Safeguarding Operations and Parish Support Manager in Liverpool

ROLE SUMMARY

The Safeguarding Operations & Parish Support Manager will lead on the non-casework operational activity of the Diocesan Safeguarding Team that enables effective, consistent and accountable safeguarding across the Diocese of Liverpool.

The postholder will be responsible for the practical systems, processes, parish support arrangements and management information through which safeguarding policies and standards are implemented and monitored.

Reporting directly to the DSO, the postholder will provide functional leadership of the Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO) network, and oversee Safer Recruitment and DBS administration, Safeguarding Dashboards and Hubs, and associated digital systems, operational compliance and quality assurance, including direct safeguarding quality assurance visits and reviews across parishes, audit action tracking, governance support and continuous improvement. The role will offer proactive, accessible support to parishes and work collaboratively with the Cathedral Safeguarding Officer (CSO), and the wider Diocesan Safeguarding Team

This is a new senior operational post within the proposed team structure; it is not a case holding role. The postholder will, however, undertake direct parish safeguarding quality assurance and exercise informed safeguarding judgement when evaluating local safeguarding arrangements and practice.

Duties and key responsibilities:

The responsibilities below are grouped broadly around the five Church of England National Safeguarding Standards. The emphasis throughout is on operational management, prevention, implementation and assurance, including informed safeguarding judgements on parish practice and organisational risk indicators, while excluding case holding and decisions on individual safeguarding cases.

Standard 1: Culture, Leadership and Capacity

• Lead the development and day to day effectiveness of the safeguarding service’s non casework processes, systems and parish facing support arrangements; establish clear workflows, service standards, escalation routes and contingency arrangements.
• Provide a visible, responsive and constructive point of contact for Parish Safeguarding Officers, clergy, churchwardens and relevant parish teams on operational safeguarding matters; actively strengthen the PSO network through regular contact, forums, practical guidance and peer learning.
• Support PSO recruitment and appointment processes, induction, role transitions and the maintenance of accurate PSO/contact records; liaise with Fit for Mission colleagues over changing parish structures and lead PSO arrangements.
• Coordinate administrative and business support for the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisory Panel (DSAP), including liaison with its chair and members, agendas, papers, accurate minutes, data collation and tracking agreed actions; support related governance reporting as directed by the DSO.
• Work with the Diocesan Safeguarding Team, Communications Team and relevant colleagues to maintain accurate Diocesan safeguarding web information and produce regular safeguarding newsletters and awareness material.
• Prepare and quality check reliable operational management information for the DSO, governance groups and trustee assurance, highlighting performance, exceptions, trends and areas requiring intervention.

Standard 2: Prevention

• Hold operational oversight of diocesan safer recruitment and Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) administration, supporting consistent implementation of current Church of England policy and guidance across parishes and relevant diocesan activities.
• Act as an authorised Thirtyone:eight (31:8) super recruiter and key operational contact, overseeing recruiter registrations, access, changes of role, process queries, system monitoring and follow up; support parishes to establish effective local recruiter arrangements.
• Monitor the administration of DBS applications, checks and record keeping, including authorised identity verification where required, ensuring clear audit trails, secure handling of information and timely referral of exceptions.
• Identify DBS disclosures requiring professional consideration (including so called ‘blemished’ results) and promptly refer them through agreed safeguarding channels; maintain only the appropriate administrative record and communicate decisions authorised by professional safeguarding staff.
• Lead the implementation of practical safeguarding processes and guidance for PSOs and parish officers, including the use of diocesan systems, safer recruitment workflows and records requirements.

Standard 3: Recognising, Assessing and Managing Risk

• Provide operational ownership of the diocesan Safeguarding Dashboard, Safeguarding Hub and related administrative systems, including access permissions, user support, data quality, supplier liaison and consistent use by parishes.
• Monitor parish engagement, completion and accuracy of safeguarding dashboard requirements; identify areas of non engagement, recurring difficulties or potential non compliance and arrange early operational support or elevate concerns to professional safeguarding colleagues.
• Plan and undertake operational quality assurance of non casework processes (for example, parish system engagement, safer recruitment/DBS workflows, records and action completion); produce clear reports and proportionate remedial actions.
• Lead and undertake direct safeguarding quality assurance reviews and visits across parishes, either independently or jointly with the DSO, Deputy DSO and ADSO, using an agreed review framework. Assess safeguarding culture, leadership, implementation of policies and national standards, PSO/PCC arrangements, safer recruitment, training, reporting and recording, and the effectiveness of local safeguarding practice.
• Including consideration of parish arrangements for responding to safeguarding concerns, supporting and signposting victims and survivors, and escalating matters appropriately.
• Exercise proportionate, evidence based safeguarding judgement on strengths, weaknesses, gaps and organisational safeguarding risks identified through parish reviews. Provide constructive support and challenge to parish leaders, document findings, agree realistic improvement plans and follow up progress; promptly elevate serious concerns or matters requiring case specific professional decisions.
• Maintain central trackers and evidence of progress against safeguarding audits, reviews, governance recommendations and agreed improvement plans, including actions arising from external scrutiny; follow up owners and elevate overdue or significant issues.
• Work collaboratively with the DSO, Deputy DSO and ADSO in planning, undertaking and following up parish safeguarding reviews and audits, contributing direct assessment, feedback and recommendations within the agreed quality assurance framework. Decisions about individual cases, case risk assessments and professional casework quality assurance remain with designated safeguarding practitioners.
• Ensure that any safeguarding disclosure, allegation or issue encountered in parish support or systems work is passed promptly to the appropriate DSO/DDSO/ADSO in line with agreed procedures. Where there is an immediate risk of harm, take appropriate action to contact emergency services without delay.

Standard 4: Victims and Survivors

• Maintain a courteous, sensitive and trauma aware approach in all operational contacts, recognising the potential effect of safeguarding experiences, making sure anyone presenting a safeguarding concern is directed without delay to the appropriate professional safeguarding pathway.
• Support effective information handling, confidentiality, record security and appropriate administrative handovers so that safeguarding practitioners can respond to victims, survivors and others promptly and consistently; direct support and case management remain with the professional team.

Standard 5: Learning, Supervision and Support

• Work closely with the Safeguarding Training & Development Lead and the Safeguarding Trainer to support planning and implementation of the Diocesan Safeguarding Learning Programme by working with them as the lead responsible for training strategy, programme design, learning quality and compliance decisions.
• Coordinate and deliver practical non casework learning as agreed, especially PSO induction, PSO forums, safer recruitment processes, DBS/recruiter systems and use of the Safeguarding Dashboard and Hub; deliver authorised Safer Recruitment training when suitably trained.
• Provide operational support for course administration, venues or online arrangements, access to the Church of England training portal, attendance records, distribution of completion information and the accuracy of relevant diocesan records.
• Maintain appropriate recruitment and administrative records for Volunteer Assistant Safeguarding Trainers and support their onboarding and coordination in partnership with the Safeguarding Training & Development Lead and the Safeguarding Trainer.
• Identify recurring parish queries and process weaknesses, create accessible guidance and FAQs, and propose improvements based on user feedback, service data, audits and the changing needs of the Diocese.

Key Working Relationships:

DSO (line manager); Deputy DSO, ADSO, Safeguarding Caseworker and wider Diocesan Safeguarding Team for referrals, escalation, records and operational improvements. This includes joint planning, delivery and follow up of parish safeguarding quality assurance reviews.

• Safeguarding Training & Development Lead and Safeguarding Trainer for learning administration, PSO induction, practical process training and safeguarding compliance data.
• Cathedral Safeguarding Officer and appropriate Cathedral officers to coordinate diocesan wide systems, recruitment processes, reporting and assurance while respecting Cathedral safeguarding responsibilities.
• Parish Safeguarding Officers, clergy, churchwardens, PCC representatives, Fit for Mission colleagues, diocesan governance groups and DSAP members.
• Diocesan colleagues in Communications, IT/data, HR and central administration; relevant external systems providers, including Thirtyone:eight and dashboard suppliers.

Role Boundaries and Accountability

The postholder is accountable for the effective operation and improvement of assigned non casework safeguarding infrastructure. Functional leadership of the PSO network does not itself mean line management of PSOs. The role does not hold safeguarding cases; determine case thresholds; provide professional safeguarding advice on individual cases; directly support victims or survivors as a practitioner; or quality assure professional casework. Those duties remain with the DSO, Deputy DSO and designated professional safeguarding staff, including the CSO for Cathedral matters.

The postholder must recognise concerns promptly and elevate them through agreed routes. The role will nevertheless make evidence based safeguarding quality assurance judgements about parish practice, compliance and organisational safeguarding risks, with authority to recommend improvements and elevate concerns to the professional safeguarding team.

The postholder will maintain confidentiality, appropriate records and information sharing standards; work within diocesan policies, national Church of England safeguarding guidance and applicable data protection requirements; and undertake reasonable additional non casework duties consistent with the grade and purpose of this role.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Experience (Essential)

• Substantial experience in operations, service coordination, compliance, governance, parish/ community support or similar work in an organisation with multiple teams and stakeholders
• Experience of designing, administering or improving systems, processes and records, including monitoring compliance and maintaining accurate management information.
• Experience of providing clear, practical advice and support to staff, volunteers, partner organisations or service users.
• Experience of organising meetings, preparing formal papers or reports, maintaining action logs and supporting governance or assurance processes.
• Experience of undertaking quality assurance reviews, compliance audits or practice assurance activities, including engaging directly with local teams, identifying safeguarding or service risks, making evidence based recommendations and monitoring improvement actions.

Knowledge & Skills (Essential)

• Sound working knowledge of safeguarding legislation, Church of England safeguarding policies, National Safeguarding Standards and relevant Codes of Practice, with the ability to apply these when evaluating parish safeguarding arrangements and identifying areas requiring improvement.
• An understanding of safer recruitment and safeguarding principles, with the capacity to apply Church of England guidance and recognise when matters need specialist escalation.

Knowledge & Skills (Desirable)

• Direct experience of parish safeguarding, PSO networks, Thirtyone:eight /DBS systems, Church of England Safeguarding Dashboard or Hub, audit tracking, practical training delivery or church/charitable governance. Direct experience of carrying out parish safeguarding quality assurance visits or reviews.

Qualifications and Development (Essential)

• Education or vocational/professional experience sufficient to operate effectively at management level in a complex operational and assurance focused environment.

Qualifications and Development (Desirable)

• Relevant qualification in management, business administration, information management, compliance, safeguarding, education or a related area; experience delivering or facilitating training.
• Willingness to undertake relevant Church of England safeguarding learning, safer recruitment/DBS system training, data protection training and continuing professional development.

Personal Qualities

• Strong commitment to safeguarding, prevention, accountability and a culture in which concerns are heard and acted on appropriately.
• Approachable, organised and service minded, with the credibility to lead operational change and gain engagement from busy staff and volunteers.
• Integrity, care and professional boundaries when handling sensitive issues, together with a willingness to seek professional safeguarding advice when needed.
• Commitment to equality, diversity, inclusion and respectful working relationships across varied parish and Cathedral contexts.
• Ability to adapt to change, respond constructively to feedback and sustain improvement in a demanding environment.
• Understanding of and sympathy with the aims and mission of the Church of England.