Head of Safeguarding

Integrated Care System; Liverpool, Bolton; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

An opportunity has arisen for a dedicated professional to become the Head of Safeguarding and PREVENT at a leading healthcare service in Liverpool. The successful candidate will play a crucial role in enhancing safeguarding practices, ensuring regulatory compliance, and supporting vulnerable members of the community. This position offers a chance to lead within a diverse team committed to the highest standards of care and safeguarding responsibilities.

Qualifications

• Educated to Master's Degree level or equivalent in safeguarding practice.
• Proven track record in safeguarding.
• Committed to continuing professional development.

Responsibilities

• Lead the safeguarding agenda for NWAS.
• Ensure compliance with statutory responsibilities and safeguarding legislation.
• Develop team culture and engage in strategic planning.

Skills

Child and adult protections

Leadership skills

Analytical skills

Interpersonal skills

Planning and organizational skills

Negotiation skills

Education

Master's Degree

State Registered Health care Professional

Job description

This is an exciting opportunity for the right individual to join a progressive diverse team and an organisation with ambition to be the best. This is a permanent position offering the post holder an opportunity to be the Head of Safeguarding and PREVENT for the North West Ambulance Service. The post holder will report directly to the Assistant Director of Nursing and Quality within the Quality and Improvement Directorate.

This position offers an exciting opportunity for an inspiring clinical leader to continue to improve the safeguarding work within NWAS. The successful candidate will have a pivotal role in delivering the NWAS strategic plan (right care, right time, right place, every time), regulatory compliance (CQC) and the Quality, and Improvement Directorate (QID) team purpose and objectives.

Main duties of the job

As Safeguarding Lead, the post holder will work within the Clinical Safety Team and support leaders and staff across the North West Ambulance Service to ensure the strategic delivery of the Safeguarding and PREVENT agenda and statutory responsibilities for safeguarding in line with The Care Act 2014, The Children Act 1989 & 2004, The Domestic Abuse Act 2021.

The successful applicant will have a proven track record of working within the safeguarding arena and will be able to demonstrate an extensive understanding of the statutory requirements for safeguarding and be committed to protecting the most vulnerable and at risk members of society.

About us

North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust provides 24 hour, 365 days a year accident and emergency services to those in need of emergency medical treatment and transport.

Our highly skilled staff provide life-saving care to patients in the community and take people to hospital or a place of care if needed.We also provide non-emergency patient transport services for those patients who require non-emergency transport to and from hospital and who are unable to travel unaided because of their medical condition or clinical need.

Alongside the other emergency services, we also work to ensure the safety of the public and treatment of patients in the event of a major incident.

We also deliver the NHS 111 service in the North West. NHS 111 replaced NHS Direct in 2013. This service was introduced to make it easier for people to access local NHS healthcare services in England. It provides non-emergency medical help fast, and is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Job responsibilities

Please ensure you have read the full Job Description and Person Specification before applying for this role.

To ensure that we invest in developing a nurturing, positive and thriving culture, it is important to us to recruit values based leaders. As part of this recruitment process, if you are successfully shortlisted you will be invited to take part in a Be Think Do Assessment Centre. This may include engagement with a psychometric tool and completion of a group exercise, followed by a professional discussion.

NWAS is an inclusive employer and is actively committed to inviting applications from underrepresented groups to build leadership that reflects the communities it serves.

The dates of these elements are as follows:

SITUATIONAL JUDGEMENT ASSESSMENT DATE: 3rd September 2025

BE THINK DO ASSESSMENT CENTRE AND PROFESSIONAL DISCUSSION DATE: 3rd September 2025

The Trust reserves the right to close this vacancy early if a large number of applications are received.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Educated to Master's Degree level, working towards, or able to demonstrate equivalent expertise and experience in relation to expert safeguarding practice.
• State Registered Health care Professional
• Committed to continuing professional development

Skills

• Proven experience in working in child and adult protections
• Specialist knowledge of current safeguarding legislation, Government guidance and local / national policy and procedures.
• Sound analytical and judgement skills
• Ability to demonstrate Leadership and motivational skills
• Good understanding of the Contest Strategy and the Prevent agenda.
• Excellent interpersonal skills to be able to deal with a wide range of people across the organisation and relevant external stakeholders.
• Ability to promote good professional practice in safeguarding adults and children.
• Ability to provide and receive highly complex, sensitive information and deal effectively with barriers to understanding.
• Ability to analyse issues and think critically, to interpret complex facts and situations, compare a range of options and take appropriate action.
• Ability to create a supportive environment for staff
• Communicating (orally and in writing), adapting the styles and messages to match the situation and audiences including delivering difficult information and at times, in highly distressing and emotional circumstances
• Ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a team.
• Excellent planning and organisational skills to manage a range of activities and ability to adjust plans to meet the demands of the service.
• Ability to provide expertise and advice to a multi-agency forum.
• Competence to undertake internal management reviews for Serious Incidents within the Trust.
• Sound knowledge of Clinical Governance, Quality and Safety.
• Proven organisational and people management skills.
• Sound knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act.
• Political skills, diplomacy and negotiation skills

Knowledge

• Previous experience of working within the field of safeguarding.
• Experience of effective multi-agency / partnership working
• Evidence of continued professional development in the field of safeguarding.
• Experience of conducting clinical audit and / or research.

Personal

• To have an approachable, fair and balanced attitude to staff.
• To provide support to colleagues and the team using coaching and supervision methodologies to ensure safe practice and learning.
• Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines.
• Prepared to work flexibly and be mobile across the Trust.
• Ability to manage personal stress and that of others in highly emotive and distressing circumstances.
• Able to recognise the need for own support and supervision.
• Demonstrate a visible passion for the delivery of safeguarding services.
• Demonstrate a strong sense of commitment to openness, honesty and integrity and ability to lead a team.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Assistant Director of Quality and Nursing