Violence & Exploitation Support Service (VESS) Project Manager

Are you a proactive, collaborative and influential individual?

Do you have a proven track record of working with children, young people and/or vulnerable adults in the context of violence and exploitation and delivering interventions that have had a positive impact? 

Do you have substantial experience of leading and managing a team effectively?

If so, join St Giles as Violence & Exploitation Support Service (VESS) Project Manager, where you will be responsible for the management of all aspects of the delivery of this vital service.  

Supported by the Head of Services (London), you will directly line manage team leaders as well as effectively developing and maintaining relationships with VESS organisations and wider stakeholders.

About St Giles Trust

An ambitious, well-established charity that helps people facing adversity to find jobs, homes and the right support they need.  Central to our ethos is our belief that people with first-hand experience of successfully overcoming issues such as an offending background, homelessness, addictions and gang involvement, hold the key to positive change in others.

About this key role

The main focus for our successful candidate will be to oversee the effective development and delivery of all aspects of the service, including coordinating rescues, developing and maintaining processes around rescue and other referrals, monitoring, rota systems, producing reports and providing daily support to the team. 

As well as providing effective line management of the team, we will rely on you to provide advice, guidance and support to staff on safeguarding matters as well as ensuring robust risk assessments and strengths-based needs assessments are completed with safeguarding as the priority.

Developing and maintaining relationships with VESS partners and other internal and external stakeholders and further expanding the service through continued promotion of the service to partners and external services is a key element of this role, as is supporting the team to effectively manage caseloads and completing comprehensive risk and needs assessments for young people accessing the service.

What we are looking for

• Extensive experience of addressing safeguarding issues and managing risk with children, young people and adults who are experiencing of violence or exploitation and supporting teams to do the same
• Substantial experience in working in a leadership role as part of a multi-agency team to deliver a service and achieve positive outcomes for young people
• A thorough understanding of the physical, social, emotional and developmental needs of children and young people
• Sound knowledge of the issues faced by young people such as exploitation, victimisation, offending, school exclusion, unemployment, trauma
• Relevant qualification in youth work, social work, social sciences, education or another relevant field or demonstrable equivalent experience
• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, written and verbal

Please note: this role requires that successful candidates must undergo an Enhanced Child and Adult with Child Barred DBS check, on the basis that the post involves contact with vulnerable participants and colleagues.

In return, you can expect a competitive salary, generous leave allowance, staff pension, flexible working, a mentoring programme, an advice and counselling service, clinical therapist sessions, life insurance (4 x annual salary), duvet days, season ticket loan, employee perks programme, eye care voucher and much more.

We are an equity and inclusion confident employer. We welcome all applications, and we particularly encourage applications from people of the global majority (black, brown, multi- heritage) and those who identify as disabled, neuro-expansive, neuro-diverse, with any protected characteristics and/or social barriers or challenges. We value the empowering and informative impact that all lived experiences and diversity of thought can offer the organisation.

St Giles will guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria set out in the Job Description for the vacancy.