Head Of Safeguarding

The YMCA Robin Hood group provides a wide range of support across the region including supported accommodation for young people, refugees, unaccompanied asylum seekers and looked after children in a care home setting. We also have an exciting new Community and Activity Village in Newark as well as hospitality services providing welcoming spaces for our customers.

We are recruiting for a Head of Safeguarding in a brand new role for our organisation. Safeguarding has always been of primary importance to us and this has always been at the forefront of each service we deliver. Whether in one of our residential children's homes, nursery, afterschool club or school holiday club, Camp Williams, safeguarding is in our DNA. We also operate accommodation for young people age 16+ which is soon to be regulated by Ofsted so now is the time to have a dedicated focus on this area where we can look to consolidate best practice, ensure all our of services are safeguarded to the highest standards and evolve inline with recommendation and legislation.

You will work across our group ensuring that our staff and service users are safeguarded, and that support and advice are consistently and readily available. Experience of working within an OFTSED or other regulated service is essential and it goes without saying, you will be passionate about providing an outstanding service.

This role will also oversee compliance and the consistent application of policies and procedures across the Group. Knowledge of data protection and the associated legislation would also be of benefit.

Our primary locations are Nottingham, Newark and Mansfield with smaller services located in Goole, Selby and Worksop. We envisage you will travel primarily between Nottingham, Newark and Mansfield on a weekly basis with planned monthly trips as and when needed to the smaller locations.

This is a varied and exciting new role with the opportunity to make real change and fulfil your purpose and the YMCA mission.

On a day to day basis, you can expect your role to include:

• To be the main point of contact across YMCA Robin Hood Group and to ensure that service users are safeguarded and protected at all times.
• To lead and manage safeguarding and compliance, ensuring that appropriate strategies, practice standards, policies, and procedures are in place to ensure the effective delivery of services.
• To work autonomously within professional guidelines and lead any organisational response to multi-agency and single agency case reviews.
• To ensure that service-user rights are respected and upheld, and to explain their views and needs to help to make decisions.

We are looking for someone with previous demonstrable experience in a safeguarding role who can bring an understanding of Safeguarding and the relevant legislation who has the experience to appraise, evaluate and strenghten our current processes.

Personally, you will be values driven and highly motivated to make a difference to our local communities, ensuring our residents, looked after children and other service users can belong, contribute and thrive. You will be a brilliant communicator who is a trusted source of advice and guidance on policies and process with a detailed approach and the ability to interpret legislation and make it accessible for all.

As to be expected in a safeguarding role, you have fantastic inter-personal skills and be able to connect with a wide range of people as you speak with them in any capacity. Your non-judgemental stand point will ensure a fair and consistent approach is taken. You will able to demonstrable a track record of ensuring and influencing staff to understand policies and processes and be confident to deliver training and workshops where required.

You will also have excellent written communication skills including the ability to write clear reports, articles, and letters for a wide range of audiences in a range of formats. With excellent time management and prioritisation skills you will be able to manage demands from across the organisation with the ability and desire to roll up sleeves, be involved in day-to-day activities, be approachable and act as a role model and ambassador for all our organisations.

Being based in either our Nottingham or Newark offices, you will travel across our group locations, providing support where required, managing your own diary. We really value face to face contact as this builds the solid relationship between colleagues that we value but also appreciate the benefit of working from home. On average, you would be able to work from home one day a week.

If you are looking to work for an organisation who cares about you and your wellbeing, the YMCA prides itself on the package of wellbeing we support all our employees.

At YMCA Robin Hood Group, you will have many additional benefits, including but not limited t

• Comprehensive well-being package
• 23 day annual leave increasing 1 day each year for your first 5 years!
• Flexible bank holidays to take to celebrate the cultural and religious events important to you
• Private medical and dental cashback scheme
• Westfield Rewards for high street discounts
• Regular ongoing inhouse training
• External training to support up to postgraduate level 7 studies to support your development
• Eligible to join the Blue Light Discount scheme
• Workplace pension
• 4 x Life Insurance/Death in Service
• Pastoral support
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Excellent opportunities for development and progression in an exciting expanding organisation
• £500 refer a friend scheme applicable across the Group
• Reduced school holiday childcare costs at YMCA Camp Williams
• 10% off in our hospitality venues

This post is subject to a satisfactory enhanced DBS check (paid for by YMCA) and registration with the DBS Update Service. We reserve the right to withdraw this role before the closing date should we be able to appoint to the role.