Safeguarding Lead (One Year Secondment)

Jobtrain; Paisley; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Training & study funding

Healthcare support

Discounts with Blue Light Card / Costc

Childcare discounts

Confidential counselling

Cycle to Work

Generous holidays

Job summary

Kibble is seeking an experienced, credible Designated Safeguarding Lead to provide visible leadership across the charity. Working with the Executive Director for safeguarding and a team of nine Safeguarding Advisors, you will strengthen prevention, early identification, reporting and learning.

This Scotland-based role drives safeguarding across care, education and specialist services, translating child rights and trauma-informed practice into consistent day-to-day operations.

Qualifications

• Professional registration with regulatory body (e.g., SSSC, NMC) and substantial post-qualifying experience.
• Degree-level professional qualification; postgraduate safeguarding desirable.
• Significant safeguarding and child-protection experience in complex environments.
• Knowledge of Scottish child-protection law, guidance and regulatory expectations.
• Experience in multi-agency referrals, escalation and information sharing.
• Ability to produce concise records and reports for senior governance forums.
• Commitment to trauma‑informed, rights-based practice and listening to children and families.

Responsibilities

• Provide safeguarding advice and constructive challenge across all Kibble services, including out-of-hours arrangements.
• Coordinate and develop the Safeguarding Advisor model for consistency across day and night services.
• Ensure concerns are recorded, assessed, escalated and referred promptly with the child’s safety at the centre.
• Oversee the quality and timeliness of referrals and regulatory notifications.
• Maintain effective liaison with placing authorities, Police Scotland and other agencies.
• Advise senior leaders on allegations involving staff or volunteers; support internal fact-finding.
• Lead safeguarding policy review and learning, embedding improvements across services.
• Oversee induction and development aligned with Scotland’s learning framework.
• Analyse safeguarding data and provide reports to executive teams and boards.
• Promote a learning culture through audits, debriefs and action from incidents and inspections.
• Strengthen practice around exploitation, online harm and related safeguarding issues.
• Champion participation and advocacy for children and young people; collaborate with partners.

Skills

Professional registration

Post-qualifying safeguarding

Trauma-informed practice

Multi-agency working

Policy development

Communication skills

Education

Degree-level professional qualification

Postgraduate safeguarding qualification desirable

Job description

Staff Benefits at Kibble

• Learning continues with opportunities for further training, job variety and funded study
• Healthcare significantly contributes to expenses such as dental treatments, new glasses and contact lenses
• Money off shopping and events from Blue Light Card, Costco and other partners
• Discounts are available for childcare through Puddle Lane children’s nursery
• Immediate access to confidential counselling helps you prioritise self-care
• Wellbeing perks continue with Cycle to Work and generous holidays

About Kibble

Kibble supports children and young people (aged 5-26) who have experienced trauma and adversity through residential care, education and mental health services. For more than 200 years, we’ve put young people first and have built a trusted charity with vital services that strive to transform lives, families and communities.

When starting a new job at Kibble, you’ll become part of a dedicated staff team who make sure children are happy and safe 365 days a year, 24/7. Whether your role is in care, education, or the corporate side, you’ll help give young people a chance at life.

Job Purpose

We are seeking an experienced, credible and values-led Designated Safeguarding Lead to provide visible leadership across Kibble. Working with the Executive Director responsible for safeguarding and a team of nine Safeguarding Advisors drawn from day and night services, you will strengthen prevention, early identification, timely reporting, professional challenge and organisational learning.

This is a key organisation-wide role at a time of continued service development and significant change in Scotland. The successful candidate will help Kibble translate children's rights, trauma-informed practice, national child-protection guidance and regulatory requirements into consistent day-to-day practice across care, education and specialist services.

What you will lead:

• Provide accessible, authoritative safeguarding advice, support and constructive challenge across all Kibble services, including out-of-hours arrangements.
• Coordinate and develop the Safeguarding Advisor model so that advice, escalation and decision making remain consistent across day and night services.
• Ensure concerns are recognised, recorded, assessed, escalated and referred without delay, with the child or young person's safety, rights and views at the centre.
• Oversee the quality and timeliness of referrals and Care Inspectorate notifications, including protection-concern and staff-misconduct notifications, in line with current requirements.
• Maintain effective liaison with placing and host local authorities, Police Scotland, the Care Inspectorate, education partners, health professionals and other relevant agencies.
• Advise senior leaders and Human Resources on allegations or concerns involving staff, students or volunteers; support fair, child-centred internal fact-finding without compromising statutory enquiries.
• Lead the review and implementation of safeguarding policy, guidance, risk-management arrangements and associated systems, ensuring learning is embedded across services.
• Oversee safeguarding induction, refresher learning and role-specific development aligned with Scotland's national child-protection learning framework.
• Analyse safeguarding data, patterns and emerging risks and provide clear reports and assurance to senior leaders, the Executive Team and Board.
• Promote a learning culture through audit, reflective practice, debriefing and action arising from incidents, complaints, inspections, learning reviews and feedback.
• Strengthen practice in relation to child sexual abuse and exploitation, criminal exploitation, trafficking, missing episodes, harmful sexual behaviour, peer-on-peer harm, online harm and technology-facilitated abuse.
• Champion participation, independent advocacy and accessible routes for children and young people to raise concerns, including partnership with Who Cares? Scotland and use of Mind of My Own.
• Support Kibble's wider prevention work, including Delivering Equally Safe, healthy relationships and online-safety initiatives.
• Represent Kibble in relevant local and national safeguarding networks and maintain active professional relationships that support shared learning and improvement.

Qualifications, skills and Experience Required:

• Professional registration relevant to the role, for example with the SSSC, NMC or another appropriate regulatory body, and substantial post-qualifying experience.
• A relevant degree-level professional qualification; a postgraduate qualification in child protection or safeguarding is desirable, or a clear commitment to undertake further specialist development.
• Significant safeguarding and child-protection experience, preferably involving residential child care, secure care, education or another complex multi-service environment.
• Strong working knowledge of Scottish child-protection law, national guidance, regulatory expectations, professional standards and adult-support-and-protection interfaces.
• Evidence of sound, proportionate professional judgement in complex, sensitive and high-risk circumstances, including allegations involving adults in positions of trust.
• Experience of multi‑agency working, referral and escalation, information sharing, risk assessment and effective professional challenge.
• Experience of developing policy, delivering learning, auditing practice and turning qualitative and quantitative evidence into improvement and assurance.
• Excellent written, verbal and presentation skills, including the ability to produce accurate records and concise reports for senior leaders and governance forums.
• The confidence to work independently, remain calm under pressure, manage competing priorities and provide flexible advice when urgent concerns arise.
• A demonstrable commitment to trauma‑informed, rights‑based and anti‑discriminatory practice, and to listening to children, young people, families and staff.

If you would like to discuss the role or seek further clarification, please contact Neil McMillan, Executive Director

Notes

1. This job outline reflects the main tasks and responsibilities discharged by the post holder at the present time, however, Kibble reserves the right to alter or amend the content of this job outline to reflect changes to the job or services provided, while maintaining the overall character and level of responsibility for the post.
2. Notwithstanding any information or statement described within this job outline, all duties must be carried out in a way that promotes equality of opportunity, dignity and respect for all individuals and which is consistent with Kibble’s stated policy on equal opportunities.
3. The successful candidate will be subject to PVG Scheme Membership. Having previous convictions will not automatically disbar you from working at Kibble (with the exception of offences against children or other vulnerable groups) and every case is taken on an individual basis.
4. The successful candidate will be required to undertake Safe Crisis Management (SCM) training and will require a level of fitness to be able to carry out SCM. The successful candidate must be able to participate fully in this training and be prepared to put this training into practice. The SCM training will consist of two days theory and two days physical training. The successful candidate must complete this training in full within four weeks of an agreed start date. Should the candidate for any reason fail any aspect of the SCM training (theory, physical or both parts), an additional two weeks will be given to pass.
5. Appointments will be subject to a three-month probationary period.

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