Deputy Safeguarding Advisor

Deputy Safeguarding Advisor
Canterbury, Kent
£21,838 (£36,397) FTE plus excellent benefits
21 hours per week
Fixed-term contract for 18 months 

The Deputy Safeguarding Advisor is a very important role at the Diocese, as you will provide advice to parishes on safeguarding issues, cases and incidents to help ensure that our parishes, the Cathedral and the Diocesan offices discharge their responsibilities for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults who may be at risk of abuse or neglect.

Reporting to the Diocesan Safeguarding Officer and working within the Safeguarding Team, you will support and carry out casework which will also include reviewing safety plans and/or safeguarding agreements, assessing and managing risk of harm and undertaking risk assessments on blemished DBS checks or Confidential Declarations.

As Deputy Safeguarding Advisor, you will provide best practice advice to all stakeholders and partners as well as participating in the Diocese of Canterbury’s Safeguarding Executive Group and Diocesan and Cathedral Safeguarding Advisory Panel, whilst taking responsibility for preparing reports when requested.

Working closely with the Diocesan Safeguarding Officer, you will also coordinate the Diocese’s response to victims and survivors of church-based abuse which includes ensuring that victims and survivors are assisted in accessing relevant support services.

With a relevant professional qualification or equivalent (for example, social care or criminal justice) you should have significant experience of undertaking safeguarding risk assessments and professional safeguarding expertise and experience in a relevant statutory, voluntary, or judicial agency. 

Practitioner experience of working with victims and survivors of abuse and with offenders and perpetrators of abuse, is also essential.

You should have an understanding of the broader safeguarding field including its social and political context along with an in-depth knowledge of safeguarding legislation in relation to safeguarding children and adults, as well as having experience in using appropriate interview models with victims, survivors, and respondents.

Experience of contributing to case review processes and identifying and disseminating lessons to be learnt, e.g. Serious Case Review, Domestic Homicide Reviews, would be desirable. It would also be beneficial but not essential for you to have an understanding and good working knowledge of the Church of England, its organisation and governance structures.

You will be required to travel across the Diocese for meetings, so the ability to travel to remote locations and work flexibly is a necessity. This role will also be subject to an enhanced DBS check.

The Diocese of Canterbury Diocesan Safeguarding Team provides professional safeguarding guidance in line with the Church of England’s Safeguarding Code of Practice, House of Bishop’s Guidance, and the Church of England National Safeguarding Standards. A key aspect of the team’s role is to provide compassionate support to survivors of abuse in addition to safeguarding children, young people, and vulnerable adults, ensuring their voices are heard and their experiences are respected.

Canterbury Diocese is the oldest diocese in England, stretching from Maidstone to Thanet, the Isle of Sheppey to the Romney Marsh. We have 350 miles of coastline with historic ports and seaside resorts, alongside rural communities, market towns and commuter-belt urban developments. Affluent areas often sit alongside pockets of major deprivation, offering an exciting and challenging mission context. 

At the heart of all we do is a vision of transformation for ourselves and our communities: no one can encounter God and remain unchanged. In the Diocese of Canterbury, we want to increasingly become a Christian community transformed through encounter with Christ, growing and overflowing to transform and bless the families, homes and communities we serve: Changed Lives, Changing Lives.

Closing date: 18 June 2025.