Assistant Diocesan Safeguarding Officer

Church of England; Liverpool; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

The Assistant Diocesan Safeguarding Officer (ADSO) role provides senior safeguarding practice across the Diocese of Liverpool, reporting to the Deputy DSO.

The postholder will manage a proportionate portfolio of complex and higher risk casework, offer specialist safeguarding advice and challenge to parishes and diocesan leaders, and contribute to professional quality assurance, risk management, learning and improvement.

Qualifications

• Substantial professional safeguarding experience in a statutory, voluntary or other regulated setting.
• Experience in safeguarding caseholding, risk assessment and safety planning.
• Experience working with victims and survivors, families and professionals in sensitive contexts.

Responsibilities

• Provide credible senior practitioner advice and challenge to clergy and parish leaders on safeguarding issues.
• Manage a portfolio of complex, high-risk safeguarding cases within delegated authority.
• Undertake professional safeguarding risk assessments, safety planning and quality assurance activities.
• Contribute to safeguarding governance, learning and improvement across the diocesan team.

Skills

Substantial safeguarding experience

Caseholding experience

Victims and survivors support

Professional risk assessment

Education

Relevant professional qualification (e.g. social work, probation, policing, health, education)

Job description

Role Summary

The Assistant Diocesan Safeguarding Officer (ADSO) will provide senior professional safeguarding practice across the Diocese of Liverpool. Reporting to the Deputy DSO, the postholder will hold a proportionate portfolio of complex and higher risk casework, provide specialist safeguarding advice and challenge to parishes and diocesan leaders, and contribute to professional quality assurance, risk management, learning and improvement.

The ADSO will work as part of a differentiated professional team: the Deputy DSO holds overall operational safeguarding leadership and supervision; the ADSO brings senior practitioner expertise, manages more complex allocated work and contributes to practice assurance; and the Safeguarding Caseworker provides dedicated capacity for allocated caseholding. The Cathedral Safeguarding Officer leads safeguarding practice within the Cathedral and is managed by the Deputy DSO.

The ADSO may carry out functions assigned or delegated by the DSO in accordance with applicable Church of England Codes of Practice and agreed diocesan arrangements. Such delegation must be explicit and proportionate; it does not remove the DSO’s accountability or transfer the Deputy DSO’s management responsibilities.

Duties and key responsibilities:

Responsibilities are set out under the Church of England’s five National Safeguarding Standards. Work will be allocated and prioritised in accordance with agreed professional thresholds, competency, case complexity and supervision arrangements.

Standard 1: Culture, Leadership and Capacity

• Provide credible senior practitioner advice, constructive challenge and support to clergy, Parish Safeguarding Officers (PSOs), parish leaders, archdeacons and diocesan colleagues on significant safeguarding issues, culture and practice.


• Support the Deputy DSO and DSO in establishing clear safeguarding thresholds, consistent case allocation, professional standards, escalation routes and safe decision making across the diocesan team.


• Contribute to diocesan safeguarding governance and reports by identifying themes, systemic risks, learning and areas requiring action, including those arising from complaints, audits and case reviews.


• Work collaboratively with the Safeguarding Operations & Parish Support Manager on parish improvement plans and quality assurance, distinguishing assessments of organisational practice from independent scrutiny of individual casework.


• Offer professional coaching and case discussion to colleagues, including the Caseworker, as agreed with the Deputy DSO, without assuming formal line management or independent supervision responsibility unless expressly allocated.

Standard 2: Prevention

• Advise church officers and diocesan bodies on effective implementation of House of Bishops safeguarding policy, Codes of Practice, relevant statutory guidance and safer working arrangements.


• Provide specialist safeguarding input on challenging recruitment and suitability decisions, including DBS disclosures and confidential declarations referred by operational colleagues, with formal decisions and sign off through authorised channels.


• Support proportionate parish safeguarding reviews and targeted improvement activity, especially where concerns relate to complex practice, protective arrangements or recurring risk.


• Work with the Training & Development Lead to identify practice learning needs and contribute specialist presentations, case based learning, bespoke sessions and professional input at PSO forums, deanery synods or PCCs as agreed, without taking responsibility for the overall training programme.

Standard 3: Recognising, Assessing and Managing Risk

• Manage an allocated portfolio of complex, sensitive or high risk safeguarding cases, including allegations concerning Church Officers and situations involving individuals who may present a risk to others, in line with current Church of England Codes and statutory obligations.


• Undertake, coordinate and review professional safeguarding risk assessments, Church Safety Plan and other risk management arrangements within competence and delegated authority, drawing on specialist or statutory advice where indicated.


• Provide senior practitioner input to case triage, prioritisation and escalation; make or recommend decisions within an agreed scheme of delegation and refer exceptional, disputed or highly sensitive matters to the Deputy DSO/DSO or relevant national route.


• Liaise effectively with police, children’s and adult social care, LADO services, probation/public protection partners, the National Safeguarding Team and other agencies; ensure timely referrals and appropriate information sharing.


• Contribute to Safeguarding Case Management Groups and relevant multi agency meetings; support defensible decisions, actions, reviews and clearly recorded professional rationale.


• Undertake allocated professional safeguarding quality assurance, including proportionate review of case files, risk assessments, safety plans, case progression and the quality of recording; report findings and follow up improvements under Deputy DSO oversight, avoiding independent assurance of one’s own decisions.


• Plan or undertake specialist parish safeguarding quality assurance visits and reviews, jointly with colleagues or independently within a defined remit, ensuring that findings about professional safeguarding practice are evidenced, reported and escalated.


• Maintain accurate, timely, secure and suitably detailed case records and supervision/decision logs in the authorised national safeguarding case management system and agreed diocesan records arrangements.


• Where there is immediate danger, ensure protective action and contact with emergency services without delay; raise safeguarding concerns, regulatory notifications and professional disagreements through the required routes.

Standard 4: Victims and Survivors

• Apply a trauma informed, person centred and non defensive approach in dealings with complainants, victims, survivors, respondents and others affected by safeguarding concerns.


• Ensure timely, sensitive communication and appropriate arrangements for support, advocacy and signposting, including consideration of an individual’s wishes, safety, accessibility and the boundaries of the diocesan safeguarding role.


• Contribute to implementation of Church of England guidance on responding well to victims and survivors; ensure their experiences and feedback inform professional practice, case reviews and service learning.

Standard 5: Learning, Supervision and Support

• Participate in regular professional supervision and reflective practice, continuing professional development and required Church of England safeguarding learning; maintain relevant professional registration where applicable.


• Contribute specialist subject expertise to safeguarding learning and practitioner development, in agreement with the Training & Development Lead; share lessons arising from serious incidents, professional case reviews and audits.


• Help develop consistent practice tools, guidance and casework approaches, reviewing their effectiveness with the Deputy DSO and other safeguarding practitioners.

Key Working Relationships

• Deputy DSO (line manager and operational safeguarding lead); DSO; Safeguarding Caseworker; Cathedral Safeguarding Officer and other members of the Diocesan Safeguarding Team.


• Safeguarding Operations & Parish Support Manager for parish organisational QA, systems, operational data and improvement action follow up; Training & Development Lead and Trainer for practice learning.


• Bishop, archdeacons, clergy, PSOs, churchwardens, PCCs, senior diocesan officers and, as agreed, diocesan safeguarding governance groups.


• Children’s and adult social care, police, LADO services, probation/public protection partners, relevant health and voluntary agencies, NST and Regional Safeguarding Leads.

Role Boundaries and Accountability

This is a senior professional practitioner role, not a second Deputy DSO post. The ADSO will undertake complex casework and delegated professional functions, contribute to casework quality assurance and advise on safeguarding risks; overall operational management, formal line management, case allocation oversight and supervision arrangements remain with the Deputy DSO. The ADSO does not automatically have authority to make decisions reserved to the DSO, bishop, statutory agencies or other bodies.

The Safeguarding Caseworker retains responsibility for progressing their own allocated cases within agreed limits; the ADSO offers senior advice, consultation and, where commissioned, quality assurance, without routinely absorbing the caseworker caseload. Parish organisational QA and non casework administration are led by the Safeguarding Operations & Parish Support Manager. Cathedral case leadership sits with the CSO, with any ADSO involvement agreed through the Deputy DSO.

All duties must be undertaken within the current statutory framework, applicable House of Bishops Codes of Practice, information governance requirements and diocesan safeguarding procedures. Reasonable additional duties must be consistent with the professional standing and grade of the post.

Essential

Experience

• Substantial professional safeguarding
  experience in an appropriate statutory,
  voluntary or other regulated setting,
  involving responsibility for complex
  safeguarding concerns and the management
  of risk to children and/or adults.
  


• Demonstrable experience in safeguarding
  caseholding, professional risk assessment,
  safety planning and work with individuals
  who may present risks to others.
  


• Experience of working with victims and
  survivors, respondents, families and
  professionals in situations requiring
  sensitivity, clear boundaries and balanced
  professional judgement.
  

Knowledge & Skills

• Strongunderstanding of safeguarding law,
  statutory duties, multi agency referral
  pathways and contemporary trauma
  informed practice, with capacity to apply
  current Church of England safeguarding
  Codes and National Safeguarding
  Standards.


• Evidence of partnership working with safeguarding agencies, professional challenge, and appropriate information sharing


• Experience of professional review, audit or evaluation of casework quality and implementation of improvement actions, or clearly transferable senior practice assurance experience.


• Confident use of secure digital casework records and information governance requirements


• Exerciseconfident, proportionate and evidence based professional safeguarding judgement in complex and sensitive circumstances, with clear recording of rationale, uncertainty and challenge.


• Assess and manage safeguarding risk, develop and review safety plans, and communicate robust recommendations to colleagues anddecision makers.


• Provide credible professional advice, constructive challenge and sensitive support to senior leaders, clergy, volunteers, victims, survivors and statutory partners


• Maintain and prioritise a complex caseload while identifying urgent concerns, safeguarding thresholds,decision points and escalation requirements


• Critically review safeguarding casework, risk assessments and safeguarding practice for quality, compliance and improvement while recognising conflicts of interest


• Write clear professional reports, chronologies, risk assessments, safeguarding plans and defensible case records.


• Operate effectively in multi agency settings and deliver specialist briefings or learning inputs to groups with varied safeguarding experience.

Qualifications and Development

• Relevant professional qualification (for example social work, probation, policing, health, education or equivalent) or substantial demonstrable professional experience sufficient for senior safeguarding practitioner responsibilities.


• Current professional registration where applicable to the applicant’s qualifying profession.


• Additional specialist qualifications in risk assessment, public protection, professional safeguarding supervision or safeguarding quality assurance.

Personal Qualities

• Integrity, independence of judgement,
  professional curiosity andcourage to
  challenge poor practice respectfully.


• Trauma aware, reflective and
  compassionate approach with
  commitment to listening to victims and
  survivors and treating respondents fairly.


• Resilience, appropriate emotional
  boundaries, awareness of the need for
  supervision andcommitment to reflective
  learning.


• Commitment to equality, inclusion, anti
  discriminatory practice and safeguarding
  culture across a varied church community.


• Ability to work within the mission and values
  of the Church of England while maintaining
  professional objectivity.

Desirable

• Prior senior practitioner, mentoring or supervision experience; experience in parish or faith safeguarding; delivering specialist training; knowledge of Church of England governance and national casework systems.