Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Independent Sexual Abuse Advisor (ISVA)

This job is now closed

Job summary

Are you passionate about working with survivors of sexual abuse? If so, we have an exciting opportunity for you to join the Safeguarding Team at Southport Hospital.

This post is funded externally through the Ministry of Justice. Funding has been secured for the post until March 2027.

As a member of the safeguarding team, the successful candidate will work as part of an safeguarding team with a focus ensuring the trust discharge their statutory safeguarding functions in relation to sexual abuse. This will involve assisting staff with safeguarding queries, advising and supporting staff to make safeguarding referrals when appropriate and delivering training . You must have excellent interpersonal and communication skills and be able to work effectively and respond appropriately in challenging circumstances.

Development training will be given as required to support the role. This vacancy is open to individuals with an Independent Sexual Violence Advisor (ISVA) qualification or individuals with relevant experience and a commitment to completing the ISVA qualification whilst in post.

Main duties of the job

You will be supported to have expert knowledge of current legislation and statutory guidance relating to sexual abuse.

You will also have excellent interpersonal and communication skills and be able to work effectively and respond appropriately in challenging circumstances.

Development training will be given as required to support the role.You will deliver safeguarding training in relation to sexual abuse to bespoke groups of staff.

You will maintain relevant safeguarding databases providing data for reports.

You will maintain detailed documentation in the patients clinical record, complete referrals and signposting, liaise with professionals and complete case studies to ensure the voice of service users is heard.

You will also be involved in developing processes and policies as required.

About us

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 10,500 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.

We strongly believe that the communities we serve should all have access to Five Star Patient Care.

Our services:

Acute Care

Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.

Primary Care

Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.

Community Services

Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.

Specialist Regional Services

We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.

Achievements:

Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme

Date posted

02 April 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 5

Salary

£29,970 to £36,483 a year per annum

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

20 months

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

409-7049647

Job locations

Southport Hospital

Town Lane

Southport

PR8 6PN

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see attached Job Description for Full Details.

Advertising Date : 2-Apr-2025

Closing Date -: 17-Apr-2025

Proposed Interview Date : 2-May-2025

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see attached Job Description for Full Details.

Advertising Date : 2-Apr-2025

Closing Date -: 17-Apr-2025

Proposed Interview Date : 2-May-2025

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

ISVA training certificate or equivalent certificate or willingness to work towards the same

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

Experience and confidence with developing and delivering training programmes to multi-disciplinary professionals
Able to work with all SA survivors regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, type of abuse, relationship to perpetrator and level of need. Demonstrable experience of and commitment to working within an anti-discriminatory framework with the ability to listen and communicate effectively in a non-judgmental manner
In depth knowledge and understanding of the issues facing survivors who have experienced sexual abuse with specific knowledge of the effects on health
Proven ability of building and maintaining partnership relationships with other agencies

Desirable

Previous experience or understanding of working in or with health services would be an advantage
Knowledge of the legal framework of the mental capacity act and how this may impact on the work within the hospital
Knowledge of welfare rights, housing law or family law

Skills

Essential

Have strong crisis management skills and the ability to deal with stressful and difficult situations
Excellent verbal and written communications skills including report writing and presentation
Ability to establish and maintain appropriate boundaries when working with survivors who are experiencing crisis
Proven ability to work on own initiative, but equally committed to working effectively as part of a team.
Experience of managing time effectively and dealing with changing and competing demands
Able to always maintain requirements regarding patient confidentiality and information governance

Other

Essential

Frequent sitting or standing in a restricted position
Standard keyboard skills
Frequent concentration with the ability to move from one activity to another in response to changing priorities.
Use of road transport between sites

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

ISVA training certificate or equivalent certificate or willingness to work towards the same

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

Experience and confidence with developing and delivering training programmes to multi-disciplinary professionals
Able to work with all SA survivors regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, type of abuse, relationship to perpetrator and level of need. Demonstrable experience of and commitment to working within an anti-discriminatory framework with the ability to listen and communicate effectively in a non-judgmental manner
In depth knowledge and understanding of the issues facing survivors who have experienced sexual abuse with specific knowledge of the effects on health
Proven ability of building and maintaining partnership relationships with other agencies

Desirable

Previous experience or understanding of working in or with health services would be an advantage
Knowledge of the legal framework of the mental capacity act and how this may impact on the work within the hospital
Knowledge of welfare rights, housing law or family law

Skills

Essential

Have strong crisis management skills and the ability to deal with stressful and difficult situations
Excellent verbal and written communications skills including report writing and presentation
Ability to establish and maintain appropriate boundaries when working with survivors who are experiencing crisis
Proven ability to work on own initiative, but equally committed to working effectively as part of a team.
Experience of managing time effectively and dealing with changing and competing demands
Able to always maintain requirements regarding patient confidentiality and information governance

Other

Essential

Frequent sitting or standing in a restricted position
Standard keyboard skills
Frequent concentration with the ability to move from one activity to another in response to changing priorities.
Use of road transport between sites

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer details

Employer name

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Address

Southport Hospital

Town Lane

Southport

PR8 6PN

Employer's website

https://www.merseywestlancs.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Address

Southport Hospital

Town Lane

Southport

PR8 6PN

Employer's website

https://www.merseywestlancs.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)