Emotional Support Worker

Salary: Circa £30, 902

Reporting to: ISVA Manager

Hours: Fixed Shift Pattern, + 4 hours per month of line management, clinical

supervisions, Helpline Team Meetings and All Staff Meeting, + Opportunity for overtime (12-8pm, Monday-Sunday)

Location: Working from home for the most part. Visits to our London office will be required from time to time, as required.

Contract: Fixed-term until 31st March 2028, with extension subject to funding

Annual leave: 28 days per annum + Bank Holidays, pro rata

Context

An estimated 12,000 men are raped every year and 76,000 sexually abused or assaulted. Yet just 4% of men will tell someone. Of those who do, it takes on average 26 years to do so.

Survivors UK provides specialist support to (cis and trans) men and boys, and to non-binary people, who have been raped, sexually assaulted or abused. Our aim is to help any man, boy, or non-binary person, to have the confidence to tell someone what’s happened to them, and to know that it’s OK to seek help. When they do, we want to ensure they have access to the right support so they can deal with the impact of their experiences.

We provide emotional support, information and signposting to survivors and anyone worried about someone they know, through a national website and webchat service (open till 8pm most evenings).

In London, we are the only organisation providing specialist services for men and boys, including individual counselling and therapeutic groupwork. Across London, we provide the capital’s only Independent Sexual Advisor (ISVA) Service that helps men, boys and nonbinary people exclusively through the criminal justice system.

About the role

Emotional Support Workers provide valuable support to survivors of sexual abuse and their loved ones, through our helpline service. Last year, around 2,400 people contact us via this crucial service. Our helpline is a starting point for support, as men and boy’s take their first steps reaching out for help. We are also integral to the SurvivorsUK eco-system, providing support to client’s on our counselling waiting list and helping survivors navigate the different support options that are available.

We provide emotional support, information and signposting through a national helpline service, which is offered via Webchat, SMS, Email, and soon to be via WhatsApp and telephone. We are open from 10am to 8pm, 7 days per week.

This post is subject to a satisfactory DBS Clearance

Key Responsibilities

Service Delivery

Provide high-quality emotional support, information and signposting via webchat, SMS, email, telephone, WhatsApp and other methods.

Assess risk and safety of callers when necessary. Escalate risks and ensure all safeguarding concerns are handled swiftly and in line with SurvivorsUK Safeguarding Policy and the Helpline’s Safeguarding procedure.

Accurately record all helpline contacts on our helpline system for monitoring, and participate in overall service monitoring and evaluation.

Operate in a private, confidential environment

● Adhere to the service’s remit, all relevant SurvivorsUK policies and procedures, and the BACP Code of Ethics.

● Attend group supervision, team meetings and line management meetings, and participate in ongoing training.

Ensure all clients are aware of and have access to the organisation’s complaints policy and terms of use.

● Support training for newer emotional support workers and any emotional support volunteers.

Working Collaboratively and Promoting Services

Triage non-helpline enquiries to appropriate colleagues.

Maintain good working relationships with other support services

Collaborate with colleagues and specialist agencies to promote our work, and share learning & best practices

Actively contribute towards the development of the service

Participate in all staff meetings and team meetings

General Duties

Support the Communication Manager and the Helpline Manager, to provide content for the promotion of the service via the website and social media.

Assist with research and development of resources and informational material for colleagues, survivors and professionals working with survivors.

Ensure that the standards of service delivered comply with the organisation’s mission statement, values, business plan and other related guiding principles at all times.

● Fully engage with professional development, as required by SurvivorsUK.

● Adhere to company policies, including safeguarding and confidentiality protocols

bid Attend regular general and clinical supervisions

Whilst every endeavour has been made to outline the duties and responsibilities of the post, these duties are not exhaustive. The post-holder will be required to carry out additional duties from time to time, and such duties will be commensurate with the role.

Person specification

Essential

Experience and qualifications

Experience of working with survivors of sexual violence

Experience supporting vulnerable people with complex needs, including mental health, substance use, and/or disabilities.

● Experience of providing trauma-informed emotional support, ideally on a helpline

Skills, knowledge and competences

Strong understanding of the experiences, needs and impact of rape, sexual abuse or assault on men, boys and non-binary people aged 13+.

Compassionate manner: able to empathise and engage with clients who have challenging needs and manage highly emotional and stressful situations. Clinical Supervision will be provided to you in your role.

Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Ability to work independently and proactively

Demonstrable commitment to equal opportunities, with a non-judgmental approach to helping male, trans and non-binary people.

● Ability to adhere to boundaries and confidentiality policies and practices.

Good organizational and ICT Skills

● Ability and commitment to maintaining accurate client records and reporting.

● Flexible approach to working with clients and the wider team.

Positive attitude; willing to contribute to developments, improvements and changes within SurvivorsUK.

Desirable

Experience and qualifications

● Experience of providing written emotional support (e.g. by web chat).

● Experience of providing information, guidance and signposting to relevant services