DA Refuge Practitioner - Leicestershire covering Loughborough

DA Refuge Practitioner - Leicestershire covering Loughborough
Location: Loughborough, Leicestershire
Contract Type: Permanent
Hours: Part-time, 18.5 hours per week
Shift Pattern: Monday to Wednesday or Wednesday to Friday
Salary: £12,602 per annum

About the Role
A specialist women's refuge service is seeking DA Refuge Practitioners to provide compassionate, culturally sensitive support to BAME women and their children who are experiencing domestic abuse, forced marriage, honour-based violence, or other forms of harm.
You will play a key role in ensuring residents receive safe accommodation, high-quality support, and help to rebuild safety, independence and wellbeing. This role involves working collaboratively with the refuge team to deliver a safe, supportive environment and culturally appropriate services.
This is a frontline role that requires emotional resilience, excellent communication, and an ability to work confidently with complex needs.

Key Responsibilities
1. Refuge Service Delivery

• Receive referrals, complete admissions, and carry out needs and risk assessments for new residents.
• Provide warm, culturally sensitive welcomes, ensuring women and children feel safe and supported.
• Support residents in understanding refuge rules, safeguarding procedures, and their rights.
• Deliver 1:1 practical and emotional support, including safety planning, wellbeing support, crisis intervention, and ongoing case management.
• Assist with accessing essential services such as health, education, legal, housing, benefits and immigration advice.
• Provide advocacy and accompany residents to appointments (e.g., solicitors, court, housing, GPs).
• Support residents to develop independence, life skills, and confidence.

2. Cultural & Language Support

• Provide culturally appropriate support, recognising the impact of patriarchy, racism, colonisation, multi-perpetrator risk and community pressures.
• Offer interpretation or translation where necessary.
• Support women from BAME communities with complex immigration or NRPF situations.

3. Support Planning & Monitoring

• Develop, review and implement Support Plans tailored to each resident's needs.
• Record and monitor emotional, physical, and psychological progress.

4. Refuge Operations

• Assist with the day-to-day running of the refuge, ensuring it remains safe, clean and well maintained.
• Facilitate housing meetings, cleaning rotas, and community-building activities.

5. On-Call / Out-of-Hours Support

• Participate in the out-of-hours rota, including evening or night duties.
• Respond to calls from residents and helplines, and attend site where necessary to handle emergencies.
• Admit new referrals during out-of-hours periods when required.

6. Safeguarding & Early Intervention

• Promote the wellbeing of children and young people, ensuring early intervention needs are identified.

7. Administration & Record-Keeping

• Maintain accurate case notes, referral logs, risk assessments and support plans (electronic and paper).
• Keep monitoring data and statistical information up to date.

8. Health, Safety & Security

• Adhere to all Health & Safety and security procedures.

9. Teamwork & Professional Contribution

• Attend staff meetings, team briefings, supervision and training sessions.

Person Specification
Essential

• Experience working with BAME women and communities affected by domestic abuse, forced marriage, HBV or similar issues.
• Experience in a social care, support work or safeguarding environment (minimum 2-3 years).
• Ability to speak at least one BAME language (e.g., Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Bengali, Pushtu, Somali, or other relevant languages).
• Strong communication (verbal, written), listening and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to deliver emotional and practical support, including advocacy.
• Ability to work under pressure and make confident decisions in emergencies.
• Strong organisational and IT skills (case recording, data entry, reporting).
• Ability to work flexible hours including on-call or night duties.
• Commitment to equality, diversity, anti-racist and anti-discriminatory practice.
• Empathy, approachability and resilience.
• Enhanced DBS (required).

Desirable

• First Aid qualification.
• Experience in the voluntary sector.
• Experience delivering training or community awareness sessions.
• Knowledge of BAME cultural needs affecting domestic abuse survivors.
• Experience supporting individuals with complex needs (mental health, substance misuse, NRPF).
• Driving licence with access to a vehicle.