice.

Specific duties

Provide effective intervention as appropriate

Identify, facilitate and deliver training and information sessions to meet the needs of service users, staff, statutory, voluntary and community organisations.

Ensure statistics and information relating to the work are collated and made available when required.

Advise and liaise with the Project Manager over staff issues where appropriate.

Provide a holistic service to service users,

Create and develop personal development plans with service users and provide (or work to enable) the necessary support as identified in the plan,

Assist and encourage clients to make their own decisions and choices,

Raise awareness of relevant services available to women and encouragement to engage.

Organise and develop activities with service users.

Ensure project evaluation activities are completed

Conduct reviews with service users to ensure useful and sustainable benefits have been achieved.

Attend supervision and evaluation progress on an ongoing basis to ensure objectives of the project are being met.

Report to and action objectives agreed by the Project Manager.

Follow policies and procedures of Causeway & Mid-Ulster Women's Aid.

Attend team meetings and training as required.

Policy

:

INTERNAL - To ensure the project adheres to Causeway & Mid-Ulster Women's Aid agreed Policies and Procedures.

EXTERNAL - To keep abreast of policy and legislative change in relation to the area of work.

Health & Safety

:

Ensure the Organisation's Health & Safety Policy and Procedures are adhered to and appropriate risk assessments are carried out and recommendations implemented when necessary.

Volunteers

:

Promote volunteering within Causeway & Mid-Ulster Women's Aid and assist in the development of volunteer opportunities within your project.

Team Working

:

Participate in the provision of a comprehensive service which is responsive to the needs of women and children.

Contribute to effective relationships within the team through collaborative working and discussion.

Respect the roles and responsibilities of all members of the team.

Participate in team meetings respecting others' opinions and differences.

Administration

:

Accurately maintain manual and IT recording and monitoring systems.

Be aware of the financial constraints of the organisation and to work within agreed project budgets.

Provide monthly Project reports and quarterly statistical reports.

Outside Agencies

:

Liaise and consult with statutory and voluntary agencies in maintaining 'good working' relationships.

Be aware of local initiatives which may impact on or resource the project.

Promotional Work

:

Be aware of the need for PR and promotional work within the community and other agencies and to assist with the development of publications and pamphlets which help to facilitate this.

Create and develop opportunities for talks, discussions, in order to raise the public awareness of domestic violence and the Starfish Project.

To establish and maintain opportunities for service users to effect change in their wider community.

Confidentiality

:

Respect the confidentiality of all information received as a result of the post holder's duties.

Fundraising

:

Contribute to the fundraising needs of the project/organisation and actively participate in fundraising activities as required.

Training

:

Prepare for and attend supervision sessions.

Provide verbal/written reports as required.

Be aware of your own training needs and to attend relevant training courses in consultation with your manager.

Other:

Undertake any other reasonable duties that may be required

This is not meant to be definitive and is open to modification to accommodate changing needs in the organisation and may entail carrying out other such duties as are consistent with the responsibilities of this role.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Starfish Support Worker

Education, Qualifications and Training

Essential/Desirable

Assessment Method

NVQ Level III/minimum 2 'A' levels at grades A-C or higher/equivalent.

E

Application Form

3rd Level Qualification in related discipline (e.g. youth & community work, housing, social psychology)

D

Completion of basic welfare rights training.

D

Completion of specialist housing training.

D

Experience

At least 2 years in the past 5 years full-time experience of working in a supportive role with vulnerable adults/families within a residential or community-based environment or part time equivalent.

E

Application Form

Previous experience of working in partnership with both statutory and voluntary agencies.

D

Skills

Excellent communication skills both written and verbal.

E

Interview

Able to maintain statistical and case load records in an accurate and timely manner.

D

Ability to complete reports both written and verbal clearly, accurately and to a standard appropriate for external presentation.

D

Knowledge

Awareness and understanding of the issues relating to Domestic Violence .

E

Interview

Knowledge of Risk Assessment and Support Planning processes for individuals.

E

Knowledge of the civil and criminal justice system in relation to domestic violence.

D

Awareness of the legislative frameworks relating to Domestic Violence

D

A working knowledge of relevant statutory/voluntary organisations and their roles in providing support to those living in the community.

E

Knowledge of the appropriate use of UNOCINI referrals

D

Abilities

Able to work on own initiative within a framework of collaborative working.

E Interview/ References

Good time management and organisational skills and an ability to prioritise workload in a crisis.

E

Ability to network and liaise with a range of voluntary and statutory agencies in an effective manner.

E

Ability to work as part of a team in the delivery of an holistic service to service users.

E

Attitudes Essential/Desirable Assessment Method

To practice in a non-judgmental manner and respect the rights, responsibilities and opinions of others.

E Interview

To be aware of the importance of maintaining professional boundaries and confidentiality within the working environment.

E

Other

Hold a valid driver's licence and have access to a car (this can be waived in the case of an applicant whose disability prohibits driving, but who is able to organise suitable alternative arrangements which enable them to meet the duties of the post)

Flexible and responsive to the project needs.

Due to nature of the work which involves contact with children and vulnerable adults the candidate will be vetted through Access NI and additional PSNI checks.

Short listing will be carried out in respect of the Essential criteria but in the case of a large number of applicants we reserve the right to enhance the shortlisting criteria to include the desirable requirements.

Women's Aid is a woman only organisation and the lawful recruitment of female(s) for the post falls within the exception stated in Article 10 (2b & 2e) of the Sex Discrimination (NI) Order 1976. Causeway & Mid-Ulster Women's Aid is a registered charity supporting Equal Opportunities Policies. We welcome applications from all areas of the community.

Job Types: Part-time, Fixed term contract
Contract length: 34 months

Pay: 16,298.88 per year

Expected hours: 24 per week

Benefits:

Company pension
Work Location: In person

Application deadline: 18/08/2025
Reference ID: SSWAug25