Senior DSL Role at Generation UK - Charity Career in London

This is a senior, high-responsibility fixed-term contract (maternity cover until September 2027) that could carry significant weight on a safeguarding professional's CV — particularly the board-level reporting and organisation-wide DSL mandate. The role signals trust and autonomy from day one.

Compensation context: £40,000–£42,000 is on the lower end for a senior DSL role in the UK charity sector, where equivalents in larger organisations or local authorities can reach £45,000–£55,000+. However, the breadth of the remit (Adults and Children's safeguarding, multi-jurisdiction, board reporting) is unusually wide for this pay band — which may reflect charity sector constraints.

Skills developed in this role are genuinely scarce and in high demand:

• Multi-jurisdictional safeguarding (England, Scotland, Ireland) — a differentiator for future senior roles
• Virtual/digital-environment safeguarding leadership — an emerging specialism as more education moves online
• Board-level reporting and strategic safeguarding leadership
• Prevent Duty and radicalisation response expertise

Culture signals: Generation is a fast-growing global charity (~100,000+ placements, 16 countries) backed by major corporate funders. The UK team is described as small, suggesting high individual visibility and cross-functional exposure. The emphasis on autonomy and "making your mark" points to a startup-adjacent culture within a structured charity framework.

Green flags: Genuine remote working, strong DEI commitment, L&D budget, rolling recruitment.

Watch points: FTC nature means no job security beyond September 2027; the role involves frequent exposure to distressing case content, which carries a wellbeing cost not fully offset by the salary.

The candidate must be a resident and have the right to work in the UK.

Contract: Fixed-Term Contract for Maternity Cover, starting as soon as possible, until September 2027. Full Time, 40 hours a week. Standard working hours are 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM (with 1 hour unpaid lunch break), with the option to flex start and end times.

Closing Date: 19th November 2026 — however, applications will be reviewed and processed on a rolling basis.

We offer flexibility to employees to balance their commitments, including medical appointments, parental or caregiving responsibilities, and personal goals.

Informal enquiries for this position can be sent to Matthew Lucid, Head of Learner Support UK&I.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Safeguarding Lead sits within the Learning Function, working closely with colleagues across all delivery teams — including Instructors, Learner Support, and other Learning Function staff — as well as teams across the wider organisation. The role reports to the Head of Learner Support and has board-level reporting responsibilities on a quarterly basis. Safeguarding is the most important thing we do. In this role you will be central to ensuring Generation UK & Ireland meets all its safeguarding responsibilities, while sustaining a strong safeguarding culture across the organisation.

The ideal candidate is an experienced, resilient and values-driven safeguarding professional ready to step into the role of Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) for Generation UK & Ireland on a maternity cover basis. This is a senior, organisation-wide role that sits at the core of how we operate. As the DSL, you will be the central decision-maker on safeguarding across all programmes, teams and learner interactions. You will provide expert leadership in a fast-paced, predominantly virtual environment, manage complex concerns with calm and defensible judgement, and play a key role in embedding a culture of early reporting and continuous safeguarding improvement across the organisation.

ABOUT GENERATION

Generation is a charity with the vision of a meaningful career for every person. Our aim is to support people facing significant and multiple barriers to employment into life-changing careers they otherwise could not access. We achieve this with a unique methodology of profession-specific skills bootcamp training, focused on in-demand careers (specifically in the tech, healthcare and green sectors), with extensive, ongoing pastoral support and matchmaking to employer partners.

Generation launched globally in 2015 and has grown quickly to become the world's largest demand-led employment initiative. We have placed over 100,000 people into roles, working with over 4,000 employer partners to date across 16 countries and 26 professions. Since launching in the UK in 2019, we have trained more than 3,500 people. Our work focuses on supporting those from diverse groups facing barriers to desirable employment. For these learners, we have achieved an industry-leading ~70% job placement rate, with learners now placed at over 800 employers.

We have secured transformative corporate funding from Microsoft, the JP Morgan Charitable Foundation, the Macquarie Group Foundation, Barclays, BlackRock, and many more. We are also the leading charity delivering under contracts from the Department for Education's Skills Bootcamp strand. By joining Generation UK&I, you will become part of an organisation committed to social impact and determined to play its part in changing the system. The work is fast-paced, exciting, and innovative.

Generation acknowledges the duty of care to safeguard, protect, and promote the welfare of staff and learners and is committed to ensuring safeguarding practice reflects statutory responsibilities and government guidance. We carry out employment and right-to-work checks, and request a declaration of any criminal convictions from all staff as part of our recruitment process.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Case Management & Decision-Making

• Act as the central safeguarding decision-maker across the organisation, ensuring timely and proportionate responses across a potentially high-volume caseload
• Manage multiple safeguarding concerns concurrently — including low, medium and high-risk cases — maintaining clear prioritisation and calm, structured oversight
• Make rapid, defensible decisions where information may be incomplete, applying professional judgement and appropriate safeguarding thresholds
• Lead on complex case management, including situations involving mental health, housing instability, financial hardship and safeguarding risk
• Work closely with Deputy DSLs to co-manage complex or high-risk concerns, ensuring shared accountability and reflection
• Engage with external agencies where required, including social care, police and Prevent, ensuring appropriate and timely escalation
• Maintain high-quality, accurate safeguarding records that clearly evidence rationale, actions and decision-making
• Handle all sensitive information with the highest levels of confidentiality, ensuring safeguarding data is recorded, stored and shared in line with GDPR and organisational policy
• Maintain expert knowledge of safeguarding legislation and frameworks across all jurisdictions in which Generation operates — including England (Care Act 2014), Scotland (Adult Support and Protection Act 2007) and Ireland (HSE Safeguarding Policy) — and apply this confidently in practice
• Contribute to organisational safeguarding strategy, audits and board-level reporting

Culture & Staff Development

• Provide real-time guidance to staff across internal platforms and meetings, supporting immediate safeguarding decision-making
• Advocate for a culture of early reporting, ensuring staff feel confident to log concerns without fear of over-escalation
• Identify patterns and trends across safeguarding concerns to inform proactive interventions and organisational learning
• Deliver safeguarding training that reflects real case scenarios, improving staff confidence in handling complex situations
• Challenge safeguarding practice and decision-making where needed, guiding staff towards safe and consistent approaches while maintaining positive working relationships

ABOUT YOU

• Resilience to manage exposure to sensitive and distressing safeguarding situations while maintaining professionalism and personal wellbeing
• Strong professional judgement — able to assess risk, weigh competing factors, and make defensible decisions that prioritise learner safety while considering organisational priorities
• Calm and pragmatic under pressure, comfortable making timely decisions in a fast-paced environment, even with incomplete information
• Empathetic yet boundaried communication style, able to build trust with learners and staff while maintaining clear professional boundaries
• Confident in challenging poor practice and influencing decision-making across the organisation
• Highly organised and detail-oriented, with a disciplined approach to safeguarding documentation
• Adaptable and flexible, able to respond to changing priorities, emerging risks and the evolving needs of the organisation

EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS

Essential:

• Proven, hands-on experience in both Adult and Children's safeguarding
• Significant experience as a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) or equivalent senior safeguarding role — minimum 3–5 years
• Formal, current DSL or Advanced Safeguarding qualification from a recognised provider, reflecting strong understanding of safeguarding responsibilities within an educational or training environment
• Working knowledge of the Prevent Duty, including the ability to recognise indicators of radicalisation and respond appropriately
• Strong working knowledge of safeguarding legislation and frameworks in the UK
• Demonstrated experience managing complex and high-risk safeguarding concerns, including maintaining high-quality records that evidence risk, actions and decision-making rationale
• Demonstrable ability to manage multiple safeguarding concerns simultaneously, prioritising effectively across a potentially high-volume caseload
• Experience working with vulnerable adults facing multiple and complex barriers, including mental health, financial hardship, housing instability and caring responsibilities
• Experience making referrals to and engaging with external safeguarding agencies, including Social Care, police and Prevent/Channel
• Experience delivering safeguarding training or supporting staff development, fostering a culture of early reporting and confidence across teams
• Comfortable using digital tools and platforms for communication, case management and record-keeping

BENEFITS

At Generation, we're changing the lives of many individuals, and that in itself gets us out of bed! Here are a few other benefits you'll experience working with the UK team:

• Purpose and social impact in the heart of your work
• Significant autonomy to bring the Generation blueprint to life in a way that makes sense for your region
• Opportunity to get involved in a range of activities and varied projects — we're a small team with lots of cross-organisation involvement
• Flexible and remote working to accommodate everyone's preferred working pattern and unique needs
• WFH set-up support of £300 to help make your home working environment comfortable and efficient
• Up to £1,000 per year towards learning & development, plus up to 5 days of training/study leave per year

Every role at Generation is open to applications from all sections of society. We believe in the potential of everyone — regardless of race, religion or belief, ethnic origin, different physical ability, family structure, socio-economics, age, nationality or citizenship, marital, domestic or civil partnership status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other aspect that makes you, well, you. We believe that the more diverse we are, the better we become. We're committed to conscious inclusion that cultivates an ethos of belonging, connection and shared purpose. We are particularly interested in hearing from candidates from marginalised groups.

Applications will be assessed on a rolling basis and the posting will close as soon as the right candidate is found.

The role is primarily remote, but requires occasional attendance at in-person team off-sites and meetings at hubs in London, Manchester, Birmingham, and Leeds. Candidates must be UK residents with the right to work in the UK.

The salary is £40,000–£42,000 per annum for a full-time, 40-hour working week.

This is a maternity cover fixed-term contract starting as soon as possible and running until September 2027.

A formal, current DSL or Advanced Safeguarding qualification from a recognised provider is required, along with a minimum of 3–5 years' experience as a Designated Safeguarding Lead or equivalent senior safeguarding role.

Yes — employees receive up to £1,000 per year towards learning and development, plus up to 5 days of training/study leave per year. A £300 WFH setup allowance is also provided.