Head of Safeguarding

Ark; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Remote working up to 10 days/year

Ark Rewards scheme

11% employer pension contribution

Annual leave 27–30 days

Job summary

Ark is seeking a highly experienced Head of Safeguarding to provide strategic leadership across Ark Schools and Ark. You will partner with central teams, Principals, and DSLs to shape safeguarding policy, practice, and culture, ensuring high standards network-wide.

You will oversee safeguarding strategy, reporting, and complex case guidance, while remaining connected to frontline practice and supporting schools and central colleagues in challenging situations.

Responsibilities

• Lead safeguarding compliance across the network, ensuring schools meet statutory requirements and maintain strong safeguarding cultures.
• Act as the network Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL), providing expert advice, guidance, and support on safeguarding matters.
• Oversee safeguarding policies, training, and resources, ensuring alignment with current legislation, KCSIE guidance, and best practice.
• Manage safeguarding audits, assurance processes, and reporting, providing insights and recommendations to senior leaders, committees, and trustees.
• Drive the network’s safeguarding strategy through the effective use of data, research, and sector best practice.
• Develop safeguarding capability across the organisation by leading DSL networks, delivering training, sharing best practice, and supporting professional development and wellbeing.
• Provide specialist support on complex safeguarding cases and work collaboratively with schools, HR, and central teams to promote safer recruitment and effective safeguarding practice.

Job description

We are seeking a highly experienced and credible Head of Safeguarding to provide strategic leadership and expert guidance across Ark Schools and Ark.

Working at the heart of our network, you will partner closely with central teams, Principals, and Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs) to shape safeguarding policy, practice, and culture. You will play a pivotal role in ensuring schools are equipped to deliver the highest standards of safeguarding, while fostering a proactive and consistent approach across the network.

This is a highly influential role with exposure to a wide range of stakeholders, including board members, senior leaders, governors, school staff, and central office colleagues. You will provide strategic oversight of safeguarding across the network, using data, research, and emerging best practice to drive continuous improvement and inform decision‑making. You'll also lead the production of insightful safeguarding reports and analysis, helping to shape network-wide strategy and priorities.

Alongside this strategic responsibility, you will remain closely connected to frontline practice, acting as a trusted adviser on complex safeguarding matters, providing day‑to‑day guidance, and supporting schools and central colleagues to respond effectively when challenges arise.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead safeguarding compliance across the network, ensuring schools meet statutory requirements and maintain strong safeguarding cultures.
• Act as the network Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL), providing expert advice, guidance, and support on safeguarding matters.
• Oversee safeguarding policies, training, and resources, ensuring alignment with current legislation, KCSIE guidance, and best practice.
• Manage safeguarding audits, assurance processes, and reporting, providing insights and recommendations to senior leaders, committees, and trustees.
• Drive the network’s safeguarding strategy through the effective use of data, research, and sector best practice.
• Develop safeguarding capability across the organisation by leading DSL networks, delivering training, sharing best practice, and supporting professional development and wellbeing.
• Provide specialist support on complex safeguarding cases and work collaboratively with schools, HR, and central teams to promote safer recruitment and effective safeguarding practice.

Interviews will be arranged as suitable for the shortlisted candidates.

• Our flexible working model offers the best of both worlds, balancing in person collaboration, either in our state of the art West London office or through visits to our schools, with the flexibility of remote working.
• In addition to flexible working arrangements, employees can request to work fully remotely for up to 10 working days a year, whether this be in the UK or abroad.
• Our flexitime policy allows you to work your hours around our core hours of 10.00 - 16.00, helping you prioritise your work‑life balance and personal commitments.
• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays, rising with each year of service up to 30 days after 3-years’ service. This entitlement is pro rata for part time employees. This entitlement excludes bank holidays.
• Full office closure between Christmas and New Year.
• As an Ark employee, you will have the opportunity to be part of the TPT (The Pension Trust) scheme, our workplace pension scheme where we make an 11% contribution; you are not required to contribute towards this scheme unless you choose to.
• Depending on your role you may also be entitled to LGPS or Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS) which are defined benefit schemes where you contribute a percentage based on how much you earn (as do we) in exchange for a guaranteed amount in your pension pot every year.
• Access to high-quality professional learning throughout your career, offering both face‑to‑face sessions and a bespoke online learning platform.
• Access to Ark Rewards scheme offering savings from over 3,000 major retailers, interest‑free loans available for season tickets or a bike, gym discounts offering up to 40% off your local gym and free eye tests.

About Us

There are 34,000 students learning in our network of 48 schools across Birmingham, Hastings, London, Pontefract and Portsmouth. We’ve always believed that, with the right approach, every child has the potential to succeed. We work in the communities where we can make the biggest difference to children’s lives, and all our schools are non-selective.

It works: our schools achieve great results – significantly outperforming national averages, especially when it comes to driving progress – the best measure for ‘closing the gap’.

We take what we learn in our schools to develop new solutions and approaches that we can share. Over the last two decades, we have developed and incubated more than 20 projects and programmes, supporting them to scale and achieve systemic impact on the life chances of all children. Over 300,000 children currently learn using an Ark curriculum and our Ark Start nurseries are demonstrating a new model for early years education that we hope will become the norm.

Diversity and inclusion

We aim to build a diverse and inclusive organisation where everyone – staff and students – can do their best work and achieve their full potential. We want to reflect and represent diverse perspectives across our organisation because we know that doing so will make us stronger and more effective. To know more about Ark’s diversity and inclusion commitments, please click on this link.

Safeguarding statement

Ark is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people in its academies. In order to meet this responsibility, its academies follow a rigorous selection process to discourage and screen out unsuitable applicants.

Ark requires all employees to undertake an enhanced DBS check. You are required, before appointment, to disclose any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975. Non-disclosure may lead to termination of employment. However, disclosure of a criminal background will not necessarily debar you from employment - this will depend upon the nature of the offence(s) and when they occurred. To read more about Ark’s safer recruitment process, please click this link.