Independent Stalking Advocate

Victim Support is looking for an Independent Stalking Advocate based out of one of our Lancashire offices: Preston, Accrington, Blackpool or Lancaster.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.This is an exciting new opportunity for our service to develop a key role. We are looking for an Independent Stalking Advocate to support clients who are experiencing stalking and harassment in order to keep them safe and to support them through the criminal justice process. You will be working closely with the police and other agencies to advocate for your clients, ensuring their concerns are taken seriously and to minimise risk. You will support clients to understand their choices and options and support them through the criminal justice process. You will act as subject matter lead to the wider team and work with those most in need of specialist support, prioritising based on S DASH assessment. Ideally you will have had experience of working with stalking victims and hold the Independent Stalking Accreditation, if not you would need to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the needs and challenges for stalking victims and a willingness to work towards the accreditation. As a minimum you would need to demonstrate considerable experience of working with vulnerable victims and knowledge around domestic abuse. The role is demanding and you will need to have high levels of resilience and the ability to work in a fast paced environment providing person centred support that meets the needs of our clients. In particular the ability to identify risk and the legal and practical remedies available to reduce risk for our clients. Initially the role will be home based (due to the Covid situation) but once restrictions ease you will be based in one of our hubs . You will need to be a driver with access to a car. You will also need to have high levels if IT literacy and be accustomed to record keeping and case management. Victim Support offers competitive rewards and benefits including pension and life assurance, 25 days annual leave (pro-rata), voluntary benefits such as season ticket loans and the opportunity to play a key role in a national charity providing world-class services to victims and witnesses and being a vital force for change.Applications should be explicit enough to provide good evidence against the shortlisting criteria, which are marked in the person specification as A. In order to apply, please create a profile in our website (jobs section), complete and submit an online application form.VS 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 will be required.Full clean driving licence (and access to a car). * If you have a disability that prevents you from driving please specify so we can assess what reasonable adjustments can be made. Victim Support is committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity and to creating an inclusive working environment. We believe having a diverse workforce at all levels allows us to represent the communities we serve and connect better with people affected by crime. We believe this can be achieved through attracting, developing and retaining a diverse range of staff from many different backgrounds. We therefore welcome applicants from all communities and monitor the diversity of applicants to analyse if we are representative of the communities we serve in terms of sex, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, trans identity, relationship status, religion or belief, caring responsibilities, age and socio-economic status. As part of our commitment to the Race at Work Charter we would particularly welcome applicants from BAME communities.