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HQ Job Description (JD)
Band 9
Directorate: Youth Custody Service
Job Description - Head of Safeguarding
Document Ref.
HQ JES 2719 Head of Safeguarding v2.0
Document Type
Management
Version
2.0
Classification
Official
Date of Issue
24 April 2025
Status
Baselined
Produced by
Job Evaluation Assurance and Support Team
Authorised by
Reward Team
JD Evidence
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HQ JES 2719 Head of Safeguarding v2.0
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Job Description
Job Title
Head of Safeguarding
Directorate
Youth Custody Service
Band
9
Overview of the
This is a senior manager post based in HQ, reporting directly to
job
a Deputy Director, and will be a member of the Senior
Management Team in Youth Custody Service Operations.
The job holder will be a subject matter expert in the legislation,
regulation, practice and current thinking which safeguards
children in all areas of work of the YCS. Representing the Youth
Custody Service in this regard at local, regional and national
forums.
Summary
The job holder will be responsible for leading, managing and
overseeing the Safeguarding agenda within the Youth Custody
Service (YCS) Directorate.
As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, they will contribute
to the YCS Business Plan and be responsible for delivery of key
areas of work.
The job holder will be conversant with all relevant guidance,
policy and legislation, and will have extensive knowledge and
experience of working with children within the criminal justice
system. In addition, they will have recent and significant
experience of working at a strategic level within a safeguarding
environment and being part of a senior leadership team.
The Head of Safeguarding will be required to maintain and
develop excellent working relationships with both internal and
external partners and promote multi agency collaboration to
ensure better outcomes for children.
The job holder is accountable for overseeing the strategic
direction of safeguarding within YCS and ensuring compliance
with relevant policy and legislation. In addition, they are required
to ensure that staff at all levels are aware of their responsibilities
to not only safeguard children in our care, but also promote their
welfare.
Responsibilities,
The job holder will be required to carry out the following
Activities and
responsibilities, activities and duties:
Duties
Manage the achievement of qualitative and quantitative service
standards that are compliant with the legal and regulatory
responsibilities to safeguard children.
Ensure that all areas of work within function are discharged in
compliance with all relevant legislation and guidance including
but not limited to the Children Act 2004 and the requirements of
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the Children Act 1989, the Children and Social Work Act 2017,
the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 and the
government guidance ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’.
Manage the delivery of the YCS/HMPPS/YJB operating
specification by ensuring an estate wide quality assurance
processes are in place covering all elements of the operation,
ensuring that all areas of work within Directorate are discharged
in compliance with the specification.
Ensure that the quality assurance framework provides a regular
review of delivery by bringing together quantitative management
information with qualitative testing of delivery as set out in
YCS/HMPPS/YJB operating specification.
Accountable for the performance of the safeguarding strategy
managing the achievement of qualitative and quantitative
standards including Service Delivery Indicators (SDI’s) within the
Directorate.
Accountable for ensuring robust and effective procedures for
engaging young people in safeguarding work are in place and
completing Equality Impact Assessments as required for the
Single Equality Scheme
Accountable for the integrity of the following systems, processes
and management of all staff within the area. This includes:
• Safeguarding
• Child Protection
• Safety
• Links to partnership agencies
Accountable for ensuring the Youth Custody Service complies
with section 11 of the Children Act 2004 and will undertake
annual review of all safeguarding policies. Ensuring that the
Youth Custody Service has in place an annually reviewed
safeguarding and child protection policy, which details a multi-
agency and multi-disciplinary approach to safeguarding and child
protection. The policy applies to all young people in the Secure
Estate.
The job holder will need act as specialist advisor to the Youth
Custody Service Senior Leadership Team (SLT) on safeguarding
issues and represent the Executive Director on external boards.
Accountable for ensuring the Youth Custody Service approaches
to safeguarding and child protection must include a clear process
for recruitment, monitoring and learning which shall feed into any
reviews and updates of safeguarding and child protection
practice and includes a requirement to share learning with
Providers.
Provide relationship with Local Safeguarding Partners and the
national processes and functions which support them. To lead
and develop the involvement of local and national partners to
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scrutinise practice and negotiate and commission support to
provide improvements.
Responsible for oversight of (Individual sites are responsible for
reviewing) all complaints concerning Young People held within
the Youth Custody Service to ensure that themes relating to the
safety and well-being of our children are identified and
responded to an incorporated into strategy.
The duties/responsibilities listed above describe the post as it is
at present and is not intended to be exhaustive. The Job holder
is expected to accept reasonable alterations and additional tasks
of a similar level that may be necessary. Significant adjustments
may require re-examination under the Job Evaluation scheme
and shall be discussed in the first instance with the Job Holder.
Behaviours
• Seeing the big picture
• Changing and improving
• Making effective decisions
• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Developing Self and Others
• Delivery at pace
Strengths
Note: We recommend you choose 4 to 8 strengths locally - select
from the list of Civil Service strength definitions on the intranet.
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Essential
An ability to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence
Experience
through the medium of English.
The job holder will need to have significant operational and
strategic expertise in safeguarding children.
The job holder will be required to have a background in wider
safeguarding children practice to an extent and with sufficient
gravitas to enable them to be an advisor to the Youth Custody
Service Senior Leadership Team and to represent the YCS SLT
at high level external facing fora and meetings.
Significant senior management experience in a large
agency/organisation relevant to the provision of services for
children and young people.
Successful experience of working within multi-disciplinary
partnerships.
Operational and strategic management experience of leading
services through Ofsted inspections and external scrutiny.
Experience of policy development and implementation in line with
current government legislation, local priorities, and national best
practice.
Thorough understanding of the legislative and policy framework
within which children’s social care and youth justice operates and
knowledge of the associated current and emerging issues facing
the sector.
Good organisational skills and the ability to work in a demanding
environment.
Demonstrable creative/innovative skills and ability to develop
solutions to problems within the service and department.
Good interpersonal skills enabling productive working
relationships with staff, colleagues, and partners.
Ability to manage and transform performance to achieve
outcomes and objectives.
Excellent communication skills, including the ability to articulate a
vision and present clear and concise reports to a wide range of
audiences.
Technical
The job holder will have a relevant professional experience of
Requirements
working in children’s services.
See also, success profile.
Ability
See success profile.
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Minimum
Please do not alter this box
Eligibility
• All candidates are subject to security and identity checks prior to
taking up post.
• All external candidates are subject to 6 months’
probation. Internal candidates are subject to probation if they
have not already served a probationary period within HMPPS.
• All staff are required to declare whether they are a member of a
group or organisation which HMPPS consider to be racist.
Hours of Work
Leave Blank
(Unsocial Hours)
Allowances
To be used by the JES Team only
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