Safeguarding Trustee

Trustee - Safeguarding Lead 

The role would include, but is not restricted to the following:

• To liaise directly with our volunteers, team leaders and the board of trustees
• To manage and promote safeguarding policies 
• Induct new volunteers and provide refresher learning with regards to safeguarding via bi-monthly awareness sessions

Requirements are, but not limited to:

• Prior safeguarding experience
• Attend regular trustee meetings - usually 2 hours, bi-monthly or quarterly
• DBS check

Strategic

• Review our strategic plans and make sure they reflect safeguarding legislation, regulations specific to your activities, statutory guidance, and the safeguarding expectations of the Charities Commission.
• Work with the board and staff and designated safeguarding lead regularly to review whether the things the organisation has put in place are creating a safer culture and keeping people safe.
• Check our risk register reflects safeguarding risks properly and plans sensible measures to take, including relevant insurance for trustees liability.

Effective policy and practice

• Make sure there is an annual review of safeguarding policies and procedures and that this is reported to trustees.
• Understand the monitoring undertaken does to see whether policies and procedures are effective.
• Call for audits of qualitative and quantitative data (either internal or external) when they’re needed.
• Learn from case reviews locally and nationally, to improve our policies, procedures and practices.
• Oversee safeguarding allegations against staff or volunteers, together with the board and staff and designated safeguarding lead as needed.
• Be a point of contact for staff or volunteers if someone wishes to complain about a lack of action in relation to safeguarding concerns.

Creating the right culture

• Champion safeguarding throughout the organisation.
• Attend relevant safeguarding training events and conferences.
• Support the trustees in developing their individual and collective understanding of safeguarding.
• Attend meetings, activities, projects to engage with staff, volunteers and beneficiaries to understand safeguarding on the ground.
• Work with the board, staff, designated safeguarding lead and communications team in order to manage all serious safeguarding cases.
• Support regular safeguarding updates for staff, volunteers and beneficiaries.
• Make sure you have ways of gathering the views of staff and volunteers in relation to safeguarding and sharing these with the board.