Senior Domestic Abuse Practitioner – First Response

Trafford Domestic Abuse Services (TDAS) is an independent specialist agency working in Trafford and Salford delivering services to adults and children who have experienced domestic abuse.

We provide both prevention and intervention services and raise awareness of domestic abuse through training, workshops and public forums.

Our Vision:

To eradicate all forms of domestic abuse, creating a society where it is not tolerated and families can live safely.

Our Mission:

“To enable people to break free from domestic abuse”.

This is achieved by meeting the following objectives:

1. The provision of safe and supportive spaces and temporary accommodation for women and children who have or who are experiencing domestic abuse.
2. The provision of community support services to those who have experienced domestic abuse.
3. To advance the education of the public and those who work in partnership with the public, private, voluntary, community and social enterprise, in issues relating to domestic abuse including its nature, impact and causes.

TDAS values:

Openness: TDAS create an open culture, provide transparent reporting, good fundraising and governance.

Person centred: TDAS provide coordinated, personalized and enabling services to everyone

Innovative: TDAS introduce new ideas, are creative and foreword thinking

Collaborative: TDAS work in partnership with key stakeholders to enable individuals to achieve a defined and common purpose

Empowering: TDAS empower our service users to become stronger, more confident, being aware of their rights and privileges and live a more meaningful and fulfilling life.

Purpose of the role:

To act as the dedicated Domestic Abuse practitioner within Children’s Social Care First Response, providing specialist domestic abuse screening, risk assessment, and decision making support at the front door.

The post holder will:

• Complete initial contact and screening for referrals where domestic abuse is identified
• Assess risk and need using recognised tools and professional judgement
• Support timely, informed decision-making alongside social care colleagues
• Coordinate referrals into TDAS and other appropriate services
• Strengthen partnership working to reduce duplication and improve outcomes for families.

The role will not typically hold an ongoing caseload but will focus on triage, coordination,
and partnership-based intervention.

Employee Benefits:

At TDAS, we believe that supporting our team goes beyond the workplace. We offer a comprehensive range of employee benefits designed to promote wellbeing, security, and growth.  These include generous annual leave, enhanced pension contributions, and access to wellbeing initiatives that support both physical and mental health. We also provide ongoing training and professional development opportunities, ensuring our staff feel valued, supported, and able to thrive in their roles.

Our flexible working arrangements reflect our commitment to achieving a positive work-life balance, while our culture of recognition ensures that every contribution is appreciated

• A generous package including 34 days holiday per year inclusive of bank holidays (FTE), extra holidays, for long service
• Life assurance benefit
• 365 days a year Employee Assistance Programme
• Employee pension scheme with 5% employer contribution (after 3 months of employment)
• Cycle2work Scheme
• Electric Car Scheme
• Wellbeing Champions
• Professional and Personal Development
• Monthly Employee Recognition

Duties and Responsibilities:

Main:

• Act as the first point of contact for domestic abuse-related referrals within First Response
• Complete initial conversations with families (non-abusive parents)
• Undertake structured risk assessments (e.g. DASH) and safety planning
• Identify thresholds for intervention and recommend next steps
• Assess and analyse risk to adults and children, ensuring safeguarding is prioritised
• Provide professional challenge and guidance within decision-making discussions
• Ensure responses are proportionate, timely, and trauma-informed
• Escalate high-risk cases appropriately, including MARAC where required
• Work co-located within Children’s Social Care to support integrated working
• Liaise closely with TDAS teams to identify if families are known to the service
• Link with existing TDAS case workers where appropriate to ensure continuity
• Work collaboratively with Families First and wider partners to coordinate support
• Make appropriate referrals into TDAS services with informed consent
• Identify and refer to other specialist services where required
• Reduce duplication of assessment and re-telling of experiences for service users
• Support joined-up planning across agencies
• Share information in line with GDPR, safeguarding, and organisational policies
• Maintain accurate and timely records across relevant systems
• Ensure clear documentation of decisions, rationale, and outcomes
• Participate in joint visits with Social Workers where appropriate
• Contribute to strategy discussions, case consultations, and multi-agency meetings
• Support a whole-family approach to intervention
• Provide domestic abuse expertise, advice, and guidance to professionals
• Support consistent understanding of thresholds, risk, and response
• Contribute to learning, reflection, and service development across agencies
• Act as a senior safeguarding point of contact for the TDAS Community Adult and CYP teams in the absence of the team leader
• Provide guidance, advice, and decision-making support to staff on safeguarding concerns, risk management, and thresholds
• Triage and allocate incoming referrals across Community services in the absence of the Team Leader, ensuring timely and appropriate responses
• Review incoming information to prioritise risk and ensure high-risk cases are escalated appropriately
• Support staff with complex case discussions, offering professional challenge and safeguarding oversight where required
• Ensure all safeguarding decisions are clearly recorded, justified, and aligned with organisational and statutory frameworks
• Work closely with managers to maintain oversight of service demand, capacity, and risk during duty cover periods

Person Specification:

Please download the recruitment pack below for more information.

How to Apply:

To apply for this position it is essential that you have or are working towards the necessary qualifications outlined in the person specification. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS. No agencies please.

An application form is available here.

For further information please contact: sophia.ibrahim@tdas.org.uk Tel: 0161 872 7368

Equality, Diversity and Accessibility

TDAS is committed to fostering an inclusive, supportive and accessible workplace where everyone can thrive. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, identities and abilities, and we ensure a fair and transparent recruitment process. Applicants are welcome to submit their application in the format that works best for them; written form, video, or audio recording. As a recognised Disability Confident Employer, we are committed to inclusive recruitment practices and guarantee an interview to all applicants with a disability who meet the minimum essential criteria for the role. There may be occasions where we are required to specify the gender of a role due to the nature of the work, predominantly within our safe accommodation services. Where this applies, it will be made clear within the recruitment pack and will be in line with the Equality Act 2010.