Programme development and funding officer jobs in Belfast

• 30 hours/week (0.8FTE)
• £35,000p.a. pro rata (actual salary £28,378.38) plus 6% pension contribution 
• Remote

Rape Crisis England & Wales (RCEW) is the national campaigns and membership body for a network of independent, community-based Rape Crisis Centres working to end child sexual abuse, rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment and all other forms of sexual violence.

The 24/7 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Line is a national service led by Rape Crisis England & Wales and funded by the Ministry of Justice.

We are looking for a thoughtful and committed *professional who can combine strong safeguarding knowledge with a collaborative approach to quality assurance and service improvement.

Job Summary

The Support Line Safeguarding & Quality Assurance Coordinator is responsible for the day-to-day quality control, safeguarding oversight, and assurance of the 24/7 Support Line. Acting as the Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO) for the service, the postholder will provide oversight and assurance of safeguarding practices, complaints, and quality issues are managed appropriately, consistently, and in line with organisational policies, procedures and statutory requirements.

The role is responsible for coordinating and delivering a proactive quality assurance programme that assesses practice, monitors compliance with policies and procedures, identifies areas for learning and development, and supports continuous service improvement. Through audits, case reviews, and quality monitoring activities, the postholder will identify themes, risks, and opportunities to strengthen practice and improve service delivery.

The Support Line Safeguarding & Quality Assurance Coordinator will be experienced in customer service, safeguarding, and quality assurance, including responding to complaints and concerns, with the ability to communicate appropriately and sensitively with a range of stakeholders, including complainants, survivors, delivery partners, and colleagues. They will have a strong understanding of sexual violence, safeguarding responsibilities, and the wide-ranging impacts on survivors and those supporting them.

*This role is restricted to applicants who are female. This is a Genuine Occupational Requirement (GOR) in accordance with Schedule 9, Part 1 of the Equality Act 2010.

Due to the nature of the role, the post holder will be required to provide direct support to women and children who have experienced sexual violence and abuse. The role involves working in women-only spaces and delivering trauma-informed services where privacy, dignity, and the ability to build trust with service users are essential.

We consider that being female is an occupational requirement for this role, and that applying this requirement is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim, namely the provision of safe, appropriate, and effective support services to survivors.

This requirement has been carefully considered in line with equality legislation and is applied only where it is necessary for the effective delivery of the service.

Key Responsibilities

Safeguarding and Quality Assurance

• Act as the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) for the national 24/7 Support Line, providing safeguarding oversight, guidance, and decision-making across all delivery partners.
• Lead and coordinate safeguarding and quality assurance activity across partner organisations to ensure services are delivered safely, consistently, and in line with organisational standards, contractual requirements, legislation, and best practice.
• Identify, assess, manage, and appropriately escalate safeguarding concerns relating to adults and children, ensuring concerns are recorded and responded to in accordance with safeguarding procedures and statutory guidance.
• Oversee and undertake safeguarding audits, case reviews, complaint investigations, and quality assurance activities to monitor compliance and identify areas for improvement.
• Monitor safeguarding, complaints, and quality assurance trends across the service, identifying themes, risks, learning opportunities, and recommendations for continuous improvement.
• Ensure safeguarding records, referrals, investigations, and quality assurance documentation are maintained accurately, confidentially, and in line with data protection and information governance requirements.
• Develop and maintain effective working relationships with delivery partners, commissioners, safeguarding agencies, and other stakeholders to support collaborative service delivery and safeguarding responses.
• Contribute to the development and delivery of safeguarding and quality assurance training, guidance, and resources, working in partnership with 24/7 Support Line Managers to promote a culture of accountability, continuous learning, reflective practice, and ongoing service improvement.

Complaints, Feedback and Quality Control

• Act as the first point of contact for complaints relating to the 24/7 Support Line, ensuring responses are managed sensitively, appropriately, and within agreed timescales.
• Investigate complaints and service concerns in collaboration with delivery partners, establishing findings and making recommendations for resolution and service improvement.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date records of complaints, feedback, investigations, outcomes, and actions taken.
• Work with delivery partners to ensure consistent collection and review of service user feedback across the Support Line.
• Analyse concerns, risks, themes, and patterns identified through complaints, feedback, safeguarding activity, and quality assurance processes, taking responsibility for driving improvements, promoting learning, and working collaboratively with Support Line Managers to strengthen practice and enhance service quality.
• Coordinate and oversee Quality assurance activities, including call and chat monitoring, case reviews, and feedback processes, ensuring consistent application across all partners.

Data, Reporting and Insight

• Work collaboratively with the Data and Impact Coordinator to review and analyse service data, outcomes, complaints, safeguarding concerns, and quality assurance findings.
• Produce reports, summaries, and actionable insights for the Support Line Operations Manager, commissioners, or funders as required.
• Identify trends, recurring themes, and development needs across the partnership, supporting improvements to training, guidance, policies, and operational practice.
• Support the monitoring of service quality, safeguarding performance, and compliance against agreed standards and contractual requirements.

Service Improvement

• Ensure learning from safeguarding activity, complaints, feedback, and quality assurance informs continuous service improvement and operational development.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues and delivery partners on service improvement initiatives, including accessibility, consistency, and service user experience.
• Contribute to the development of processes and systems that strengthen quality, safeguarding practice, and partnership working across the national Support Line.

Synergy with the wider work of RCEW

• Participate in team meetings, cross-organisational projects, and wider organisational activities as required.
• Maintain effective communication and collaborative working relationships with colleagues across the organisation and partner network.
• Keep up to date with relevant legislation, safeguarding guidance, sector developments, and wider organisational priorities relevant to the role.

This list is indicative only, not exhaustive. It is intended to reflect a range of duties the post-holder will be expected to perform but additional duties commensurate with the role may be required. The job description will be reviewed from time to time and may change in light of experience and changing circumstances, in consultation with the post-holder. We ask all employees to uphold our organisational values, support our mission and purpose, and to maintain respectful and collaborative relationships with colleagues at all levels of the organisation.

Person Specification*

• Experience of working to improve support services, ideally within a quality assurance, safeguarding, customer service, helpline, or support service environment.
• Experience acting as a Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO), safeguarding lead, or in a similar role with responsibility for safeguarding oversight and decision-making, or a willingness to undertake relevant DSO training.
• Experience of handling complaints, concerns, or service issues effectively and sensitively.
• Excellent knowledge of safeguarding practice, including the ability to recognise, assess, and respond appropriately to a range of safeguarding concerns relating to adults and children.
• Experience using data, feedback, and performance information to identify trends, monitor service quality, support decision-making, and drive continuous improvement.
• Experience of assessing practice, identifying learning opportunities, and supporting service and practice development.
• Strong understanding of how helpline or support services operate, including service user needs, operational challenges, and quality standards for call and chat handling.
• Knowledge of best practice in complaints handling, safeguarding, quality assurance, and continuous improvement.
• Awareness of accessibility requirements and inclusive practice, with the ability to support services that are accessible to diverse user groups.
• Strong customer service skills, with the ability to communicate sensitively, professionally, and appropriately with complainants, survivors, colleagues, and stakeholders.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to investigate concerns, assess information objectively, identify themes and trends, and make clear recommendations.
• Good organisational and time management skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities and maintain accurate records.
• Experience of coordinating quality assurance activities, audits, service reviews, or improvement initiatives.
• Experience working within the sexual violence, violence against women and girls (VAWG), safeguarding, or wider support sector.
• Experience of working with multiple partner organisations or external stakeholders.
• Knowledge of trauma-informed practice and survivor-centred approaches.

Personal Attributes

• A passion for making a difference and for delivering high quality support services for survivors of sexual violence.
• Able to think critically and assess information objectively.
• Able to see the big picture, to see the connections between complaints, feedback and QA insights and how the service is delivered.

Success in the role of Support Line Safeguarding & Quality Assurance Coordinator is determined by the ability to work collaboratively with delivery partners and stakeholders to ensure safe, high-quality, and consistent service delivery across the national 24/7 Support Line. The role will ensure that safeguarding, complaints, feedback, and quality assurance activity informs continuous improvement and supports positive outcomes for service users. Key measures of success include:

• Complaints, safeguarding concerns, and quality issues are managed effectively, appropriately, and within agreed timescales and organisational procedures.
• Quality assurance and safeguarding oversight processes are implemented consistently across all delivery partners.
• Feedback collection and engagement processes remain effective, with feedback collection rates maintained above agreed targets.
• Trends, risks, learning, and insights from safeguarding, complaints, feedback, and quality assurance activity are regularly analysed and used to inform service improvement and operational practice.
• Regular, accurate, and data-informed reports are provided to the Support Line Operations Manager or funders as required.
• Positive working relationships are maintained with delivery partners, colleagues, and external stakeholders to support safe and effective service delivery.

How to Apply

To apply, please submit a CV and a covering letter (no more than two pages) explaining why you are interested in this role and how your experience meets the person specification.

Eligibility

Applicants must have the right to work in the UK. Evidence of this will be required prior to appointment.

Additional Information

Please note: We reserve the right to close this vacancy early should we receive a sufficient number of applications. We therefore encourage interested candidates to apply as soon as possible.

Due to the volume of applications received, only candidates selected for interview will be contacted.