VICTIM SUPPORT
Services Director – London
Candidate Brief
May 2015
CONTENTS
About Victim Support
About the role
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Job description
Job holder competencies
Terms and conditions of service
The timetable
How to apply
ABOUT VICTIM SUPPORT
Overview
In its 40th year, Victim Support has seen as much change as at any time in its history, yet has
held true to its mission – to provide victims and witnesses with the high quality support they
need, and to speak up on their behalf to ensure they get the respect they deserve.
Victim Support continues to deliver outstanding services for victims and witnesses. Last
year it provided practical and emotional help to more than 152,000 victims – 10% more than
in 2013 – and supported nearly 198,000 witnesses at court. The vast majority of this help
was delivered through its teams, made up of more than 4,300 volunteers.
Victim Support has supported victims through high profile cases such as Operation Yewtree
and other historical abuse investigations. Its specialist services continue to develop, with an
expanding children and young people programme and new restorative justice projects. It
supports victims of domestic and sexual violence and tackles antisocial behaviour (ASB) and
hate crime.
Victim Support has embraced fundamental changes to how victim and witness services are
commissioned and has seen its expertise recognised through successful bids nationally and
locally. It has been commissioned by the Ministry of Justice to continue providing the
national homicide service
Victim Support has been contracted to deliver services by many of the Police and Crime
Commissioners across England and Wales through the newly devolved funding regime
Victim Support has played a significant role in extending the rights of victims and witnesses
too. Many improvements to the Victims Code announced in October 2013, reflect its
submissions to the Ministry of Justice. Victims now have the right to read out their Victim
Personal statements in court and are entitled to receive information about restorative
justice.
Most importantly, the proposal that only victims of certain crimes should be automatically
referred to support services was abandoned following a campaign by the charity. Victim
Support is determined to ensure there is robust monitoring of how the criminal justice
system meets its obligations under the new code to turn these rights into a reality for
victims.
Services
Victim Support has a presence in every community across England and Wales. Its volunteers
and staff give people practical and emotional support so they can cope and recover from the
effects of crime.
This help is wide ranging from filling in a form to claim compensation, to supporting people
to get rehoused or receive medical treatment. Victim Support helps people deal with their
feelings and emotions through challenging and traumatic times. It does this through
working in partnership with the criminal justice system, local and national commissioners
and other charities and public sector agencies, such as housing and health.
Below is a short service synopsis from Victim Support:
ABOUT THE ROLE
JOB DESCRIPTION
Job title:
Services Director – (London)
Service Area / Function:
Service Delivery
Job Location:
London Victim Support Office
Reporting to:
Operations Director
Responsible for:
c200 (Likely to be c4 direct reports)
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1
Job Purpose
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To be the primary ‘relationship manager’ for all commissioned victims services and to be
responsible for the growth, management and delivery of all Services in London
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Ensure that:
a. Services are provided to a consistently high standard to meet customer needs and
expectations
b. Relevant service and developmental objectives and targets are achieved
c. Service planning and delivery reflect a clear understanding of the diverse nature of
Victim Support’s clients and stakeholders
d. Opportunities for continuous, ambitious improvement, based on partnerships with
the public, private, voluntary and community sectors, are identified and exploited in
an effective way.
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To develop and deliver a victim’s services plan for London that reflects the ambition and
objectives of the corporate strategy.
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To identify, develop, promote and deliver new business opportunities that enhance our
services, reach more clients and improve our financial viability
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To ensure that we build and develop strong partnerships with the public, private and
voluntary and community sectors and raise our profile and voice within London and ensure
we can work to provide integrated services for victims and witnesses
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Lead relevant staff teams and volunteers in a proactive, innovative and effective way and
ensure that individuals and teams are nurtured and supported to secure high levels of
performance, motivation, commitment, teamwork, collaboration and trust.
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Responsibility for some cross-organisational ‘themes leadership’, as agreed with the
Operations Director and to pro-actively contribute to Victims Services learning by sharing
best practice and information.
Generic Responsibilities
Learning, Development and Training
 Renew and enhance direct report team skills and maintain own professional development.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
 Ensure all duties are carried out in a manner which promotes Victim Support’s equality,
diversity and inclusion policies.
Health, Safety & Environment
 Promote a health and safety culture, observe all health and safety rules and procedures and
complete training courses, as required.
Data Protection
 Ensure that all information is maintained in accordance with the Data Protection Act and any
other relevant legislation or good practice
Other Duties/Roles
 Undertake any other duties as required.
 Geographical boundaries may flex as funding is won/lost
Key Dimensions
Budget
 Responsible for the effective management of a total revenue / expenditure budget in the
order of £6m (TBC).
Staff & volunteers
 Responsible for the effective management of circa 200 staff, with 6 direct reports and circa
1000 active volunteers.
Resources
 Responsible for the proper use and safekeeping of major physical assets and resources,
valued in excess of £2m (TBC).
Travel/Unsocial Hours
 Frequent travel is required including occasional overnight stays and some unsocial hours.
This job description serves to illustrate the type and scope of the duties currently required for the
above post and to provide an indication of the required level of responsibility. It is not a
comprehensive or exclusive list and duties may be varied from time to time, they will not however
change the general character of the job or the level of responsibility entailed
JOB HOLDER COMPETENCIES
Knowledge and Experience
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A demonstrable track record of leading, developing and managing multi-disciplinary teams to
achieve growth, sustainable improvements in efficiency and effectiveness and to ensure
delivery of outstanding results for clients
Evidence of establishing a performance management focus, improving individual and team
performance and the management of diverse staff groups
A track record of working in and forging successful partnerships with a wide range of internal
and external bodies to successfully deliver complex projects
Experience and demonstrable success of delivering organisational and cultural change
Demonstrable appreciation of legal, regulatory, ethical and social requirements relevant to a
service delivery charity
Skills and abilities
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Ability to think and plan operationally and strategically (E)
Leadership skills and the ability to empower, motivate and develop staff, to create a
positive, inclusive team ethos (E)
Evidence of ability to build and sustain effective relationships with commissioners (E)
Highly developed networking, advocacy, written, oral and presentation skills to relate
effectively to key internal and external stakeholders, and command their respect, trust and
confidence (E)
Substantial skills in financial and budgetary management with the ability to understand,
manage and interpret data and other financial information (E)
Ability to apply innovative thinking and judgement to initiate and support change, to take
action, to meet targets and achieve desired outcomes (E)
Personal resilience and an ability to cope with ambiguity, uncertainty and scrutiny from
others
The ambition and drive to motivate and work with others to create an organisation that
becomes the benchmark to which others aspire
Very strong personal integrity, honesty and openness when dealing with others
Ability to manage competing priorities in a high pressure environment
Commitment to the achievement of value for money, service excellence and equality and
diversity in service delivery.
Qualifications
Degree level education or equivalent experience
Driving Licence
(E) = Essential shortlisting criteria
(E)
TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE
The appointment is full-time, and during the first six months, performance will be regularly
reviewed.
Salary:
c. £70,000 p.a.
Holiday:
30 working days per annum plus Bank Holidays.
Pension:
5% non-contributory pension
TIMETABLE
ACTIVITY
DATE
Closing date
Friday, 5th June 2015
Preliminary interviews with Russam GMS
Week commencing Monday, 8th June 2015
Final interview with Victim Support
Week commencing Monday, 15th/22nd June
2015
HOW TO APPLY
We welcome applications from all sections of the community and will be pleased to help meet any
requirements arising as part of the recruitment process, for example wheelchair access.
To apply for this post, please provide the following:

a supporting statement, explaining how you believe your experience matches the
requirements of the role, directly addressing the person specification; and
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a comprehensive CV including details of your achievements in each role, and
including details of two referees, one of whom should be your current or most
recent employer
All of these documents should be uploaded in the relevant fields via the application link
below:
http://russam-gms.co.uk/vacancies/4551/
For an informal and confidential discussion about the role, please contact Melissa Baxter
on 07789 985229 [email protected] or Marsha Gosling on 07818 509690
[email protected].