Safeguarding Manager

British Equestrian (BEF) is the national federation for equestrianism in the UK, affiliated to the FEI and supported by UK Sport and Sport England.

The organisation has 19 Member Bodies reflecting the interests of a very broad spectrum of equestrian sports and activities, ranging from Olympic and Paralympic competition to equine welfare, trade and recreational riding.

The BEF and its member bodies place the highest priority on the safety and welfare of those involved with and/or participating in equestrian sport, and welfare, inclusion and integrity are three of the six golden threads forming the essential foundations to our strategy.

Working together, the BEF and its Member Bodies have established a strong shared approach to safeguarding practices, policies and educational materials, supported by campaigns such as the BEF’s Safe to Play campaign, and we are committed to continually enhancing and improving our safeguarding governance and practices.

• The purpose of the role
• Reporting to the Head of Integrity and HR, the Safeguarding Manager will:
• Lead the development and delivery of the BEF’s safeguarding strategy and day-to-day operational priorities.
• Shape and strengthen safeguarding policies, procedures and assurance frameworks across the Federation.
• Provide expert safeguarding advice and oversee the management of concerns and casework.
• Promote a unified, collaborative approach to protecting children and adults, while fostering a proactive, positive and effective safeguarding culture across the Federation.
• What you’ll do
• Use your influence and leadership to continually improve and promote a positive, inclusive and welfare-centered culture.
• Provide expert safeguarding advice and manage safeguarding concerns and casework in line with policy, procedure and best practice.
• Develop, implement and review safeguarding policies and procedures in collaboration with Member Bodies.
• Lead safeguarding audits, assurance activity and action planning.
• Oversee safeguarding training content, DBS compliance and safer recruitment processes.
• Act as the central point of contact for all safeguarding matters for both internal and external individuals and agencies.
• Work collaboratively with Member Bodies, statutory and national safeguarding partners, representing the BEF at multi-agency meetings, strategy discussions and assessments as required.
• Manage the central recording platform for safeguarding concerns raised across the Federation or by external agencies, ensuring relevant information is shared appropriately with Member Bodies to minimise risk.
• Maintain and develop your own professional safeguarding knowledge and expertise.
• What you need to succeed - key experience, knowledge and skills

You must be a knowledgeable, experienced and resilient safeguarding professional who leads with integrity, empathy and confidence.

Ideally, you will have experience of leading and managing safeguarding within a sport regulatory environment.

You will also need to demonstrate

• Excellent judgement, resilience and ability to handle sensitive matters with empathy and professionalism.
• The ability to provide advice, guidance and support at all levels of the organisation.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, engagement and relationship-building skills.
• The ability to work collaboratively to develop national-level guidance, policies and initiatives.
• Strong influencing skills and the ability to facilitate and support organisational and cultural change.
• Confidence and competence when working with external agencies and multi-disciplinary teams.
• Strong administration, organisational and records management skills.
• Experience of inspection, audit and quality assurance processes.
• Experience of safeguarding case management and leading child protection processes.
• A value-driven mindset: You believe safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and understand its central importance across all areas of governance and practice.
• Courage and curiosity: A willingness to work collaboratively, to listen, learn, challenge and reflect; and to communicate clearly, respectfully and pragmatically.
• Ambition and drive to move beyond compliance to develop initiatives that focus on culture and prevention, continually strengthening our safeguarding framework and governance.

The role may include out-of-hours working, being on call and some travel within the UK.

You must share our commitment to safeguarding and to protecting and promoting positive outcomes for all stakeholders, including children, young people and adults who may be additionally vulnerable or at risk.

As business needs evolve, this role will change accordingly. This document should therefore be viewed as a guideline and may be subject to change.

British Equestrian is committed to becoming a more diverse and inclusive organisation to bring new and different perspectives to our work.

So that we can more closely reflect UK society, we particularly encourage applications from individuals within groups which are currently underrepresented within our organisation and include candidates from ethnically diverse communities, candidates with a disability, candidates from the LBTQ+ community or from under-served communities.

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