Safeguarding Lead (FTC)

Comic Relief; Greater London; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Comic Relief invites applications for a Safeguarding Lead to act as the expert on safeguarding across the organisation. You will develop policies, support governance, and advise on safeguarding in storytelling, fundraising, and partnerships.

You will work with the Assurance team to embed risk-aware practices, ensure compliant safeguarding reporting, and build capacity across funded partners and internal teams in diverse country contexts.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in managing safeguarding activities across a business to ensure compliance with regulations, policies and procedures.
• Strong experience designing and implementing safeguarding strategies, policies, processes and training.
• Proven case management skills and confident decision-maker.
• Technical and practical knowledge on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.
• Understanding of regulatory safeguarding reporting requirements for charities.
• Proven ability to build relationships and use exceptional communication to achieve outcomes.
• Knowledge of international charity landscape and experience supporting organisations in different countries.
• Experience embedding safeguarding in grant making initiatives and providing technical support to grantees.

Responsibilities

• Develop and deliver safeguarding policies, procedures, systems, guidance and training to mitigate risks.
• Provide expert advice on safeguarding matters and be the primary contact for safeguarding issues.
• Maintain up-to-date policies, procedures and training across the organisation.
• Escalate recommendations to Directors when appropriate and participate in governance meetings.
• Support funded partners on safeguarding capacity, incident management and case handling.
• Advise on safeguarding in storytelling, content, and fundraising to minimise risk.

Skills

Governance

Policy design

Training delivery

Stakeholder engagement

Regulatory reporting

Cross-functional collaboration

Risk assessment

Grant making

Job description

The Safeguarding Lead will be a subject matter expert at Comic Relief and promote best practice in safeguarding practices, being the primary contact for all safeguarding matters and working closely with all teams across the organisation.

Support provided to the organisation will include advising on our grants to funded partners, how we work with our corporate partners and how we maintain safe story telling in our content and appeal films.

A crucial part of the role is ensuring that all relevant policies, procedures and guidance are fit for purpose and embedded positively throughout the organisation. You will work alongside Comic Relief’s Assurance team offering cross team support and collaboration, including supporting each other’s workloads (especially during leave periods) and ensuring Comic Relief’s activities are appropriately risk assessed and mitigated.

Key responsibilities:

Governance

• Develop and deliver safeguarding related policies, procedures, systems, guidance and training to mitigate and implement controls.
• Provide expert advice and guidance on safeguarding matters.
• Manage organisational safeguarding policies, procedures and training to ensure they are up-to-date and fit for purpose.
• Custodian of good decision making within safeguarding; making recommendations to Director of Legal & Assurance and/or other stakeholders for escalation where appropriate.
• Contribute at Board, Committees and other meetings, on safeguarding matters and liaise with regulators, government and other third parties as required.

Funded partners

• Provide support to Comic Relief’s funded partners where safeguarding capacity and capability needs are identified during the assessment process.
• Effectively manage safeguarding incidents and conduct case management.

Storytelling, content and fundraising

• Provide safeguarding advice to Comic Relief’s Stories and Appeals teams, to ensure that content is gathered in line with best practice for safe storytelling and that risks to contributors are minimised.
• Review content for compliance with safe storytelling best practice.
• Provide safeguarding advice on fundraising initiatives, to ensure harm to fundraisers is minimised.

Assurance

• Carry out safeguarding monitoring, ensuring compliance with internal policies and procedures and to identify ways to improve effectiveness and efficiencies in working practices.
• Investigate any safeguarding concerns raised which are connected with Comic Relief’s work.
• Positively engage with colleagues to promote safeguarding best practice, enhance understanding and skill, manage risks and implement improvements.
• Work with the Executive Leadership Team and Director Leadership Team to ensure safeguarding risks from Comic Relief’s activities are appropriately assessed, mitigated and recorded.

Person specification

• Significant experience of managing safeguarding activities across a business to ensure that regulations, policies and procedures are being complied with.
• Strong experience of designing and implementing effective safeguarding strategies, policies, processes and training.
• Proven successful case management skills and experience and confident decision maker.
• Technical and practical knowledge and experience on children and adults at risk safeguarding.
• A good understanding of the regulatory safeguarding reporting requirements for charities.
• Proven experience of effective relationship building and using exceptional communication skills to achieve outcomes.
• Knowledge of the international charity landscape and experience of supporting organisations in different countries with putting safeguarding principles into local context.
• General child or vulnerable adult protection programming expertise, or exposure to child protection initiatives.
• Skilled in designing, facilitating and evaluating training in different cultural and organisational contexts.
• Good at building relationships and proactively identifying opportunities for networking with other agencies such as international NGOs, Government ministries and local authorities.
• Experience in safeguarding on various media platforms including broadcasting, social media etc.
• A proven ability to devise and implement safeguarding solutions across a range of organisational functions e.g. human resources, fundraising, media and communications.
• Experience with embedding safeguarding measures in grant making initiatives and providing technical advice and support to grantees.
• Understanding of localisation initiatives and how this may apply to Safeguarding in a global context.