29 Designated safeguarding officer jobs

This is a unique and exciting opportunity for an experienced safeguarding professional to join GARAS, a leading immigration charity in Gloucestershire, and help shape the future of safeguarding practice across the organisation.

The successful candidate will hold both strategic and operational responsibility for safeguarding, leading on the management of safeguarding concerns and cases while developing GARAS's safeguarding framework, policies, procedures, training and quality assurance. 

You will work closely with other members of the Senior Team, reporting regularly to trustees, and will act as the lead point of contact for staff and volunteer safety, mental health and trauma-related crisis management, while building key partnerships across the county to reduce risk.

This is an immensely rewarding role, working in a dynamic charity built on an ethos of care and inclusivity. We are looking for an exceptional individual, committed to going the extra mile and bringing expertise, confidence and compassion to safeguarding leadership within our organisation.

Due to the nature of the work, the role will be subject to an Enhanced DBS check.

We are looking for an experienced safeguarding professional to join our Safeguarding Directorate. This role will provide excellent safeguarding support to Worcester Cathedral and the wider Diocese of Worcester. You will join a supportive and collaborative team in a role which will see you: 

• Take the lead role in supporting the Cathedral in all its safeguarding work, offering high-quality preventative and proactive safeguarding support in a way that delivers positive outcomes for children, young people and adults at risk.

• Respond well and compassionately to the vulnerable and victims and survivors of abuse 

• Train, advise and build confidence in others in an accessible way

• Support the work of senior leaders regarding the development of good safeguarding practice and healthy safeguarding cultures across the Diocese of Worcester 

We are seeking a skilled, person-centred individual who: 

• Has substantial safeguarding experience in a relevant profession
• Can provide confident advice and exercise sound judgement in line with relevant safeguarding legislation and policy

• Is an excellent communicator who inspires trust and works effectively with a wide range of stakeholders 

• Works with integrity, is resilient and a strong team player 

If you would like to join a small and friendly team, who are passionate in their mission to promote safeguarding into the hearts and minds of those we serve, then we would love to hear from you.  

This is a rare and rewarding opportunity to lead a well-established and highly respected charity, dedicated to improving the lives of adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse, sexual violence and rape.

S.H.E. UK is seeking an exceptional, community-focused leader with a strong track record in fundraising, relationship building and organisational development. At an exciting point in our journey, we are looking for a CEO who can strengthen and sustain our foundations, inspire support across our communities, diversify income streams, and translate our ambitious new strategy into meaningful action.

You will bring proven experience of securing sustainable funding from a range of sources, including grants, donors, community supporters and strategic partnerships. Equally important is your ability to lead with compassion, champion survivor-centred services, and build trust with a wide range of stakeholders.

As Chief Executive Officer, you will provide strategic, operational and financial leadership, ensuring the charity remains resilient, impactful and well governed. Working closely with the Board of Trustees, you will maintain the highest standards of safeguarding, governance and service delivery, while creating the conditions for long-term sustainability.

This is an exciting opportunity for an inspiring and compassionate leader to build on our achievements, bring our strategy to life, and help shape the next chapter of S.H.E. UK's development. This is a hybrid role, with a minimum of three days per week working in person from our Mansfield base.

If you are passionate about creating lasting change, have a proven track record of leadership, and are committed to improving the lives of survivors, we would love to hear from you.

As our Programmes Officer, you will play a key role in supporting grant partners, community engagement activities and effective grant and event administration. Working closely with colleagues, partners and local communities, you will help ensure our programmes are delivered through strong relationships, accurate records and high-quality administrative support. Your key responsibilities will include:

• Being responsible for the grants administration of 40 Regional Programme partners and grants made in Portsmouth, including ensuring due diligence across governance, finance and safeguarding.
• Providing a first point of contact for Regional Programme and local grant partners.
• Managing grant partnerships, ensuring due diligence is met across governance, finance and safeguarding.
• Supporting local grants, events and community engagement activities in Portsmouth.
• Building and maintaining effective relationships with partners, community stakeholders and voluntary sector organisations.
• Maintaining the grants database with accurate and up to date information.

If you are proactive, well organised and dependable, with strong organisational and administrative skills, and a connection to Portsmouth, we'd love to hear from you.

Note: This post is exempt under the Equality Act 2010, Schedule 9, Part 1, and is open to female applicants only, due to the nature of the role. Subject to an enhanced DBS check.

The Head of Youth Programmes sits in our Senior Leadership Team and holds overall operational responsibility for our frontline youth programmes across three pillars: Prevention, Intervention and Healing. The postholder leads and line manages the delivery team, and carries DSL responsibility for the organisation.

You'll lead delivery, expansion and impact evaluation across all three pillars, line manage the Education Lead, IDVA Team and Creative Projects leads, and work closely with the CEO to consolidate our delivery models. You'll hold responsibility as our Designated Safeguarding Lead, manage operational budgets, and build multi-agency partnerships across Barnet and neighbouring boroughs.

It's an opportunity to bring fresh energy and strategic leadership to a small, values-driven charity that trusts its team to do meaningful, creative work with the young people we support.

Essential criteria

• Experience as an IDVA, ISVA or in a comparable frontline advocacy role supporting young women and girls affected by domestic abuse, sexual violence or other forms of harm.
• A strong understanding of VAWG, domestic abuse and youth harm, grounded in survivor-centred and harm-prevention approaches.
• Experience of overseeing and responding to complex safeguarding through multi-agency working.
• At least Level 3 safeguarding training. Designated Safeguarding Lead training is desirable, or a willingness to complete this within an agreed timeframe.

We have highlighted the essentials above. The rest of the person specification, in the attached recruitment pack, is a guide to what we are looking for in a strong candidate, rather than a checklist. Your experience may not meet all of it, but if you have the essential experience we would encourage you to apply. We are just as interested in transferable experience as in a conventional career path.

Benefits

• Regular clinical supervision with an external practitioner 
• Health Assured Employee Assistance Programme, including a 24/7 helpline, counselling and a wellbeing app
• Free on-site parking in Colindale and funded travel between delivery sites

Details

£38,000 to £40,000 pro rata. 28 hours per week (four day working week). Permanent. Barnet, London / Hybrid.

Closing date: Thursday 15th October 2026. Interviews: w/c Monday 26th October 2026.

Location: Bristol Office

Salary: £27,950 per annum (Band C), rising to £29,095 per annum after successful completion of a 5-month probationary period

Job Type: Fixed Term (12 months, with possibility of extension), Full time (37.5 hours per week), part time considered (minimum 30 hours per week)

The role:

Working within our Household Energy Services (HES) team, the Trainee Energy Advisor role is for those who would like to learn the skills and gain experience of providing energy advice to households.

You’ll be providing energy advice on our advice line and through a range of related projects, supporting low income and vulnerable households with billing queries, applications for grants and referrals to contractors for insulation and heating improvements. There may also be the opportunity to staff events and give advice to clients in person.

As part of the role you’ll complete our HES Training Programme, including a City & Guilds qualification in Energy Awareness. Successful completion of your probationary period will lead to a change of role to Energy Advisor for the remainder of the contract.

Specific responsibilities

An applicant appointed to the role will be expected to:

• Work on the advice line and other telephone advice projects, making and receiving calls from people who may need help with energy-related issues.
• Record client details accurately and use your own knowledge to assess the help and support needed.
• Refer clients to other support organisations in their area as appropriate.
• Identify energy improvements that can be made to clients’ properties and refer them to installers who can carry out the work.
• Help vulnerable clients make applications for grants and switch energy tariffs where appropriate.
• Listen attentively to callers, some of whom may be angry or in distress, and respond to their needs in an empathetic way.
• Follow advice line processes and procedures.
• Maintain accurate records on our client database, including handling sensitive data appropriately and in compliance with GDPR guidance.
• Remain vigilant for safeguarding concerns during client interactions and report promptly to the designated Safeguarding Officer.
• Undertake the HES Training Programme, including the City & Guilds Level 3 Energy Awareness and Level 2 Fuel Debt Advice in the Community courses.

To see a more detailed list of responsibilities please see the supporting documents attached. These documents are also available to download from our website.

About you:

Essential attributes for this role include:

• Ability to respond to clients in a respectful and engaging manner.
• Ability to communicate effectively with people, both verbally and in writing.
• Ability to work well in a team and identify how your skills complement others.
• Ability to maintain admin systems independently and accurately.
• Highly organised, with strong time and workload management.
• Empathy and compassion, with an awareness of the need to maintain your own wellbeing.
• A commitment to CSE’s aims and values of collaboration, conscientiousness and initiative.
• Skilled in the use of MS Office applications including Word, Excel and Outlook.
• Understanding of safeguarding principles and the importance of protecting vulnerable individuals.

Please note, the above is an overview of the skills required for this role. To see the full list of essential and desirable skills please see the attached job description.

Benefits:

CSE offer a range of other benefits including:

• Company pension scheme (8% employer, 6% employee contributions)
• You will be entitled to 25 days' paid holiday, pro rata for part-time hours (plus statutory holidays)
• Subsidised bike purchase and Tech Scheme
• Life Assurance
• Health Cash plan
• Retail discounts
• Discounted breakdown cover and many more.
• We will pay fees and expenses on relevant training courses.
• We are flexible with the working hours of this role and will discuss this openly if you are invited to interview.

How to apply

To apply, please download and complete the application form available from our website and send it to our Jobs email. Your application should demonstrate your suitability for the role against the criteria outlined in the person specification and job description.

The closing date for applications is 5pm on Wednesday 30 September 2026.

Interviews are expected to take place Tuesday 6 and Wednesday 7 October 2026 (in person at our Bristol office), though this is subject to change.

If invited to interview, we will ask you to provide evidence of eligibility to work in the UK.

#LI-DNI

We have an exciting opportunity for Helpline Advisors to join the growing National Contact Centre team in Cardiff, working 37.5 hours a week over a 24/7 rota. These positions are offered on a fixed term basis until 1 October 2027.

Do you want to make a difference every day? Do you want to contribute to change & improvement for those who need it?

Do you have resilience & adaptability? Can you work effectively with a focus on customer service and care? If yes, then we'd love to hear from you…

What we offer

At Victim Support, we are committed to attracting and retaining the best talent. Our competitive rewards and benefits package includes:

• Flexible Working Options: Including hybrid working.
• Generous Annual Leave: 28 days plus Bank Holidays, increasing to 33 days plus Bank Holidays, with options to buy or sell annual leave.
• Birthday Leave: An extra day off for your birthday.
• Pension Plan: 5% employer contribution.
• Enhanced Allowances: Enhanced sick pay, maternity, and paternity payments.
• Exclusive Discounts: High Street, retail, holiday, gym, entertainment, and leisure discounts.
• Financial Wellbeing: Access to our financial wellbeing hub and salary-deducted finance.
• Wellbeing Support: Employee assistance programme and wellbeing support.
• Inclusive Networks: Access to EDI networks and colleague cafes.
• Sustainable Travel: Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loans.
• Career Development: Ongoing training and support with opportunities for career progression.

About the role

This role is based at our National Contact Centre in Cardiff. There will be an initial induction period that will run Monday to Friday 9am-5pm for a 4 week period. After successfully completing your induction, you will move to your fixed rota hours.

As a Helpline Adviser you will:

• Able to respond to victims of and those affected by crime by providing emotional support, information and referrals on to Victim Support services and other agencies
• Providing immediate support, advice and trauma first aid referrals to victims of and those affected by major incidents and terrorism.
• Seamlessly working across multiple services with different processes, procedures and recording mechanisms.
• Managing and responding appropriately to competing priorities, services and needs.
• Responsible for taking disclosures and responding appropriately by either escalating the safeguarding concern to the 'Designated Safeguarding Officer' or to respond immediately to life threatening situations.

You will need:

• Experience of working in challenging and changing environments with the emphasis on excellence in service delivery.
• Experience of organising and prioritising a complex workload.
• The ability to deal sensitively with challenging and emotionally charged situations, demonstrate empathy and control own emotions.
• The ability to communicate effectively, verbally and in written form, including telephone skills
• Knowledge and understanding of:
• Relevant agencies and resources
• Importance of confidentiality and safe working practice
• Diversity issues and principles
• The impact of crime

Please see attached Job Description and Person Specification for further details.

About Us

Victim Support is an independent charity dedicated to supporting people affected by crime and traumatic incidents in England and Wales. We put them at the heart of our organisation and our support and campaigns are informed and shaped by them and their experiences.

Victim Support are committed to recruiting with care and to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Background checks and Disclosed Barring Service checks may be required.

At Victim Support, we're proud to celebrate diversity and create a workplace where everyone feels they belong. We're committed to being an antiracist organisation, and we actively welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, including those from Black and Asian and other minoritised communities.

As a Disability Confident Employer, we will offer an interview to disabled candidates who meet all essential criteria for a job where it is practicable to do so. We are also happy to make reasonable adjustments during the recruitment and selection process.

How to apply

To apply for this role please follow the link below to the Jobs page on our website and complete the application form demonstrating how you meet the essential shortlisting criteria.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early, if we receive enough suitable applications to take forward to interview prior to the published closing date. If you have already registered & started an application, then we will contact you to advise of the amended closing date wherever possible.

Absolute Support Leading Light (ASLL) is looking for an inspiring, values-led Chief Executive to lead the charity through its next stage of development. This is a significant opportunity for an experienced leader to work closely with the Board of Trustees, senior leadership team, staff, commissioners, families and the people we support to sustain and grow high-quality outreach and supported living services for people with learning disabilities and autism.

ASLL is a small local charity based in Richmond-upon-Thames supporting people with learning disabilities and autism. Founded in 2006 and registered as a charity in 2019, Absolute Support has built a solid reputation as a caring provider with a warm and supportive home setting for the people we support. Through our two community-based, supported living homes and via a small outreach service, we work to enable 11 young adults to live happy and meaningful lives.

You will lead a skilled and committed staff team within a welcoming and collaborative culture whilst being supported by the active and experienced board of trustees. The successful candidate will provide strategic direction, strengthen governance and quality assurance, oversee compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements, and act as the organisation's lead spokesperson.

Job title: Chief Executive Officer.

Location: Office-based at ASLL's Teddington office, with regular travel to the locally based client sites.

Working hours: 24 hours (3 days per week).

Salary: £60,000 FTE (£36,000 based on 24 hours per week).

Regulatory role: CQC Nominated Individual (designate) for ASLL's regulated activity, pending CQC registration.

How to apply:

Please review the Recruitment Pack for further information about ASLL, the CEO position and for details on how to apply.

Closing date for applications: 9am Monday 5 October 2026

Both ASLL and Harris Hill operate an equal opportunity policy and commit to treating all of our candidates and jobseekers fairly. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil partnerships.

WHO WE ARE

We are Zarach, the children’s bed charity, and we’re on a mission to end child bed poverty, helping children get a good night's sleep, and the chance to thrive at school.

In our eight  years as a registered charity, we’ve captured the hearts and attention of many individuals, community groups, businesses and funders who want to support us on our mission. We’ve also been given an incredible media platform from which we have raised awareness of child bed poverty at local, regional and national levels. This support and awareness has seen us deliver over 18,000 bed bundles to children to date!

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Zarach is well established in West Yorkshire and Doncaster. We are now continuing to grow across the Yorkshire region, with a launch in Hull, Bridlington and Goole in October.  We are looking to recruit a Family Engagement Officer to join our dedicated Yorkshire team. This is a unique opportunity to play a key part in the growth and development of our vital service as we expand into the East Riding.

As our ideal candidate you will be happy to travel in and around Hull and the East Riding. You will be able to travel regularly to meet with the team and conduct home visits across the region. You will also need to be able to attend our Leeds Warehouse, or other areas in Yorkshire when required. You will be confident to work autonomously in your area while being supported remotely by a wider regional team. 

You will be someone who has good experience of the broad range of day-to-day case management, working with external partners, volunteer support, and administrative activities that working in a dynamic charity brings, and someone who enjoys the busyness and variety of this. While not essential, as training will be provided, experience working alongside schools will help you hit the ground running as you build relationships and support local families.

Alongside your family support and engagement-related skills and experience, we’ll be looking to see that you have a genuine care for our mission and, as such, are self-motivated to do a great job and be a values-led member of our team.

Ideally, you’ll have experience of working with vulnerable families and managing volunteers in the charity sector, due to some of the specialties that come with this, such as safeguarding and partnership working. But charity experience is not essential if you can demonstrate an appetite and track record for continual learning and development across your working life to date.

WHAT WE OFFER

• Starting at £26,000 with progression up to £30,000 p/a
• Full time hours (35 hours per week) 
• 28 days annual leave (plus bank holidays)
• Healthcare Cash Plan
• Quarterly Staff Recognition Award
• A great working environment! One of our colleagues described us as- “Zarach is a wonderful place to work with the mission at the core of all that we do”

To decide if you’d like to bring your skills and experience to bear in the pursuit of our mission, please have a look at the job description, our website and the coverage of us across social media. 

Please note that we may close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications. Therefore, we encourage you to submit your CV and cover letter as soon as possible.

Lead a service that changes lives

Do you want your leadership to have a direct and lasting impact on people affected by domestic abuse?

We are looking for an experienced, compassionate and motivated Domestic Abuse Service Manager to lead and develop our specialist services across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

This is much more than an operational management role. You will lead a committed team delivering support through safe accommodation, community and outreach services, helping ensure adults and children affected by domestic abuse receive safe, high-quality and empowering support when they need it most.

You’ll have the opportunity to shape services, strengthen partnerships and help define what excellent domestic abuse support looks like.

The opportunity

Reporting to the CEO, you will provide confident leadership across our domestic abuse services, managing a diverse team of practitioners, outreach workers, project staff, volunteers and others.

You’ll create a positive culture where staff feel valued, supported and able to deliver their best work, while maintaining high standards of safeguarding, quality and practice.

You’ll build strong relationships with police, housing, health, children’s services, courts, commissioners and voluntary sector partners, ensuring the voice, rights and safety of victim-survivors remain central.

As our Designated Safeguarding Lead, you’ll play a key role in developing a strong safeguarding culture across the organisation, ensuring concerns are managed effectively and learning leads to meaningful improvement.

You’ll also use data, outcomes and feedback to understand what is working, identify emerging needs and drive service development.

You will:

• Lead, support and develop a dedicated domestic abuse team.
• Oversee safe and effective delivery across refuge, community and outreach services.
• Champion trauma-informed, strengths-based and person-centred practice.
• Lead safeguarding for adults and children and contribute to multi-agency processes.
• Develop and deliver training on domestic abuse, safeguarding, risk and trauma-informed practice.
• Build effective relationships with commissioners and partner agencies.
• Monitor performance, analyse data and evidence the impact of our work.
• Contribute to service development, funding applications, tenders, policy and organisational learning.
• Ensure contractual, quality, health and safety and financial requirements are met.
• Promote equality, diversity, inclusion and anti-discriminatory practice.

About you

You’ll have experience of managing people and services, together with a strong understanding of domestic abuse and its impact on adults and children. Experience within domestic abuse, safeguarding, housing, social care, family support or a similar specialist service would be highly relevant.

You’ll combine strong leadership with genuine compassion. You’ll be confident managing risk and complex situations, able to challenge poor practice when necessary, and committed to developing others.

We’re looking for someone who is:

• An inspiring and supportive people manager.
• Experienced in trauma-informed, person-centred

Gendered Intelligence is seeking an exceptional leader to serve as its next Chief Executive. This is a rare opportunity to lead a nationally respected, trans-led organisation with real influence on policy, professional practice and the lives of trans, non-binary and gender exploring people across the UK.

The next Chief Executive will inherit strong foundations: an experienced and committed team of just under 40 people, a distinctive and trusted public profile, and a range of services that reach communities, professionals and institutions across the country. With income of around £1.5–2m, the next Chief Executive will lead the organisation through its next phase of development at a time when that leadership matters enormously.

The role offers the chance to shape strategic direction, open new partnerships and income streams, and contribute to national conversations on trans equality and human rights, while working alongside people who are deeply committed to the mission and to each other.

We are looking for someone who combines strategic clarity with operational grounding, who leads with calm and consistency, and who understands both the privilege and the responsibility of this role. We will be honest with candidates about what the role involves, and we expect the same in return.

Full details of the role can be found on our website and in the attached recruitment pack. 

Responsibilities

People and Team Leadership

• Line manage the Fundraising Manager, providing regular supervision, support, and performance development

• Lead the planning and delivery of all-hands meetings and team development programmes, fostering a collaborative and high-performing team culture

• Maintain oversight of team resource mapping, ensuring capacity is well-managed across the organisation

Impact and Evaluation

• Lead the design and ongoing development of Routes' impact evaluation framework, ensuring it captures meaningful data about the difference our work makes

• Oversee the collection, analysis, and interpretation of impact data throughout the year, using findings to inform programme development and organisational decision-making

• Write and produce Routes' annual impact report, communicating our work and outcomes compellingly to funders, partners, and the wider sector

Income Generation

• Support the Fundraising Manager with grant applications, funder relationships, and income generation activity as needed

• Manage the sales pipeline for the mentoring programme, including prospecting, relationship development, and conversion of corporate and organisational clients

• Source and manage CSR partnerships, building relationships with corporate partners and ensuring existing partnerships are well-stewarded

Operations

• Lead on the creation, review, and approval of organisational policies, ensuring Routes' policies are up to date, legally compliant, and reflective of our values

• Oversee day-to-day office administration and organisational housekeeping

• Manage organisational insurance, ensuring appropriate cover is maintained and reviewed annually

• Oversee staff IT, laptops, phones, and software subscriptions, including troubleshooting and managing supplier relationships

• Draft and manage organisational contracts, including supplier, partner, and service agreements

• Lead on the conversion of Routes from a CIC to a CIO, working with legal advisors, the board, and relevant statutory bodies to manage the process

Strategy

• Contribute to the development and delivery of Routes' organisational strategy, bringing insight from your areas of responsibility

• Lead on the development and implementation of Routes' income generation strategy, working closely with the Fundraising Manager and Co-CEO

Communications

• Write thought leadership pieces for the Routes blog, contributing to Routes' voice and visibility in the sector

Leadership Development and Learning

• Take ownership of your own professional development, using the annual training budget to attend relevant training, events, and sector learning opportunities that strengthen your contribution to Routes and the wider sector

There are some areas of responsibility that sit under the other Co-CEO, but we would expect the person in this role to maintain some oversight or involvement in to enable smooth co-working between the roles. These are:

• Safeguarding: Act as Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) when required, ensuring Routes meets its safeguarding obligations and that staff and volunteers are appropriately supported

• Finance: Attend and contribute to monthly finance meetings, planned by other Co-CEO, maintaining a clear understanding of the organisation's financial position and flagging any concerns to the Co-CEO and board

• Governance: Attend board meetings, providing updates on areas of responsibility and supporting the board to fulfil its governance function

Person Specification

Experience

• Experience in a senior leadership role within the charity, social enterprise, or public sector

• Demonstrable experience of managing and developing staff, with a coaching and supportive leadership style

• Experience of income generation in a charity or social enterprise context, including either grant fundraising, corporate partnerships, or programme sales

• Experience of designing or overseeing monitoring, evaluation, and learning frameworks and producing reports that communicate impact clearly

• Experience of managing operational and governance responsibilities, including policy development and working with a board

• Experience leading teams in challenging, fast-changing and resource-constrained environments 

• Experience of working with or for communities facing marginalisation, discrimination, or structural disadvantage, and a deep understanding of the barriers refugee and asylum seeking women face in the UK

Skills and Knowledge

• Ability to balance day to day operational oversight with long term strategic planning, ensuring that Routes’ work remains in line with values and objectives whilst responding to the changing needs of participants and the external landscape

• Strong written communication skills, with the ability to write compellingly for different audiences

• Financially literate, with the ability to read and engage meaningfully with management accounts and budgets

• Highly organised, with the ability to manage a broad and varied portfolio without dropping the ball

• Comfortable working with data, both quantitative and qualitative, and using it to draw meaningful conclusions

• Strong relationship-building skills, with the ability to build trust quickly with a wide range of stakeholders including funders, corporate partners, board members, and colleagues

• Sound understanding of CIC/charity governance and good practice, and the ability to make confident decisions independently while knowing when to consult

Values and Approach

• Deep personal commitment to gender equality, racial justice, and the rights of refugees and asylum seeking people

• Understanding of the importance of implementing trauma informed practices and a commitment to accessible working practices for all

• A collaborative leadership style that builds trust, shares power, and brings out the best in others

• Comfortable with ambiguity and change, able to hold complexity without becoming overwhelmed by it

• Honest, transparent, and accountable, someone who says what they mean and follows through on commitments

• Energised by working in a small, values-led organisation where everyone mucks in

Additionally, it would be desirable for you to be trained as a Designated Safeguarding Lead, but training on this can be provided.

A Note on Experience

We know that leadership experience takes many forms, and that people from marginalised communities,  including those with lived experience of the asylum system, are often underrepresented at senior levels in the charity sector despite having exactly the qualities and understanding this role requires. We warmly encourage applications from people who may not follow a conventional career trajectory but who can demonstrate the skills, values, and commitment we are looking for. If you are unsure whether your experience is the right fit, please do get in touch before applying,  we would rather have that conversation than miss out on the right person.

The Suicide Bereavement Specialist Manager leads and manages a team of approximately 10–12 Suicide Bereavement Specialists, providing strong and supportive management alongside clear professional accountability and oversight of practice.

The postholder will also maintain a small caseload of approximately 5–10 beneficiaries, enabling them to remain connected to frontline practice and the experiences of people accessing the service.

The postholder has operational responsibility for the beneficiary journey from the point a referral enters the service through assessment, triage and allocation to a Suicide Bereavement Specialist, and for ensuring that subsequent support is safe, timely, appropriate, person-centred and delivered to Pete’s Dragons’ expected standards.

Relationship with the Beneficiary Services Manager

The Beneficiary Services Manager holds overall strategic responsibility for Beneficiary Services, including the direction, development and performance of beneficiary-facing services across Pete’s Dragons.

The SBS Manager holds operational responsibility for the day-to-day delivery, management and quality of the Suicide Bereavement Specialist service.

The SBS Manager is expected to exercise appropriate professional and managerial autonomy in the daily operation of the SBS service, escalating significant safeguarding, workforce, performance, capacity, service-quality or organisational concerns to the Beneficiary Services Manager.

The two roles will work closely together to ensure that strategic decisions are translated into consistent, safe and effective practice.

Key Responsibilities

Referral, Triage and Allocation

The SBS Manager will:

• Take overall responsibility for all incoming referrals to the SBS service from the point of entry through to allocation.
• Review referrals to establish need, urgency, risk, suitability and any additional considerations affecting the provision of support.
• Ensure referrals are processed promptly and in accordance with Pete’s Dragons’ referral pathways, eligibility criteria and service standards.
• Identify and appropriately escalate safeguarding, suicide risk or other significant concerns arising during the referral process.
• Allocate beneficiaries to the most appropriate SBS, considering individual need, practitioner skills and experience, existing caseload, capacity, location and other relevant factors.
• Maintain oversight of referrals awaiting allocation and ensure that beneficiaries do not become lost or unnecessarily delayed within the system.
• Monitor demand, waiting times, caseloads and team capacity and raise emerging pressures with the Beneficiary Services Manager.
• Ensure referral and allocation decisions are clearly and appropriately recorded.

Management and Leadership of the SBS Team

The SBS Manager will:

• Provide day-to-day leadership and management to approximately 10–12 Suicide Bereavement Specialists.
• Lead regular individual management 1:1s with each SBS.
• Lead group supervision and reflective practice opportunities as required.
• Lead daily SBS team meetings and scheduled practice meetings.
• Create a team culture which combines compassion and psychological safety with professional accountability and consistently high standards.
• Maintain regular contact with staff working across different Pete’s Dragons locations.
• Ensure staff have appropriate opportunities to raise concerns, discuss difficult work and seek management guidance.
• Monitor individual workload, caseload and capacity and intervene where concerns arise.
• Support staff wellbeing while maintaining clear expectations regarding professional responsibilities and service delivery.
• Provide appropriate telephone management support for SBS staff working outside normal office hours as required.

Quality Assurance and Practice Standards

The SBS Manager will hold responsibility for the quality of SBS practice and will:

• Undertake formal case audits for each SBS on a quarterly basis.
• Regularly review the quality, accuracy and completeness of beneficiary records and case documentation.
• Monitor SBS practice against Pete’s Dragons’ policies, procedures, practice standards and expected professional boundaries.
• Arrange and review recorded beneficiary sessions at appropriate intervals as part of ongoing practice quality assurance and practitioner development.
• Provide constructive feedback following practice reviews and agree actions or development plans where required.
• Identify excellent practice and ensure learning is shared across the team.
• Identify practice which falls below the expected standard and take timely action to support improvement.
• Monitor beneficiary engagement, missed appointments, case progression, case duration and closure practices.
• Ensure concerns regarding practice, conduct, competence or beneficiary safety are appropriately documented, addressed and escalated.
• Promote reflective professional practice and continuous improvement throughout the SBS team.

Safeguarding and Risk

The SBS Manager will:

• Act as a Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO) for Pete’s Dragons. Appropriate DSO training can be provided where required.
• Share responsibility for the management and oversight of safeguarding cases within the organisation.
• Provide advice and support to SBSs where safeguarding concerns arise.
• Ensure safeguarding concerns are identified, recorded, escalated and acted upon in accordance with Pete’s Dragons’ Safeguarding Policy and relevant statutory guidance.
• Work collaboratively with other safeguarding leads and senior managers where complex or significant concerns arise.
• Promote confident and consistent safeguarding practice throughout the SBS team.
• Ensure staff understand the distinction between safeguarding, suicide risk, clinical concern and other forms of beneficiary risk and follow the appropriate organisational pathway.

Beneficiary Casework

To remain connected to frontline practice, the SBS Manager will:

• Maintain a small caseload of approximately 5–10 beneficiaries.
• Provide high-quality suicide bereavement support in accordance with Pete’s Dragons’ practice model, policies and standards.
• Maintain timely, accurate and appropriate case records.
• Model excellent professional boundaries, beneficiary communication and case management.
• Participate in appropriate clinical supervision for their own beneficiary work.
• Ensure management responsibilities remain the priority of the role and that their personal caseload does not compromise their availability to manage the service or support the SBS team.

People Management and HR

The SBS Manager will be responsible for all routine HR management relating to their direct reports, including:

• Recruitment and selection of Suicide Bereavement Specialists.
• Induction and probation.
• Regular management supervision.
• Annual appraisal and performance review.
• Identifying individual and team development needs.
• Supporting professional development and CPD.
• Attendance and absence management.
• Managing annual leave and ensuring adequate service capacity.
• Addressing performance, capability, conduct or behavioural concerns promptly and appropriately.
• Supporting staff wellbeing and identifying when additional support may be required.
• Working with the Beneficiary Services Manager and other appropriate colleagues on formal HR matters where necessary.
• Maintaining appropriate and confidential management records.

Training and Development

The SBS Manager will:

• Identify individual and collective training and development needs across the SBS team.
• Ensure mandatory training remains current.
• Support SBSs to develop their knowledge, confidence and professional practice.
• Use case audits, recorded-session reviews, supervision, beneficiary feedback and other quality measures to identify areas for development.
• Contribute to the development and delivery of internal practice training and workshops.
• Support newly appointed SBSs through induction and their transition into independent practice.

Policy, Procedure and Service Development

The SBS Manager will:

• Ensure organisational policies, procedures and agreed ways of working are consistently implemented within the SBS team.
• Communicate changes in policy or practice clearly and ensure staff understand what is expected of them.
• Monitor compliance and address inconsistent practice.
• Contribute frontline operational knowledge to the review and development of policies, procedures, pathways and practice standards.
• Support the Beneficiary Services Manager in implementing service developments and organisational change.
• Identify opportunities to improve beneficiary experience, efficiency, quality and consistency.

Monitoring and Reporting

The SBS Manager will maintain an accurate operational picture of the SBS service, including:

• Referral volumes.
• Referral processing and allocation.
• Waiting times.
• Individual and team caseloads.
• Team capacity.
• Beneficiary engagement.
• Case progression and closures.
• Safeguarding and risk themes.
• Quality assurance findings.
• Staff performance and development.
• Emerging operational risks or pressures.

The postholder will provide appropriate information and reporting to the Beneficiary Services Manager and ensure significant concerns are escalated promptly rather than waiting for routine reporting arrangements.

General Responsibilities

The postholder will:

• Work across Pete’s Dragons Devon locations as required.
• Represent Pete’s Dragons professionally with beneficiaries, colleagues, partners and external agencies.
• Maintain appropriate confidentiality and comply with data protection requirements.
• Work within Pete’s Dragons’ policies, procedures, values and professional standards.
• Attend relevant internal and external meetings.
• Maintain appropriate professional boundaries at all times.
• Undertake relevant training and continuing professional development.
• Work flexibly where reasonably required by the needs of the service.
• Participate in a limited out-of-hours telephone support arrangement for SBS staff undertaking authorised out-of-hours work.
• Undertake other reasonable duties consistent with the seniority and purpose of the role.

Person Specification

Essential

Experience

The successful candidate will have:

• Significant experience of managing and leading staff.
• Experience of managing a team delivering services to people with complex emotional or mental health needs.
• Relevant experience within mental health, bereavement, psychological support, social care or a closely related field.
• Experience of managing staff performance, development, wellbeing and HR matters.
• Experience of quality assuring professional or support-based practice.
• Experience of managing risk and making sound professional decisions in complex situations.
• Experience of working with confidential and sensitive information.
• Experience of balancing competing demands and managing a busy operational service.

Knowledge and Skills

The successful candidate will demonstrate:

• Strong leadership and people-management skills.
• A sound understanding of mental health, emotional distress, grief and vulnerability.
• The ability to assess information and make proportionate decisions regarding risk, urgency and service response.
• Strong safeguarding awareness and a willingness to undertake DSO training where not already qualified.
• The ability to challenge poor or unsafe practice appropriately and constructively.
• The ability to provide clear feedback and support staff development.
• Excellent organisational and workload-management skills.
• The ability to monitor service capacity and allocate work fairly and effectively.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Confidence in managing difficult conversations.
• Good professional judgement and the ability to know when matters should be escalated.
• Strong IT skills and the ability to use electronic case-management systems effectively.
• The ability to analyse service information and identify trends, risks and areas requiring improvement.

Personal Approach

The successful candidate will:

• Combine compassion with professional accountability.
• Be calm and confident when managing complex or emotionally demanding situations.
• Be approachable without losing appropriate managerial boundaries.
• Be willing to make and stand behind difficult decisions.
• Be curious about practice and committed to continual learning and improvement.
• Understand the importance of reflective practice when working with suicide bereavement.
• Be comfortable working within a service where risk, grief, trauma and emotional distress are part of everyday practice.
• Demonstrate integrity, discretion and sound judgement.
• Share Pete’s Dragons’ commitment to providing timely, appropriate and professional support following suicide bereavement.

Practical Requirements

• Full UK driving licence.
• Access to a vehicle for work purposes.
• Ability and willingness to travel regularly between Pete’s Dragons locations and elsewhere across Devon.
• Ability to work flexibly according to service requirements.
• Ability to participate in limited out-of-hours telephone support for SBS staff.

Desirable

• Previous experience of suicide bereavement or postvention services.
• Previous experience of managing a geographically dispersed team.
• Safeguarding/DSO training.
• Experience of conducting case or practice audits.
• Experience of reviewing recorded professional practice sessions.
• Experience of delivering supervision, reflective practice or professional development sessions.
• Experience of recruitment within health, mental health, social care, bereavement or similar services.
• Knowledge of trauma-informed and person-centred approaches.

Scope and Accountability

This is a significant operational management role with responsibility for both people and practice.

The SBS Manager is accountable for ensuring that the SBS team is appropriately managed, beneficiaries are allocated safely and promptly, the quality of support is actively monitored, concerns are addressed rather than allowed to drift, and the Beneficiary Services Manager has an accurate understanding of the performance, capacity and risks within the service.

The postholder is expected to exercise professional judgement and autonomy within their delegated responsibilities while recognising when an issue requires escalation or strategic decision-making by the Beneficiary Services Manager.

Across the UK, millions of children and young people are facing complex social and emotional challenges. AllChild works within local communities and wider support systems to identify and support children and young people most at risk of poor social, emotional and academic outcomes. Through our two‑year Impact Programme, we help build a joined‑up network of support around each child and family, working in partnership with schools, local services and community organisations.

We are seeking an experienced and highly organised Programme Officer to provide effective administrative support to the national programme delivery team. The postholder will manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment, communicating confidently with colleagues, schools, partner organisations and external providers.

The role includes the handling of sensitive and confidential information. Full safeguarding and systems training will be provided where required.

We recognise that candidates may use AI tools to support research and check grammar. However, we ask that all supporting statements and application responses reflect your own thoughts and experiences. Over-reliance on AI may limit our ability to assess your individual skills, critical thinking, and personal approach, which are important parts of our selection process.

Further information about the role can be found in the attached Recruitment Pack.

Closing date: 9 October 2026.