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    Meet The Team

    Meet The Team

    We have put together some photos of some of our team, understandably some people are concerned about having their image on the internet and we have honoured their request to be anonymous. But they really do exist!
    Meet The Team 1

    Mark Groves

    Chief Executive Officer
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    Mark joined The National Centre for Domestic Violence in 2008 as the Operations Manager. Over the last 10 years or so he has been able to create NCDV into a national organisation helping thousands of victims every month. He has been instrumental in securing numerous sector awards and is particularly proud to be one of the few non law firms and non lawyers to receive an Excellence Award from the Law Society.


    In 2016 the previous CEO stepped down and Mark naturally took his place. Mark said “Driving an organisation like NCDV with over 150 staff and thousands of victims to help is extremely challenging, we are here for the victims but with no government funding we also have to create an income to sustain our service. By far the biggest asset we have is our team, they are the ones that make us succeed.”

    Got a question for Mark? Ask the CEO

    Meet The Team 2

    Sharon Bryan

    Head of Partnerships & Development of Domestic Abuse Services
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    Sharon joined NCDV in January 2021 to develop the new role of ‘Head of Partnerships & Development of Domestic Abuse Services’.

    Sharon has had 26 years’ experience of working in the field of domestic abuse. She has worked front line with survivors of domestic abuse in refuges and as a consultant co-located within children’s services departments. She is a qualified IDVA and developed and managed the first IDVA service in Westminster, London. She is also a qualified facilitator of ‘The Freedom Programme’.

    Sharon is a well-respected, award-winning domestic abuse specialist who joins us with a wealth of knowledge and experience in public speaking, media work and awareness raising, as well as development in the ever-changing landscape of domestic abuse.

    She also has a great sense of humour!
    Meet The Team 3

    Fiona

    Operations Manager
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    Fiona is in charge of all things, she make sure everything works and functions correctly, the teams talk to each other and the victims receive the best possible care.
    Meet The Team 4

    Leanne Hitchens

    Recruitment Manager
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    Leanne has over 15 years recruitment experience dealing with various positions on multiple levels across a number of industry sectors. She is passionate about recruiting the right people for the right roles and likes to make everyone feel welcomed and at ease.

    If you have any questions about working for NCDV or how to apply for a position please feel free to contact her.
    Meet The Team 5

    Charlotte Woodward

    National Training Manager
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    Headed by Charlotte, the training team consist of experienced trainers who have worked in the sector for many years and have experience in law enforcement, legal backgrounds and social working/support. They are totally committed to telling people all about the work we do at the National Centre for Domestic Violence.

    Charlotte brings many years of experience in managing domestic abuse services and delivering training on behalf of organisations and local authorities; she has also worked as an independent consultant in the sector. More recently, she has worked with high risk, high harm perpetrators of domestic abuse to help them address and change their behaviour. Charlotte has “survived and thrived” after her own experiences of domestic abuse.
    Meet The Team 6

    Corinna

    HR & Support
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    Corinna is our smiley face, no matter what happens she sees the bright side. She mostly works with our CEO providing him with backup and support but also gets involved with everything from HR to making sure we have enough milk. She brings management, financial and organisational skills with her. Corinna also runs our newsletters and our NCDV Magazine
    Meet The Team 7

    First Steps Team

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    The First Steps Team are the first responders, they will listen and help find solutions to problems. They are passionate about helping people who find themselves in difficult circumstances.
    Meet The Team 8

    Casework & Pro Bono Team

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    The pro bono casework team help those without legal representation and in need of the protection of a non-molestation order from the Courts, by drafting the witness statement and preparing the Court application forms. We provide support and assistance to help navigate them through the often difficult process of obtaining the Court orders necessary to protect them from further violence or abuse.
    Meet The Team 9

    Legal Team

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    The legal Team know all about the law, headed by a solicitor and paralegal caseworkers.
    Meet The Team 10

    Process Serving Team

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    The Process Serving team headed up by Nunzia is responsible for ensuring the orders are served on the respondents as quickly as possible and they are proud of the fact that they serve 85% of orders within 24 hours.

    They are also responsible for keeping the ASSIST online database updated for the police enabling any any officer to download an order wherever it was granted.
    Meet The Team 11

    Admin Team

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    Peter and Izzie form the dream team for admin, making sure the data is kept up to date and victims and the police are fed back critical information. Peter is also our GDPR Compliance officer.
    Meet The Team 12

    Forrest

    Chief Morale Officer
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    Forrest is our CEOs bulldog and appears regularly at the office to cause distraction and mayhem. He is very cute and has no obedience skills whatsoever doing whatever he wants to do including the odd smell! He is quite a character and you can follow his exploits on Instagram.
    Tony

    Hello, my name is Tony and for many years I have helped victims of abuse in different ways. Currently I am proud to deliver NCDV awareness training to good people that help victims of abuse and by doing so I know I am helping to get people in urgent need escape from exploitation, manipulation and violence.

     

    Mick (Midlands)

    I Joined NCDV in Nov 2015. I have extensive past experience dealing with Domestic Abuse victims and issues in various roles. I have also held a Diploma in Teaching and Life Long Learning Studies since 2008.

    Mick is a father of two daughters – who are both very adept at spending their father’s money! Spare time interests include keeping fit and rugby union.

     

    Karen

    I am a retired Police Officer, who throughout my 30 years of service has on an almost daily basis dealt with the horrific impact of Domestic Abuse on victims/survivors, children and their families.

    My aim is to provide everyone I am able with the opportunity to know all about the ‘tools’ that are available to support them/their clients, through their individual crisis – especially such an amazing service that is provided by the NCDV.

    Personally, in more recent years, I have completed a Degree in the Dynamics of Domestic Violence at Worcester University and a Diploma in Counselling, working directly to assist all in my work. Both qualifications have substantially aided my ability to support and help Agencies and Victims/Survivors with my extensive knowledge and life experience around Domestic Abuse.

    Away from work, my passion lies with my camper van, my son and my dogs!!

     
    Carol

    I have over 30 years experience in working in a multi-agency environment with a focus on Public Protection & Harm Reduction helping victims. I am also a qualified Trainer having gained my Certificate in Adult Education at Northumbria University in June 2002.

    I have been working for NCDV as a Training Programme Manager since December 2015. I can provide NCDV awareness training for people who work with and support victims /survivors of domestic violence in the North East region, covering from Northumberland to Cleveland and across to the borders with Cumbria.

    I am married to Barry with a grown up son, Sam. I am always up for a challenge. Most recently I have cycled the Coast to Coast route from Whitehaven to Tynemouth, Taken part in the Edinburgh Midnight Walk walking 26 miles through the night for Breast Cancer Awareness and most recently climbing Ben Nevis to raise money for the Hearing Dogs for the Deaf

     
    Tony T

    Following ‘retirement’ after serving 33 years in the Metropolitan Police I set up a legal services business predominantly involved in serving County Court Orders on abusers. I later moved into my current training roll with NCDV educating police officers (mostly in London) about our services. Since joining the organisation I have found my colleagues thoroughly professional and proactive in projecting a national service free to all who need it. Innovation and quality of service has I know helped thousands of survivors. I have no doubt, through timely intervention, the NCDV’s service has probably saved countless lives. I am delighted to be a part of this organisation.

     
    Bev (Training Administrator)

    I have many years of experience working in the field of domestic abuse both in the police service and as an IDVA Support Worker in commissioned Domestic Abuse Services in the West Midlands and Warwickshire.

    I am passionate about working in this area and am looking forward to working with NCDV. I have previously accessed NCDV services for clients and feel that survivors of domestic abuse must be given all available options so they can decide which route is best for them.

    By Fiona Bawden, Times Online (8th May 2007)

    “Steve Connor, a student at City Law School, is a man on a mission. Six years ago he was a fairly directionless 27-year-old. Today, as well as taking the Bar Vocational Course, he is chairman of the National Centre for Domestic Violence, a ground-breaking organisation that he dragged into existence after a friend could not get legal help to protect her from an abusive partner.

    Connor’s route to the Bar has been circuitous. In 2001 he returned from a year in Australia (he says that he would not dignify describing it as a gap year), and took a job as a process server in South London. The job (“I just saw it advertised in the paper”) was not quite as dull as it sounds. On one occasion he was threatened with a machete, on another, he was nearly stabbed by a man he had arranged to meet on Clapham Common to serve with a non-molestation order: “He’d seemed really friendly on the phone…”

    The turning point in his life came when a friend, who was being abused by her partner, turned to him for support. Connor went with her to the police. She did not want to press criminal charges so the police suggested that she visit a solicitor to take out a civil injunction. “We must have seen 12 solicitors in a morning. We just went from one to the next to the next to the next. Everyone was very eager to help until we sat down to fill in the forms for the legal aid means test,” he says. The woman, who had a small child, did not qualify for public funding. But, Connor says, her financial situation as it appeared on paper did not bear any relation to her financial situation in reality. “She had a part-time job and she and her partner owned their home. Yet she didn’t have any money. Her boyfriend was very controlling and controlled all the money; he kept the chequebooks and didn’t let her have access to the bank account.”

    The injustice of the situation got under Connor’s skin. “I just couldn’t believe that there was no help available to people who did not qualify for public funds but could not afford to pay.

    I just kept feeling that this must be able to be sorted if only someone would address it.”That “someone” turned out to be him.

    In 2002, thanks entirely to Connor’s doggedness, the London Centre for Domestic Violence was formed. It started out with him and a friend, but is now a national organisation, covering 27 counties, and has helped approximately 10,000 victims last year to take out injunctions against their partners.

    NCDV now has nine full-time staff, 12 permanent volunteers and has trained over 5000 law and other students as McKenzie Friends to accompany unrepresented victims into court. We have also trained over 8000 police officers in civil remedies available regarding domestic violence. The National Centre for Domestic Violence (NCDV) has branches in London, Guildford and Manchester and is on track to have branches in 16 areas within the next two years.

    NCDV specialises exclusively in domestic violence work and could be characterised as a cross between McDonald’s and Claims Direct. The high degree of specialisation means that its processes are streamlined: clients can be seen quickly and the work is done speedily and cheaply. “Sometimes, we will have one of our trained McKenzie Friends at a court doing 10 applications in one day,” Connor says.

    Clients are not charged for the service. NCDV staff take an initial statement: clients who qualify for legal aid are referred to a local firm; those that don’t get free help from the centre itself. It runs on a shoestring, heavily reliant on volunteers and capping staff salaries at £18,000 a year.

    Steve expects to qualify as a barrister this summer and hopes that having a formal legal qualification will give the centre added clout. “We are already acknowledged as experts and consulted at a high level, so I thought it would be helpful if I could back that up by being able to say I’m a barrister,” he says. He is just about to complete a one-year full-time BVC course at the City Law School (formerly the Inns of Court Law School) and, all being well, should be called to the Bar in July. Although Connor sees his long-term future as a barrister, he says that he has no immediate plans to practise. “I want to get NCDV running on a fully national level. Then I may take a step back and have a career at the Bar.”