Senior Safeguarding Manager in London

We are looking for a Senior Safeguarding Manager to promote, embed and deliver a safe and inclusive culture within Men’s Football, with a particular focus on our Youth Academy sites at Hale End and Sobha Realty Training Centre. Working closely with the Head of Safeguarding, you will support the development, implementation and review of safeguarding systems that protect children and young people across the Academy.

In this key role, you will act as deputy to the Head of Safeguarding, providing senior-level support and leadership when required. You will oversee safeguarding compliance across Men’s Football and the Academy, deliver training and awareness initiatives, support Academy tours as the safeguarding lead, and work collaboratively with stakeholders across the Club to identify, assess and mitigate safeguarding risks. You will also contribute to the delivery of the Club’s wider Safeguarding Strategy and help foster a positive, inclusive and safe environment for everyone involved.

Your day-to-day:

• Act as the lead safeguarding contact for Men’s Football and the Academy - you will provide expert advice, guidance and support to players, parents/carers, employees and workers, helping to embed a positive safeguarding culture and ensuring best practice is consistently followed.
• Represent Safeguarding within the Academy Leadership structure - you'll work closely with the Head of Safeguarding, Academy Director and wider wellbeing teams to shape and deliver safeguarding priorities, Academy outcomes and player welfare initiatives.
• Lead on safeguarding investigations - you will manage concerns relating to poor practice, safeguarding incidents and allegations of abuse, working collaboratively with The FA, Premier League, statutory agencies, safeguarding partnerships and Police where appropriate.
• Deliver safeguarding education and training programmes - you'll create and facilitate engaging workshops and awareness sessions for Academy employees, workers, players, host families and parents/carers to promote safe, inclusive and informed environments.
• Provide safeguarding leadership for Academy tours and trips - you will complete thorough risk assessments, support tour planning and act as the Safeguarding Lead on domestic and international Academy tours when required.
• Manage safeguarding compliance and audit activity - you'll oversee safeguarding requirements linked to the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP), support Premier League safeguarding audits and ensure the Academy continues to meet the highest safeguarding standards.
• Deputise for the Head of Safeguarding and drive strategic projects - you will provide senior-level leadership when required, prepare reports for senior stakeholders, support policy development and contribute to the delivery of the Club’s Safeguarding Strategy, Action and Implementation Plan.
• Support safer recruitment and safeguarding risk management across the Club - you'll work closely with People teams, Designated Safeguarding Officers and key stakeholders to manage safeguarding risks, oversee DBS-related processes, conduct risk assessment interviews and ensure concerns are appropriately recorded, assessed and resolved.

What we are looking for:

• Qualified expert - you come equipped with a professional qualification in Safeguarding.
• Best-in-class emotional intelligence - you're naturally empathetic with a high level of self-awareness and the ability to confidently navigate sensitive situations, difficult conversations and conflict resolution.
• Creative and solutions-focused thinker - you bring a proactive and innovative approach to safeguarding, with the ability to work independently, develop effective solutions and lead projects that strengthen safeguarding practice.
• Excellent relationship builder - you're highly skilled at engaging and working directly with children, young people, adults at risk and their families, building trust and maintaining positive, professional relationships.
• Trusted safeguarding practitioner - you have significant experience managing safeguarding concerns, investigations, referrals and escalations, working effectively with external agencies to achieve positive outcomes.
• Exceptional communicator and influencer - you're able to communicate complex information clearly and confidently across a wide range of audiences, from players and parents/carers to colleagues, senior leaders and external stakeholders.
• Proven stakeholder management skills - you have experience building and managing relationships with senior representatives from statutory agencies, including Children's Services, safeguarding partnerships and the Police, while handling confidential information with discretion and professionalism.
• Analytical and operationally minded - you're experienced in designing and delivering safeguarding training, implementing policies and procedures, analysing safeguarding data, producing reports and case documentation, and working flexibly across multiple sites and outside standard hours when required.

Why choose us:

At Arsenal, we want everyone to feel a sense of trust and belonging, so we are proud of both our club values and also what we offer to our employees. As one of our Gunners, you will receive:

• An exciting reward and recognition scheme.
• Generous holiday allowance which increases with your length of service.
• Great internal learning and development programmes.
• A flexible hybrid working model.
• Priority access to apply for match tickets.
• A competitive health and wellbeing benefits package.
• A leading Employee Assistance Programme.
• Great discounts with some of our Partners.
• An opportunity to play a vital role in delivering our ED&I strategy by joining one of our Employee Networks.

Arsenal for Everyone is our commitment to promoting and embracing equality, diversity and inclusion, so that everyone connected to the club feels like they belong to the same Arsenal family. We believe that diversity of background, skills and experience drives our success on and off the pitch.

We are a Disability Confident Leader. We actively welcome and encourage applications from people with disabilities and long-term health conditions. If you need disability-related adjustments to the recruitment process, please indicate this in your application.