JOB DESCRIPTION: Regional Development Officer

Reports to Manager of Member Support Services

Location Working from home across the allocated region

Salary £29,936 - £33,500 pro rata (based on NJC scale points 35-39, starting on point 37)

Length of contract Fixed term contract to 1st November 2018

Hours: South: 37 hours or negotiable, North East: 14.8 hours or negotiable

MAIN PURPOSE OF POSTTo develop and deliver the work of the Imkaan and Women’s Aid Partnership. Sustaining Dedicated and Specialist Services, addressing the sustainability issues facing independent dedicated and specialist domestic abuse services and working to secure the diversity and survival of the sector.

DUTIES AND KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Sustainability work with members

1. To meet the sustainability needs of local services through the provision of:- direct one to one support with commissioning, tendering, outcomes

monitoring, quality assurance, business planning and governance support;

- information, training and resources;- partnership and peer support arrangements.

2. To work with partners in Imkaan and other national specialist organisations to meet the particularly acute sustainability needs of unique specialist services for BME women, women with disabilities and lesbian, bisexual and transgender survivors of domestic abuse.

3. To support services in ensuring the provision of high quality services for survivors and their children through the use of appropriate quality frameworks.

4. To support service providers to measure and evidence their outcomes to local commissioners and position themselves as the expert bodies supporting local women and children affected by domestic abuse.

5. To assist services to defend and articulate the added value of their additional specialist work such as work with children and young people; therapeutic work; complex need; and confidence building and life skills training.

6. To ensure services that offer support to male victims of domestic violence are safely delivered and seek quality standards relevant to their work.

2. Partnership working1. To supporting local specialist providers to develop partnership approaches to

commissioning and tendering processes in order to secure the survival of unique specialist organisations.

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2. To support local partnerships of Violence Against Women & Girls service providers to articulate a collective specialist sector voice to commissioners and other local stakeholders.

3. Influencing commissioners1. To work with local commissioners and funders to improve commissioning

practices and act as a bridge between local commissioners and local specialist services.

2. To build good relationships between national sector bodies and local commissioners to ensure that commissioning and procurement processes are informed by the expertise of national sector leaders.

3. To identify and analyse developments in law, policy and practice that may have an impact on commissioning practice and the sustainability of members’ services.

4. General Responsibilities1. To monitor, evaluate and report on the impact of the project. 2. To keep the Chief Executive, Director of Services and other relevant staff up to

date on all project delivery issues through regular internal briefings.3. To maintain clear and adequate records of work done and to produce reports on

work programmes and activities as required by management.4. To contribute to team meetings and organisational priorities, and to participate

in supervision and other line management meetings5. To take direction on projects and priorities from your line manager, which may

vary from time to time.6. To carry out word-processing, filing, and administrative tasks necessary to

comply with the job description. 7. To assist in the delivery of conferences or events organised by Women’s Aid, if

required.8. To abide by all organisational policies, codes of conduct and practice, and to

work within a framework of equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory practice.9. To be flexible within the broad remit of the post.

OtherThis job requires regular travel across England and occasional unsocial hours.

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PERSON SPECIFICATION: Regional Development Officer

EXPERIENCEEssential: Experience of providing and/or managing direct services to survivors of violence

against women and girls. Experience of negotiating and developing partnerships between organisations in

the voluntary sector. Experience of implementing measures to positively promote equality and

address discrimination in service provision. Experience of writing and producing briefings, tenders, funding bids, reports or

other information resources for a variety of audiences. Experience of managing projects within a set timeframe and with clear outputs.

Desirable: Experience of working with local authority, police or health commissioners to

influence commissioning practice

SKILLS & ABILITIESEssential: Excellent verbal communication skills at a variety of levels to a wide range of

audiences. A high standard of writing skills including producing reports and briefing papers. Ability to plan and deliver projects within a set timeframe and with clear

outputs/outcomes. Ability to analyse complex information and identify the implications for women

and children affected by domestic violence and the services supporting them. Ability to work on own initiative to meet objectives in a complex, changing

environment and to plan, initiate, manage and evaluate projects.

Desirable: Ability to provide training and support to whole teams and partnerships. Highly computer literate and proficient in word-processing, email, databases

and Website technology, preferably in a Windows based environment.

KNOWLEDGEEssential: A very good understanding of the experiences and needs of women and

children affected by domestic and sexual violence. Excellent understanding of the role of specialist services to support women and

children at risk of violence against women and girls, and the role of the Imkaan and Women’s Aid member services’ networks.

Understanding of intersectionality and the impacts of other forms of oppression on those experiencing violence against women and girls.

Understanding of national and local commissioning and procurement processes relevant to domestic violence services and the role of strategic partnerships in the procurement of local services.

Desirable: Knowledge of quality frameworks and outcomes measurement systems for

evidencing the impact of service delivery.

EDUCATION/TRAINING No formal qualifications are required for this role although evidence of relevant

learning is advantageous.

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OTHER REQUIREMENTSEssential:

Able to demonstrate a commitment and sensitivity to the aims and objectives of Women’s Aid;

Commitment to anti-discriminatory practice and equal opportunities; Willingness to travel regularly and work occasional unsocial hours as required; Able to work from home on a regular basis.

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SUMMARY OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

Terms of appointment: Confirmation of appointment will be subject to the satisfactory completion of a probationary period. This will normally be of six months (less for short term contracts). During this time an employee will be expected to establish their suitability for the post. During the probationary period employment may be terminated in writing, giving one week's notice by either party (this may be waived by mutual agreement). Only any statutory dismissal procedure will apply during the probationary period. There is no probationary period for contracts of under 3 months.

Salary: £31,551 pro rata (on an incremental scale guided by the NJC Local authority pay scale point 35 - 39) + benefits. Salary is paid in arrears through bank credit by the 25th of each month. Part time staff receive pro-rata payment based on hours worked.

Working hours: The standard working hours for this post are 37-14.8 hours per week (depending on which role applied for), working remotely from home; benefits include a generous bank holidays and annual leave package and contributory pension scheme.

Support and supervision: Women’s Aid has a commitment to providing regular supervision and support to staff with annual appraisals forming a key part of staff development. We have a training policy in place and encourage staff to take an active role in their career development plan. Pension: Women’s Aid is enrolled with the People’s Pension scheme. Women’s Aid normally contributes 7% of salary and the employee contributes 3% towards the group pension scheme. Eligible staff will be automatically enrolled on the scheme when they have successfully completed the 3 month interim probationary review. .

Annual Leave: Women’s Aid offers an annual leave entitlement of 25 days per year rising by one day per year until 30 days annual leave per year is reached. In addition, we offer 8 days public holidays plus 2 additional days in March and August. All leave entitlement is calculated pro-rata for part time employees.

Other leave: Employees have contractual rights to time off for reasons of sickness, maternity and other circumstances.

Period of notice: 1 month after your probationary period has been completed.

Union: You have a right to membership of a trade union. Women’s Aid recognises Unison.

Asylum and Immigration Act 1996: To confirm your right to work in the UK, Women’s Aid will need to see the original of at least one document from a specified list (available on the gov.uk website). Most commonly this is a British Passport.

Additional information is available on request.

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