Senior Global Safeguarding Advisor

Client: WaterAid

Location: London, United Kingdom

Job Category: Other - EU work permit required: Yes

Job Reference: da25bc8fcc12

Job Views: 7

Posted: 29.06.2025

Expiry Date: 13.08.2025

Contract: Full-time, Permanent.

Location: London, UK or Stockholm, Sweden

UK Hybrid Working: A minimum of 40% of working time is spent face to face, either in London office, or as a result of external engagement or travel for WaterAid.

WaterAid is located at Canary Wharf, London and this will be your location and contract base.

Salary and Benefits: for the UK, £48,867- £51,439 per annum with excellent benefits. Competitive salary package for the other location.

About WaterAid

Want to use your skills in safeguarding to play a vital role in making clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene for everyone everywhere? We need passionate, creative and dedicated people. In return, you will be encouraged and empowered to be yourself at your very best. Together, we will make a bigger difference.

About the Team

The WaterAid Global Safeguarding Team sits within the Global People Team, and is a team made up of diverse safeguarding professionals based across a number of WaterAid locations. The Global Safeguarding Team are responsible for ensuring that throughout WaterAid’s work, wherever in the world that may be, we uphold our ‘Do no harm’ principle and prioritise keeping people safe. The Global Safeguarding Team provide critical safeguarding advice and guidance to all 7 members and 27 countries of the WaterAid federation, to ensure we protect everyone we encounter through our work - including staff, partners, volunteers, contractors and the people in the communities we work - from experiencing any form of harm. This includes setting federation wide safeguarding policies and procedures, providing safeguarding training, case management, management of the Safeguarding Focal Point Network, and sector safeguarding engagement. We are a remote global team, and the successful candidate must be willing to work independently, and to travel when required occasionally at short notice.

About the Role

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Global Safeguarding Team as our Senior Global Safeguarding Specialist reporting to the Global Safeguarding Director. This is a senior role in the team and will play a key part in managing and supervising safeguarding cases and investigations, as well as providing proactive support and guidance to Members and Country Programmes on a range of safeguarding topics. The role involves a considerable amount of proactive prevention work such as designing and facilitating training and resources for a range of audiences (Boards, staff groups, volunteers, communities). The role involves organisation and facilitation of large-scale events and management of the Safeguarding Focal Point Network. This role supports the Global Safeguarding Director in implementing safeguarding policies and standards and works closely to deliver core safeguarding projects across the federation. The team is supported by a Global Safeguarding Co-Ordinator for whom this role line manages, a Global Safeguarding Adviser and a Community Safeguarding Engagement Adviser.

In this role you’ll also:

• Lead and Co-lead safeguarding support country programme/member visits.
• Maintain and update core safeguarding policies and standards as and when required.
• Actively engage with external safeguarding networks to ensure WaterAid continues to contribute to improve sector safeguarding standards and engages in relevant sector initiatives.
• Monitor compliance with global safeguarding standards in relation to core performance indicators.
• Lead on planning and developing training resources such as webinars, videos, and guidance documents for multiple audiences.
• Be available on call throughout the year and during events as designated to ensure safeguarding advice and support can be accessed across the Global Safeguarding Team 24/7.
• Cover for the Global Safeguarding Director in their absence.

Requirements

• Proven track record of working in a safeguarding environment with significant case management experience of at least 5 years.
• Significant experience in conducting safeguarding investigations and risk-based interviewing.
• Experience of report writing skills, including risk assessments and risk management report writing.
• Technical knowledge and understanding of safeguarding and protection principles and standards.
• Understanding and knowledge of applying a trauma survivor centred approach.
• Experience of working with vulnerable groups such as young people and vulnerable communities.
• Knowledge of UK and globally relevant safeguarding legislation and guidance.
• Experience of working in challenging, fast-paced, and complex environments.
• Experience of safeguarding policy design and implementation.
• To be able to confidentially communicate in English both written and spoken.
• Commitment to WaterAid’s values of respect, accountability, courage, collaboration, integrity and innovation and a working style that reflects these.
• You must be available to travel internationally for an event between 04-11 October 2025.

Although not essential, we also prefer you to have:

• Spoken and written French, Spanish, or Portuguese.
• Gender and inclusion experience within the international sector.
• Qualified sexual exploitation and abuse investigator for example ITQS level 3.
• Appreciation or experience of some of the country contexts in which WaterAid works.

Closing Date: Applications will close 12:00 PM UK Time on Monday, 30th June 2025. Shortlisting and interviews may take place on a rolling basis and the application process will close if a suitable candidate is found. We encourage all potential applicants to apply as soon as possible. If you would like to speak to a member of the team about the role, please reach out to Nicci Morgan directly by emailing NicciMorgan@wateraid.org.

Please note that if you are NOT a passport holder of the country for the vacancy you might need a work permit. Bank or payment details should not be provided when applying for a job. All applications should be made via the 'Apply now' button.