Emergency Safeguarding Services Lead

Staffordshire County Council; Stone; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 62,000; Full time

Job summary

Staffordshire County Council is seeking an experienced senior social work leader to head the out-of-hours Emergency Duty Service. You will drive safeguarding responses, provide professional leadership to managers and practitioners, and foster strong multi-agency partnerships with health, police and AMHPs.

You will also oversee performance, quality assurance and continuous service improvement, ensuring safe decision-making, risk management and smooth transitions between out-of-hours and daytime

Qualifications

• A recognised social work qualification and current professional registration.
• Significant post-qualification experience within children’s services, adult social care, mental health services or safeguarding environments.
• Extensive experience leading and managing emergency, crisis response or safeguarding teams, including experience of service improvement, quality assurance and performance oversight.
• Strong knowledge of safeguarding legislation and statutory frameworks, including responsibilities relating to children, adults and mental health services.
• Proven ability to lead service development, change management and continuous improvement, using performance data, quality assurance and learning reviews to improve services.
• Proven ability to make sound professional judgements and manage high-risk situations under pressure.
• Excellent leadership, communication and partnership-working skills, with the ability to influence, motivate and build effective relationships across organisations and professional disciplines.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the Emergency Duty Service, ensuring high-quality out-of-hours responses to safeguarding, crisis and emergency situations.
• Provide leadership and support to managers and practitioners, promoting confident decision-making, professional accountability and a positive learning culture.
• Build strong partnerships with health services, police, AMHPs and other key agencies to ensure coordinated and effective crisis responses.
• Oversee service performance, quality assurance activities and demand management, using insight and learning to continuously improve service delivery.
• Lead service development and improvement initiatives, strengthening quality assurance arrangements, out-of-hours safeguarding pathways and multi-agency emergency response arrangements.
• Ensure robust management of risk, emergency placements, safeguarding interventions, Mental Health Act responses and seamless transitions between out-of-hours and daytime services.

Skills

Leadership

Emergency response

Multi-agency collaboration

Decision-making under pressure

Stakeholder engagement

Strategic service development

Change management

Analytical thinking

Education

Social work qualification

Job description

Staffordshire County Council is seeking an experienced senior social work leader to head the out-of-hours Emergency Duty Service. You will drive safeguarding responses, provide professional leadership to managers and practitioners, and foster strong multi-agency partnerships with health, police and AMHPs.

You will also oversee performance, quality assurance and continuous service improvement, ensuring safe decision-making, risk management and smooth transitions between out-of-hours and daytime