Vacancy -- National Adviser for Violence Against Women, Gender Based-Violence, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence

In accordance with the Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015 (“the Act”),  the Welsh Government is seeking to appoint a National Adviser for Violence Against Women, Gender-based Violence, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence. 

The successful candidate will be expected to be an expert in this field, providing an informed perspective on the work being taken forward to develop and implement the policy and legislation in these areas.

This is a statutory role appointed via the public appointment process.  The Adviser will work alongside the Government to advise and assist the Welsh Ministers in tackling these issues.


This appointment offers an excellent opportunity to develop knowledge and experience of working with the Welsh Ministers and policy making at a national level.

The functions of the Adviser, as set out in the Act are to:

 

• advise the Welsh Ministers about pursuing the purpose of the Act or tackling related matters [1];
• give other assistance to the Welsh Ministers in their pursuit of the purpose of the Act or tackling related matters;
• to undertake research relating to pursuing the purpose of the Act, tackling related matters or examining whether abuse of any kind is related directly or indirectly to inequality of any kind between people of a different gender, gender identity or sexual orientation;
• to advise and give other assistance, with the agreement of the Welsh Ministers, to any person on matters relating to pursuing the purpose of the Act or tackling related matters;
• produce reports on any matter relating to the purpose of the Act or tackling related matters.

[1] A “related matter” is abuse which the National Adviser considers to be related directly or indirectly to inequality of any kind between people of a different gender, gender identity or sexual orientation.

In practice the Adviser’s role will include, on behalf of the Welsh Ministers: 

• agreeing an annual plan setting how they propose to exercise their functions during the following year;
  
  
• providing an annual report to the Welsh Ministers setting out how the priorities set out in the annual plan have been met, including a statement of other activities they have undertaken during the year;
  
  
• providing an expert perspective to the development and implementation of policy across the Welsh Government and so help the development of more coherent and consistent policy and decision-making;
  
  
• working with Public Services across Wales and beyond to ensure best practice, and support the high quality and standards required by the Welsh Government;
  
  
• reviewing the actions being taken by persons in exercising their functions under the Act, and advising the Welsh Ministers of the findings;
  
  
• encouraging all services and agencies to perform to a quality standard,  including the coordination of services, performance monitoring, multi-agency working, information sharing and data collection;
  
  
• providing a focus to ensure tackling gender-based violence, domestic abuse and sexual violence is a priority across the Public Sector;
  
  
• providing a focus to ensure women’s safety at work is a priority across the Public Sector;
  
  
• addressing the issues of strategic incoherence, inconsistency of approach and lack of leadership at both a Local and a National level in Wales;
  
  
• working with the specialist third sector and charitable organisations that provide services in Wales supporting victims and survivors of gender-based violence, domestic abuse and sexual violence to seek their input to the development of policy, strategy and service delivery;
  
  
• working with victims and survivors, to gain an understanding of their experiences and views and to consider how these could influence the development of policy and delivery of services;
  
  
• supporting the Welsh Ministers in raising awareness of the issues associated with tackling gender-based violence, domestic abuse and sexual violence including through national campaigns;
  
  
• providing expert advice to the wider Welsh Government VAWDASV Team and working with the team on a range of policy issues; and
  
  
• participating in Ministerial and official level meetings to discuss their work and input to wider policy development.

The Welsh Government acknowledges the importance of developing and growing bilingual capabilities in public appointments in Wales, and welcomes applications from candidates who demonstrate their capability to work in both English and Welsh.  The following list of language requirements represents an objective assessment by the recruiting body of the Welsh language skills required to undertake the duties of this particular post.

All candidates will be required to demonstrate in their written application and at interview how they meet the requirements of the post, including examples of how, in previous activity, they have demonstrated each of the requirements.  The criteria used to assess whether candidates have the necessary qualities, skills and experience are listed below.:.

The successful candidate will have the profile to command respect and credibility with the Welsh Ministers, the Senedd Cymru (Welsh Parliament) and external stakeholders and be able to demonstrate:


(i) Broad experience at a senior level in public, private or third sectors, as well as a strong understanding of public policy and interest in the areas of gender-based violence, domestic abuse and sexual violence;


(ii) Objectivity and independence from Government and specific interest groups (where there could be potential conflicts of interest);


(iii) Track record in scrutiny (private, public or voluntary sector experience):

(iv) Experience in the development and implementation of strategic and operational priorities and the development of workable recommendations to improve the impact and effectiveness of public service and third sector delivery;


(v) Adherence to the Seven Principles of Public Life and the highest levels of professional integrity and propriety; and

 

(vi) The Welsh Ministers want to ensure that the voices of survivors of violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence underpin and inform the work of the Welsh Government in this area. Therefore, the proven ability to engage with victims and survivors of VAWDASV is crucial to this role.

 

To be considered, you must be able to demonstrate that you have the qualities, skills and experience to meet all the essential criteria for appointment.

         Essential Criteria

• Professional expertise in the field of gender-based violence, domestic abuse and sexual violence, including an understanding of equality issues and the vulnerabilities and challenges faced by victims and the support they should receive;
  
  
• Recent experience at a senior level in public, private or third sectors, of facilitating successful change management;
  
  
• Strategic perspective, leadership, influencing and negotiating skills to bring together a diverse range of internal and external stakeholders with a wide and varied range of views and priorities'
  
  
• A successful track record in developing policy and services and a clear understanding of commissioning services within tight budgetary constraints;
  
  
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, particularly on complex and/or sensitive issues;
  
  
• Political awareness; 
  
  
• Given the high profile of the role, experience of working with the media is essential.
  
  
  
  Desirable Criteria

• The ability to communicate through the medium of Welsh is desirable but not essential. However, all candidates will be expected to display an empathy towards the language and support decision making to strengthen bilingual service provision;
  
  
• Understanding of the Welsh Government’s policies on gender-based violence, domestic abuse and sexual violence.

31/03/2022, 16:00

Contacts:

For further information regarding the selection process, please contact:

 

Public Appointments Team

Public Bodies Unit

Email: publicappointments@gov.wales

 

For further information regarding the role of the National Adviser for Violence Against Women Gender-based Violence, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence please contact: VAWDASV@gov.wales.

If you need any further assistance in applying for this role, please contact  publicappointments@gov.wales. For further information about Public Appointments in Wales, please visit www.gov.wales/publicappointments.

To apply for this role, click on the ‘Apply’ button below. The first time you apply for a post, you will need to complete a registration form for the Welsh Government’s online application system.  You will only need to register once, and you will be able to keep yourself updated on the progress of your application, and any other applications you make, via your registered account.

Once you’ve registered, you’ll be able to access the application form.  To apply you will need to submit two supporting documents. The first, a document outlining how your knowledge, skills and experiences meet the criteria for the role as outlined in the information for candidates.  This document should be no more than 2 sides of A4.  Your application may be rejected if you exceed this limit.  The second document is a full, up to date CV.  The two documents should be uploaded to the ‘Reasons for applying’ section of the online application form.

In your application, you will also be asked to provide details of any activities which have helped you to develop skills that would be useful in a public appointment role, and list the organisations for which you undertook these activities.  We also need to know about any political activity that you’ve undertaken over the last 5 years. 

It is recommended that you register for an account and access the application form as soon as possible so that you see how the application form is structured, before starting to prepare your evidence.  You don’t have to complete the application form all in one go.  You can save your responses, and log in and out as required, until you’re ready to submit – just follow the guidance in the application form.

If you’d like to apply for this opportunity in Welsh, please use the ‘Newid Iaith / Change Language’ link at the top of this page, to take you to the Welsh version of this advert, from which you can apply in Welsh.

If you need any further assistance in applying for this role, please contact the Welsh Government’s Public Appointments Team on  PublicAppointments@gov.wales.

For further information about Public Appointments in Wales, please visit www.gov.wales/publicappointments