Regional Development Officers
Women’s Aid
Imkaan and Women’s Aid Partnership: Sustaining Dedicated and Specialist Services
Women’s Aid is the national charity for women and children working to end domestic abuse. We empower survivors by keeping their voices at the heart of our work, listening and responding to their needs. We are a federation of over 220 organisations who provide more than 300 local lifesaving services to women and children across the country. Over the past forty years Women’s Aid has been at the forefront of shaping and coordinating responses to domestic violence and abuse through practice.
Imkaan is a UK-based, black feminist organisation dedicated to addressing violence against women and girls. As a second-tier, human rights organisation, with national membership, Imkaan represents the expertise and perspectives of frontline specialist women’s services that work to prevent and respond to violence against black and minority ethnic (BME) women and girls.
The Imkaan and Women’s Aid Partnership: Sustaining Dedicated and Specialist Servicesis supported by Lloyds Bank Foundation and aims to build the sustainability of specialist domestic violence services led by and for women, and those led by and for BME women. The Partnership team will work with local services, commissioners and sector partners, and will liaise with Lloyds Bank Foundation regional grants managers.
Partnership Objectives
In the current social and economic climate, domestic abuse services are facing increasingly complex demands combined with reductions in funding and it is more important than ever to ensure the survival and sustainability of high quality services for women and their children affected by domestic abuse.
The Partnership aims to:
Reduce the devastating impact of domestic abuse on the lives of women and children by supporting specialist services dedicated to empowering survivors to rebuild their lives and achieve lasting independence.
Support specialist services to prepare for bidding and be successful in securing sustainable funding in a competitive tendering environment.
Support unique national specialist services for BME, LGBT and disabled survivors of violence against women and girls to prepare for bidding and be successful in securing sustainable funding in a competitive tendering environment.
Increase commissioners’ understanding of effective responses to domestic abuse and influence the shaping of service provision locally and nationally
Develop and embed local partnership and peer support structures across the national network of specialist domestic abuse providers
Assist specialist, local domestic abuse services to improve and demonstrate their quality, and report effectively on their outcomes.
Partnership Team
The Partnership objectives will be delivered by the BME Development OfficerMembership and Sustainability Coordinator at Imkaan, and, a 0.4 Impact and Evaluation post, and a team of Regional Development Officers managed by the Manager of Member Support Servicesin Women’s Aid. The project requires a diverse workforce with a strong understanding of equalities issues and the ability to model inclusive and anti-oppressive practice in the sector.
The Regional Development Officers will be based in the regions and will work from home. They will support domestic abuse services in their region and work with the national team to influence local and national policy on the provision ofdomestic abuse services.Flexibility, the ability to work independently and a good grasp of both frontline service delivery and strategic landscapes are essential to this role.
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