Safeguarding Lead – Children & Young People

Safeguarding Lead – Children & Young People
Location: Remote / UK-based
Contract: Permanent, Full-Time
Hours: 40 hours per week
Salary: £35,500 – £43,000 per annum
Additional: £1,000 Work From Home Allowance

About the Role An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Safeguarding Lead – Children & Young People to join a leading digital psychiatry service supporting children, young people and adults across the UK.

This is a fully home-based position, with occasional travel required for meetings, training and multi-agency events.

As the Children & Young People Safeguarding Lead, you will provide specialist safeguarding expertise, advice and leadership across the organisation. Working closely with clinicians, operational teams, senior leaders, the Head of Safeguarding and external agencies, you will help ensure safeguarding concerns are identified, assessed, managed and escalated appropriately.

You will play a key role in supporting complex safeguarding cases and embedding effective safeguarding practice throughout the patient journey, from referral through to discharge.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide specialist safeguarding advice to clinicians, operational teams and senior leaders.
• Support the identification, assessment, management and escalation of safeguarding concerns.
• Provide expert advice on child protection, parental responsibility, consent, confidentiality, Gillick competence and information sharing.
• Support the management of complex safeguarding cases involving abuse, neglect, exploitation, domestic abuse, contextual safeguarding, online harms, self-harm and suicide risk.
• Support referrals and information sharing with Children's Social Care, police and other relevant agencies.
• Develop clear, proportionate and defensible safeguarding management plans.
• Provide timely advice and support in relation to high-risk and urgent safeguarding concerns.
• Work collaboratively with local authorities, NHS organisations, schools, police, safeguarding partnerships and third-sector organisations.
• Attend child protection conferences, strategy discussions and other multi-agency meetings where required.
• Provide safeguarding supervision and contribute to reflective practice.
• Contribute to safeguarding training, guidance and professional development.
• Support safeguarding audits, reviews, incident learning and quality improvement activity.
• Maintain accurate, confidential and contemporaneous safeguarding records.

Digital & Remote Safeguarding As this is a digital healthcare service, you will also provide specialist safeguarding advice in relation to remote and virtual care.

This will include:

• Supporting clinicians managing safeguarding concerns identified during video, telephone and digital consultations.
• Advising on the verification of identity, location, parental responsibility and emergency contacts.
• Supporting appropriate and timely escalation where immediate safeguarding risks are identified.
• Ensuring appropriate local authority and emergency service contacts can be identified across different geographical areas.
• Maintaining awareness of online safety, digital harms and emerging safeguarding risks.
• Advising on safe and effective safeguarding practice within remote healthcare environments.

About You We are seeking an experienced children and young people's safeguarding professional with strong specialist knowledge and the confidence to provide expert advice in complex and sensitive situations.

You will be comfortable working autonomously while also building effective relationships with clinicians, operational teams, senior leaders and external agencies.

You will have the confidence to provide appropriate professional challenge, escalate concerns when required and make clear, proportionate and defensible safeguarding decisions.

Essential Requirements

• Registered healthcare or social care professional with an appropriate professional body.
• Safeguarding Children Level 4 training or an equivalent specialist safeguarding qualification.
• Significant experience working in safeguarding children and young people within healthcare, mental health, social care or a related setting.
• Strong knowledge of safeguarding legislation, statutory guidance and child protection processes.
• Good working knowledge of the Children Act 1989 and 2004 and Working Together to Safeguard Children.
• Knowledge of parental responsibility, consent, confidentiality, Gillick competence and information sharing.
• Knowledge and experience relating to domestic abuse, exploitation, contextual safeguarding and online harms.

Desirable Experience It would be advantageous if you also have:

• Experience working within remote or digital healthcare.
• Recent specialist safeguarding children training.
• Experience developing safeguarding training programmes.
• Experience in audit, quality improvement or policy development.
• Experience preparing safeguarding assurance for CQC, NHS commissioners or other regulatory bodies.

What You'll Receive Alongside a competitive salary, you will benefit from a package designed to support your wellbeing, professional development and work-life balance, including:

• £1,000 Work From Home allowance
• Health Cash Plan
• Well Hub subscription
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Annual Volunteering Day
• Enhanced sickness and family leave pay
• Length of Service Bonus
• Pension options
• Fully remote working