Safeguarding Manager - Off the Record Bath & North East Somerset

Please note this is not a Bath & North East Somerset Council Vacancy.

Contract Type: Fixed term until March 2028, with possibility to extend subject to funding/performance.

Organisation/School: Off the Record Bath & North East Somerset

Who we are

Off the Record Bath & North East Somerset (OTR) is a mental health and wellbeing charity that gives local young people a safe space to be heard and be themselves. We provide a range of free services for young people, including counselling, listening support, youth participation, advocacy, support for care leavers and LGBTQ+ focused youth groups.

You’ll be joining OTR at a time of growth and increasing responsibility within the local mental health system, with a strong focus on safeguarding assurance, quality improvement and partnership working. Equity, diversity, and inclusion are at the heart of what we value as an organisation. OTR is committed to equal employment opportunities regardless of race, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability or any other status protected by law.

Purpose of the role

The Safeguarding Officer role has been created to strengthen and standardise safeguarding practice across OTR BaNES’ wellbeing, counselling and early-intervention services. The post holder will act as a safeguarding lead, providing operational oversight, audit and quality assurance, staff guidance and external liaison, and ensuring compliance with statutory safeguarding frameworks, local partnership arrangements and ICB standards. The role will also deliver targeted wellbeing and safeguarding check-ins for young people presenting with identified risk factors, supporting early intervention, safety planning and appropriate onward referral. While not a clinical post, it requires experience and confidence in working directly with children and young people in complex or vulnerable circumstances. This is a fixed-term post funded through ICB funding, with a clear focus on embedding sustainable safeguarding systems and practices to support longer-term organisational development.

Key Responsibilities:

• Confident, calm and resilient when managing safeguarding concerns.
• Highly organised, with a strong attention to detail and accountability.
• Collaborative and relationship-focused, with the ability to work across teams and partner agencies.

Your enthusiasm, judgement and values are as important to us as your formal experience. If you feel you have transferable skills and relevant experience but do not meet every requirement listed below, we would still encourage you to apply.

Safeguarding leadership and case management:

• Act as a primary point of contact for safeguarding concerns across OTR BaNES services, including as a member of our Safeguarding on call rota, working out of hours evenings and weekends as required.
• Receive, triage and manage safeguarding concerns, assessing risk and ensuring proportionate and timely responses.
• Participate in safeguarding and clinical triage meetings as part of a multi-disciplinary decision-making group, ensuring safeguarding considerations inform clinical pathways and escalation decisions.
• Maintain oversight of safeguarding case logs, ensuring accurate, confidential and up-to-date records.
• Support staff and volunteers with safeguarding decision-making, thresholds and escalation.
• Liaise with statutory agencies including Children’s Social Care, MASH, education providers and health partners as required.
• Ensure safeguarding responses align with Working Together to Safeguard Children (2023), local safeguarding partnership procedures and organisational policy.

Wellbeing checks and safeguarding interventions:

• Conduct structured wellbeing and safeguarding check-ins with young people presenting with identified risk factors.
• Deliver short, non-clinical safeguarding interventions including safety planning, review conversations, engagement support and signposting.
• Support young people and families to understand referral pathways and access appropriate services.
• Work collaboratively with counselling, wellbeing and early-intervention staff to support engagement prior to or alongside therapeutic input.

Governance, audit and quality assurance:

• Lead on the development, implementation and review of safeguarding policies, procedures and guidance.
• Design and deliver a rolling programme of safeguarding audits across services.
• Monitor safeguarding data and themes to inform service improvement and risk management.
• Contribute to organisational safeguarding assurance reporting, including reports to senior leadership and commissioners.

Training and workforce development:

• Develop and deliver safeguarding training and refresher sessions for staff and volunteers.
• Provide advice and guidance to managers on safeguarding supervision and reflective practice.
• Promote a culture of safeguarding accountability, learning and continuous improvement.
• Act as an operational link between OTR BaNES, the Local Safeguarding Partnership and ICB Safeguarding Team.
• Build and maintain effective professional relationships with external agencies and partners.
• Represent OTR BaNES at safeguarding and quality-related meetings as required.

General:

• Participate in the day-to-day work of the organisation such as reporting, attending team and other meetings as required, and taking a flexible approach to general administrative and support tasks.
• Be an ambassador for OTR, actively promoting our vision and work.
• Ensure the effective implementation of the organisation’s policies and overall organisational objectives, including Health & Safety policies and procedures, taking responsibility for their own personal health, safety and welfare in the workplace.
• Following safeguarding policies and procedures in all aspects of the work with children and young people.
• Actively promoting good equal opportunities practices across all aspects of work and taking positive steps to counter discrimination however and wherever it occurs.
• Participate constructively in supervision and staff development opportunities including training and team building initiatives.
• Contribute to co-operative working across all the services within OTR.
• Promote and enable active involvement of young people in planning, improving and making decisions about OTR services.
• Ensure effective and accessible communication with staff, service users and the general public.
• Contribute to maintaining and developing effective professional relationships both internally and with outside agencies.
• Undertake any other reasonable duties consistent with the skills and duties needed for this role, as required.

Working pattern and location:

This role is based at our office in central Bath, close to Bath Spa train and bus stations. The post holder will be expected to travel across Bath & North East Somerset to meet colleagues, partners and service users. This role will require some evening working and occasional weekend working. Applicants must be able to travel to locations not always accessible by public transport.

This job description is a general outline of the job duties and responsibilities and may be amended as OTR develops. The post holder may be required to undertake other additional duties as may be reasonably required.

Feel free to send any questions about this vacancy to office@offtherecord-banes.co.uk.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. We follow safer recruitment practices and appointments are subject to an enhanced DBS check.