Independent Domestic Violence Advisor

Black Country Women's Aid

Let us introduce ourselves…

Black Country Women's Aid (BCWA) is an established charity working across the Black Country and wider West Midlands, providing accommodation and community support services to victims of domestic abuse, sexual abuse and human trafficking.

Services range from advocacy, civil remedies, support in court, individual and group support and access to a range of therapeutic interventions.

All services are client and needs-led.



The team:
Our specialist Community Domestic Abuse Support Service supports male and female victims of domestic violence and abuse living in Sandwell, Dudley and Walsall through a range of contracted/ commissioning arrangements.

The service works in partnership with other services within BCWA and key agencies to assess risk and provide tailored support plans for service users.

Our integrated approach provides effective, holistic support for survivors of abuse using a trauma-informed approach.

We have a team of supportive, dedicated, self-driven individuals who empower clients to make informed choices, helping them to live a life free from abuse.



Job Role

Job Title: Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (YP Specialist- ages 16-25)
Position available: 1 full-time position (37.5 hours), based across the Black Country
Salary: £24,310.04 - £27,751.55 (dependent upon qualifications and experience)
Closing date: 29 October 2025
All interviews will be held via Microsoft Teams

Is this you?

A fantastic opportunity has arisen to work within Black Country Women's Aid as an Independent Domestic Violence Advisor with victims/survivors predominately aged between 16-25 experiencing domestic abuse, honour-based violence, and forced marriage.

The work may also include additional age-based abuse profiles and risks, e.g.

online abuse/cyber-stalking and sexual exploitation.

We are looking for a qualified/unqualified IDVA (training may be provided for the right candidate) to join our dynamic team.

We are looking for someone with extensive experience of supporting victims/survivors of domestic abuse, managing a caseload and understanding the principles of safeguarding children and adults.

The post holder will have a good understanding of the dynamics of domestic abuse and how this can affect victims, particularly young people transitioning into adulthood.

Ideally, they will have experience in developing and delivering training.



The Role:

The IDVA (YP Specialist) will work within a dynamic, fast-paced, crisis intervention, advocacy and support service to ensure that the voice of survivors informs every stage of the process.

A key part of the role will also include working with key agencies such as youth services and educational settings to improve their awareness of domestic violence and the impact this can have on young people.

This can only be done by establishing positive, proactive and innovative working relationships with services providing support to young people and partner agencies within the Black Country.

Whilst the role will involve predominantly working with young people, the IDVA will also be working with adult survivors.

If you are self-driven, compassionate and hardworking with lots of ambition, we would love to hear from you.

To be considered for this position, click 'apply' and you will be emailed a link to an application form, job description, and equal ops form, plus details on how to complete your application.

CVs will not be accepted.

Important information for all positions

Black Country Women's Aid is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of vulnerable adults, children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

All posts are subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975.

It will be necessary for an enhanced disclosure to be made to the Criminal Records Bureau for details of any previous criminal convictions.
Occupational Requirement under Schedule 9 (part 1) of the Equality Act 2010 applies.

The post holder must be female.

Employment checks

As a responsible employer, we adhere to safer recruitment practice and all our employees are subject to the following recruitment checks:

Right to work in the UK
Under Section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Act, we, as a responsible employer, need to ensure that we do not employ anyone illegally.

To avoid discrimination, we treat all job applicants equally.

We therefore ask all candidates selected for interview to bring original documentation to show their Right to Work in the UK.

A copy of these will be taken.

Once the successful candidate has been appointed, the unsuccessful candidate's documents will be destroyed confidentially.

You may be refused an interview if you do not bring the correct documents with you.

References

Following your interview, two employment references will be sought.

One of these should be your current or most recent employer.

If you have finished full-time education and you have no employer reference, we will accept a reference from:

, a professional from your centre of study, for instance, a teacher, lecturer or headteacher
, GP or health visitor
, a character reference from a person who knows you
, a civil servant from a government agency
, a bank manager

DBS

All positions are subject to DBS checks at the relevant level.