Harassment Support Worker, Inclusion team

***INTERNAL STAFF VOLUNTEER AND DEVELOPMENT ROLE ONLY***

The University Inclusion team is offering a unique opportunity for professional development to University of Essex staff members who are interested in supporting fellow staff members by providing a confidential listening and advice service through the University of Essex Report and Support System.

We are looking for volunteers who have some previous experience working with others to resolve issues and identify appropriate support where required. This role is not a counselling role, but rather a trained advisor role that will signpost and support staff as they seek to have various issues addressed through the Report and Support system.

Volunteers will be provided with training appropriate to the role as well as a network of other Harassment Support Workers to seek support and advice from. The time commitment required will vary, depending on the number of Harassment Support Workers recruited, but typically includes covering the Harassment Advisement Network inbox and Report and Support Dashboard one week every six weeks or so, with additional time allotted to deal with specific cases, as assigned.

Line managers will need to sign off on the application, and are encouraged to work with the applicant to allow sufficient time to the role. Further discussion to place in regards to hours required per week. Queries may be directed to .

Department

The role is not department-specific, but is supervised by the Chair of the Harassment Report and Support Service and supported by the Inclusion team, which sits within People and Culture.

Duties of the Role

The main duties of the post are to:

Advise and provide clients reporting harassment, bullying, etc. with information on how the behaviour they are experiencing can be dealt with;

Identify appropriate support for clients where required;

Be aware of other internal and external services which can offer counselling, support or practical and legal advice;

Be familiar with equalities legislation and the University’s policies;

Keep accurate records of meetings with clients, including a summary of the advice given;

Take responsibility, on a rota basis, for being the first responder to clients accessing the Harassment Report and Support Service;

Attend monthly network meetings;

Attend training when required; and

Raise awareness of the Harassment Report and Support

Skills and qualifications required

Those appointed will have:

Experience of working with students and staff from diverse cultural backgrounds;

Excellent interpersonal skills;

The ability to work autonomously;

The ability to maintain confidentiality in accordance with existing policy;

The ability to deal with clients professionally and with empathy at all times; and will have

Completed the online How We Work at Essex essential training, specifically the EDI section.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Supervised by the Chair of the Harassment Report and Support Service and Supported by the Inclusion Team, People and Culture

Voluntary role, one week rota system for monitoring the Harassment Advisor Network inbox and the Report and Support dashboard

All applications must be sent to Bhavya Jhaveri, Senior Inclusion Manager and EDI Lead, by emailing with a completed copy of the attached application form. Informal enquiries may be made by emailing the Inclusion Team at, or Kim Berry, Administration Officer and current Harassment Support Worker, at .