Domestic and Family Violence Specialist

The Family Co. have a current role available for a full time position for a Domestic and Family Violence Specialist - Multicultural Focus - for the Southern Sydney Women's Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service.

**The Organisation**:
The Family Co aims to support and strengthen the capacity of families within our community by providing programs and services which are designed to contribute to the promotion and maintenance of safety and wellbeing to all family members.

**The Program**:
The Family Co provides auspice for SSWDVCAS and is the Court Advocacy Service for Sutherland Shire and St. George regions in Sydney Our Southern Sydney Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service provides information, advocacy and referrals for women and families attending Sutherland Court for Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders.

**The Position**:
Domestic and Family Violence Specialist Worker (Multicultural Focus).

The Domestic and Family Violence (DFV) Specialist Worker (Multicultural Focus) assists the Manager in service delivery. The DFV Specialist Worker (Multicultural Focus) provides high-level expert advice regarding how to ensure the WDVCAS is relevant, accessible and responsive to women and their children from multicultural backgrounds to the WDVCAS Manager.

This position is open to applicants with a multicultural background. People with language skills in languages other than English are encouraged to apply. DFV Specialist Workers (Multicultural Focus) may use their language skills with clients in the context of low-risk communications, where interpreting is not necessary but may assist with service provision. Examples include giving directions or explaining how a form should be filled out. Interactions that appear simple but have significant decision-making implications, such as explaining court procedure for an AVO list day, are considered high-risk and are situations where a certified interpreter should be employed. Unless they are appropriately certified, DFV Specialist Workers (Multicultural Focus) should never replace qualified interpreters when the need for an interpreter has been identified.

This position is funded as a full-time position, which includes the capacity for the DFV Specialist Worker to engage in community engagement and/or outreach activities, on average two days per week. This is because community engagement and/or outreach activities are critical in assisting the DFV Specialist Worker (Multicultural Focus) to build trusting relationships between the WDVCAS and communities of multicultural women. This facilitates best-practice service delivery informed by the needs of the multicultural women and their children experiencing domestic and family violence within these communities.

**Responsibilities of the Role**:
The work of the DFV Specialist Worker (Multicultural Focus) Includes, but is not limited to, the following duties:

- Accepting electronic referrals from the CRP and non-electronic referrals direct from government agencies and non-government services;
- Contacting clients referred to the WDVCAS in a timely manner, conducting a threat assessment to ascertain their current risk status and undertaking safety planning to address a client’s immediate safety needs;
- Liaising with the SAM Coordinator to ensure all clients assessed as ‘at serious threat’ are placed on the agenda for the next SAM when necessary;
- Providing relevant information and making warm referrals to a range of service providers to assist clients with their ongoing needs;
- Liaising with clients in relation to Safety Action Plans developed at SAMs and/or support provided, or arranged, by the WDVCASs;
- Attending court on AVO list days and other days as required, in particular, mentions, hearings, criminal charge matters to provide information, assistance and referral and court advocacy for WDVCAS clients and in particular multicultural women and children, as directed by the WDVCAS Manager;
- Developing and maintaining strong working relationships with key WDVCAS partners including the NSW Police Force, Local Courts, legal representatives and referral agencies, in order to facilitate client access to those agencies and services;
- Complying with the SAM Manual and the Domestic Violence Information Sharing Protocol;
- Fulfilling reporting requirements for the WDVCAP database and the CRP in line with the WDVCAP Service Agreement, the WDVCAP Policy and Procedure Manual and SAM Manual;
- Assisting the SAM Coordinator to develop and administer policies, systems and processes for the effective operation of the WDVCAS and SAMs;
- Developing solid working relationships and referral networks with local services that respond to the particular needs of multicultural women and children;
- Developing links with local multicultural communities to promote the services of the WDVCAS and encourage women to use the services of the WDVCAS;
- Participating in local multicultural and general community activities to promote