Job summary
Employer heading
GESH Associate Director of Safeguarding
Band 8c
*The pay scales advertised have been confirmed by NHS England, we are awaiting confirmation of when these will be reflected. The new scales can be found here: Pay scales for 2024/25 | NHS Employers
Job overview
We are looking for an experienced and motivated nurse, social worker or AHP to join the St George's, Epsom & St Helier Hospital Group (GESH) as the Associate Director of Safeguarding.
Reporting to the Director of Safeguarding, the Group Associate Director of Safeguarding is the senior safeguarding operational lead across GESH, responsible for delivery of the Group-wide safeguarding service for adults and children in hospital and community settings.
Working with colleagues across the Group and with the Corporate Nursing team, this role will be pivotal in identifying new and collaborative ways of working and opportunities for learning. They will operationally manage the safeguarding workforce and service, and will provide expert operational safeguarding advice and leadership to colleagues at all levels of the organisation.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will lead and manage the Named and Lead professionals across the Group. Contributing to the identification and management of organisational risk, and leading the development of site specific safeguarding work programmes; ensuring that these are informed by data analysis and respond to themes and learning from adverse events.
Through partnerships with key stakeholders the post-holder will establish and continuously improve professional standards in relation to the identification and management of safeguarding concerns across all clinical and non-clinical specialities.
They will develop and maintain strong inter-agency relationships, providing leadership of the safeguarding agenda and supporting capacity building within the health and social care economy.
Working for our organisation
St George’s, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals and Health Group cares for a population of four million people in South West London and North East Surrey. Our sites include St George’s Hospital, one of 11 major trauma centres in the UK and the largest healthcare provider and major teaching hospital in the area; St Helier Hospital, home to the South West Thames Renal and Transplantation Unit and Queen Mary's Hospital for Children; and Epsom Hospital, home to the South West London Elective Orthopaedic Centre (SWLEOC).
After years of collaboration, our two Trusts became a hospitals group in 2021. While remaining as two separate Trusts, being a hospitals group will help us to collaborate more closely on research, and the development, education, and training of our 17,000-strong workforce.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
• Contribute to the identification and management of organisational risk by providing analysis and expert advice to the organisation on the impacts of safeguarding legislation, policy, and statutory guidance and on the recommendations of national Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews, Safeguarding Adult Reviews, Domestic Homicide Reviews and Local Learning Reviews. This will be lead in conjunction with Site Safeguarding leadership/Named Professionals.
• Lead the development of the site specific Safeguarding work programmes; ensuring that these are informed by data analysis and respond to themes and learning from adverse events.
• Support Site Safeguarding Teams with Safeguarding Committees and leading contribution to Trust thematic safeguarding sub-groups as required.
• Support site-based teams to develop action plans to highlight compliance with training and supervision standards.
• Through partnerships with key stakeholders establish and continuously improve professional standards in relation to the identification and management of safeguarding concerns across all clinical and non-clinical specialities.
• Represent the organisation at local, regional, and national level acting as an ambassador for Group and for the nursing profession.
• Ensure that Named Professionals actively contribute to Local Safeguarding Partnership meetings (children and adults) and subgroup activity.
• Actively develop and maintain strong inter-agency relationships, providing leadership of the safeguarding agenda and supporting capacity building within the health and social care economy. Gather, analyse, interpret, and present extensive and/or complex data and information, as necessary, to facilitate service development and contribute to needs-led safeguarding service planning, commissioning, and delivery.
• Together with the Group Director of Nursing, Quality and Safety Governance lead safeguarding service improvement and innovations in practice; supporting integrated service delivery and teamwork across professional boundaries.
• Recognise and reward excellence in practice.
• Develop and maintain communication with professionals and service users on complex safeguarding matters, issues, and ideas and/or in complex situations.
• Communicate effectively with a wide range of people in a manner consistent with their level of understanding, culture and background and preferred ways of understanding.
• Provide and present complex information to a wide range of audiences including but not exclusively professional groups, regulators and inspectors, board of directors and public representatives.
• Provide and receive highly complex information and anticipate barriers to communication, whilst recognising factors that may influence the situation and proactively seeking out solutions to improve communication.
• Recognise complexity within safeguarding communications and any associated political issues and risks and use a range of skills to adapt the delivery of information.
• Together with the Group Director of Nursing, Quality and Safety Governance and in partnership with Group and Site Senior Teams and commissioners, contribute to the assessment of safeguarding provision within areas of new service and establish effective safeguarding provision in these areas.
• Be responsible for the prompt escalation of highly complex safeguarding cases to the Group Director of Nursing, Quality and Safety Governance.
Governance and Risk:
• Manage the implementation of systems, control processes and risk management arrangements to support monitoring of compliance with Safeguarding clinical governance standards, other Group and Trust wide policies and processes and best practice requirements within areas of responsibility.
• Together with the Group Director of Nursing, Quality and Safety Governance provide strategic leadership in the planning, implementation, training and monitoring of all aspects of Safeguarding across the group.
• Have a clear understanding of own and others role in emergency and business continuity planning and activities. Take a leadership role in maintenance of local emergency and business continuity plans.
• Support the Sites with risk management systems to ensure appropriate and timely reporting of adverse incidents and ensure that necessary action is taken
• Provide Group reports for delegated areas of service improvements and projects to the Group Corporate Nursing team.
• With the Group Corporate Nursing Team support the Trust’s corporate and quality governance processes to ensure the implementation of the Trust integrated governance framework that assures safe and effective care for patients and complies with public sector values and codes of conduct and accountability.
• With the Group Corporate nursing Team ensure risks are appropriately identified, managed and reported on the relevant Risk Register.
• The post holder will have the authority and freedom to initiate and develop practice within a Clinical Governance framework.
Compliance and Assurance
• With the Group Director of Compliance ensure appropriate CQC compliance monitoring programmes and processes for Safeguarding are in place across Clinical Divisions, Corporate Services to be able to evidence registration and ensure awareness of and readiness for external inspection and registration validation
• Ensure there are systems in place to co-ordinate the monitoring and follow-up of recommendations from internal and external audits
• Work with key internal stakeholders (e.g., performance and information) to improve ward to board (and vice versa) information and communication to facilitate board assurance on key IPC issues.
Planning and Reporting:
• Produce and/or co-ordinate the production of cyclical, routine, periodic and ad hoc analysis, information, data and high-quality reports for Trust Board, Quality Committees in Common, Group Executive Meeting and other committees, groups and meetings as required
• Provide expert advice, information and support to senior managers, clinicians and committees on matters relating to IPC and ensure the Group is kept informed of related national strategic issues
Corporate/Strategic:
• Together with the Group Director of Nursing, Quality and Safety Governance develop the safeguarding strategy for the Group
• Contribute to the delivery of the Group’s objectives on quality, safety and governance and ensure delivery of the Group strategy
• Contribute to the delivery of national standards and external requirements for all aspects of Safeguarding
• To undertake any other duties commensurate with the post as required by the Group Chief Nurse or Group Chief Medical Officer
Person specification
Qualifications & Experience
Essential criteria
- Nurse or social worker (Social Work England registration) or Allied Health Professional
- Significant experience in senior safeguarding role for children and adults
- Significant line management experience
Desirable criteria
- Experience of being a Named Practitioner in Safeguarding
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Experience of developing and implementing strategies, policies, and procedures to support best practice.
- Experience of developing and delivering safeguarding training in a large/complex organisation
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Sam Page
- Job title
- Group Director of Safeguarding
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07350445991
- Additional information
Interview date: 9th January 2025
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