Head of Safeguarding and Complex HealthNHS

Job summary

Head of Safeguarding and Complex Health Band 8b

Lead. Influence. Protect. We are seeking an exceptional and inspiring leader to join our Nursing and Quality leadership team as our Head of Safeguarding and Complex Health.

This is a unique opportunity for a highly experienced safeguarding professional to provide strategic leadership across safeguarding children and adults, dementia, learning disabilities and autism, domestic abuse, mental capacity, mental health legislation, reducing restrictive interventions and veterans' services.

Working closely with the Chief Nurse and Deputy Chief Nurse, you will lead a team of highly specialised practitioners, including Named Nurses, driving excellence in safeguarding practice across the Trust and ensuring the safety, rights and wellbeing of some of the most vulnerable individuals in our care.

Main duties of the job

As the Trust's senior safeguarding and complex health lead, you will:

• Provide strategic leadership for safeguarding and complex health services across the organisation.
• Develop and deliver policies, protocols and improvement plans that ensure compliance with national legislation and guidance.
• Act as the Trust's expert adviser on safeguarding children and adults, domestic abuse, mental capacity, mental health legislation and related complex health issues.
• Lead organisational responses to safeguarding concerns, allegations against staff and serious case reviews.
• Represent the Trust at multi-agency safeguarding partnerships, boards and regional networks.
• Provide assurance to the Trust Board and senior leadership teams regarding safeguarding performance, quality and risk.
• Lead service improvement programmes that address health inequalities and promote fundamental human rights.
• Manage departmental resources and budgets effectively while supporting the development of specialist teams.

Job description

The Head of Safeguarding and Complex Health is a senior strategic leadership role responsible for leading the Trust's all-age Safeguarding and Complex Health service, ensuring the organisation delivers safe, effective and legally compliant care for children, young people and adults who may be at risk of abuse, neglect or exploitation. Reporting to the Deputy Chief Nurse and accountable to the Chief Nurse, the post holder will provide expert leadership across safeguarding children and adults, dementia, learning disability and autism, mental capacity and deprivation of liberty safeguards, mental health legislation, domestic abuse, reducing restrictive interventions and veterans' services.

The post holder will lead a team of highly specialised practitioners, including Named Nurses for Safeguarding Children and Adults, providing strategic direction through the development and implementation of policies, procedures, action plans and assurance frameworks. They will ensure the Trust meets all statutory safeguarding responsibilities and national standards set by NHS England, the Care Quality Commission, the Department of Health and Social Care and relevant safeguarding partnerships.

As the Trust's lead professional for safeguarding and complex health, the Head of Safeguarding and Complex Health will provide expert advice and guidance to the Board, senior leaders, clinical teams and partner agencies. They will be responsible for ensuring robust systems are in place to identify, manage and mitigate safeguarding risks, and for promoting a culture where the rights, welfare and protection of vulnerable children and adults are at the centre of decision making.

The role requires extensive knowledge of safeguarding legislation and statutory guidance, including the Children Act, Care Act, Working Together to Safeguard Children, Mental Capacity Act, Mental Health Act, Domestic Abuse Act, Prevent Duty and Modern Slavery legislation. The post holder will provide assurance that Trust policies, practices and responses are compliant with legal and regulatory requirements and reflect current best practice.

A key responsibility will be leading the Trust's Safeguarding and Complex Health Strategy, ensuring services are responsive to the needs of vulnerable populations and actively address health inequalities. The post holder will drive continuous quality improvement, learning from safeguarding reviews, audits, inspections and incidents to strengthen organisational practice and improve outcomes for patients and families.

The Head of Safeguarding and Complex Health will represent the Trust at local, regional and national forums and will maintain effective partnerships with safeguarding boards, local authorities, police, integrated care systems and other health and social care organisations. Acting on behalf of the Chief Nurse when required, they will provide visible leadership and influence strategic developments across the wider health and social care system.

The role also includes responsibility for managing departmental resources and budgets, developing the safeguarding workforce, supporting education and training programmes and providing expert oversight of complex safeguarding concerns, allegations against staff and high-risk cases. The post holder will be expected to exercise a high degree of professional autonomy, managing sensitive and complex situations with sound judgement, resilience and compassion while maintaining the highest standards of confidentiality and professional integrity.

Overall, this role provides strategic leadership and professional expertise to ensure the Trust delivers outstanding safeguarding practice, protects vulnerable individuals, promotes fundamental human rights and creates a culture of safety, inclusion and excellence across all services

About us

We want to attract the best and brightest people to work with us and that means we will look after you from the moment you apply for a role at the Trust and throughout your career with us. Our staff are central to everything we do, and we believe that investing in you is crucial if we want to enable you to reach your full potential.

This is an opportunity to shape safeguarding and complex health services at a strategic level, influence system-wide practice and make a lasting difference to the lives of children, young people and adults at risk.

You will join a forward-thinking organisation committed to delivering high-quality care, promoting inclusion and ensuring that safeguarding remains everyone's responsibility.