Group Head - Safeguarding in Bedford

Overview

• Location: Multi-Site – Role will be based across all campuses
• Salary: Between £47,972 and £62,099 per annum DOE and Qualifications
• Benefits: 35 days annual leave plus Bank holidays, Local Government Pension Scheme, Retail and Leisure Discounts, excellent professional and personal development opportunities, accessing college courses
• Hours: 37 hours per week – 52 weeks per year
• Contract Type: Permanent – Full Time

This is a UK based contract, and you are required to have the Right to Work in the UK. Unfortunately, we’re unable to offer sponsorship and any offer of employment will be subject to evidence of your Right to Work in the UK.

About The Role

• Strategic Safeguarding Leadership: Support the GDOSW in developing and embedding a robust, group‑wide safeguarding strategy, acting as Deputy DSL and ensuring safeguarding and wellbeing are integrated into organisational culture and planning.
• Team Management & Operational Oversight: Lead Safeguarding and Welfare Advisors and Team Leaders, oversee referrals and incidents, ensure effective use of CPOMS, manage high‑risk cases and maintain statutory safeguarding records.
• Compliance, Monitoring & Reporting: Ensure adherence to KCSIE, Prevent Duty and other legislation, analyse safeguarding data, support audit and inspection preparation, and report safeguarding performance to senior leaders, governors and regulators.
• Risk Management & Continuous Improvement: Identify and mitigate safeguarding risks, support crisis and critical incident management, audit practice across campuses, and contribute to business planning, KPIs and quality improvement planning.
• College‑Wide Responsibilities & Statutory Duties: Participate in cross‑campus activities and upskill staff while upholding safeguarding, equality, diversity, health & safety and ongoing training expectations.

About You

• Safeguarding Expertise & Qualifications: Holds a safeguarding‑related qualification (or extensive practical safeguarding experience), DSL Level 4+, and strong general education including GCSE‑level English and Maths.
• Leadership, Casework & Multi‑Agency Coordination: Experienced in leading safeguarding teams, managing complex cases, preventing and responding to abuse, and working proactively with external agencies such as MASH and Social Care.
• Legislative & Prevent Knowledge: Deep understanding of Keeping Children Safe in Education, Prevent, British Values and wider safeguarding policy, with the ability to assess, mitigate and manage safeguarding risks effectively.
• Professional Skills & Communication: Highly professional, resilient and emotionally intelligent, with excellent communication, presentation and report‑writing skills for diverse audiences across internal and external settings.
• Organisation, Decision‑Making & Flexibility: Strong IT and administrative skills, able to meet deadlines, handle sensitive issues confidently, model high standards, work peripatetically across sites and respond to safeguarding needs outside core hours.

For a more detailed breakdown of the job role and the requirements, please see the Job Description attached to this vacancy. Interviews to be held: TBC.

Successful candidates must also be able to demonstrate alignment to our organisational VISION values:

• Valuing Teamwork: We are one team who by working together can achieve great things, respecting the opinion and valuing the contribution each of us makes.
• Improving Continuously: We challenge ourselves to always do better by trying new things, sharing knowledge, reflecting on practice and learning from others.
• Student Centred: At our heart is always doing what is best for our students. We consider students in all of our decision making to create positive outcomes and memorable experiences for every student.
• Inclusive: We celebrate differences and diversity, recognising that we can learn from each other.
• Open and Caring: We care about the wellbeing of our staff, our students, our community and wider society, creating an environment built on trust where we listen, engage with and support each other.
• Nurturing Education Excellence: We promote educational excellence by delivering programmes that challenge our students to achieve their ambitions.

About The Bedford College Group

The Bedford College Group was formed in 2017 following the merger of Bedford College and Tresham College and is now the largest provider of education in the South East Midlands, with over 15,000 students passing through our doors each year. Today, the Group is made up of a family of colleges across Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire: Bedford College, Central Bedfordshire College and Tresham College in the towns of Bedford, Dunstable, Leighton Buzzard, Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough; Shuttleworth College, a specialist land-based college; The Bedford Sixth Form, (the only dedicated sixth form in Bedford); The Corby Sixth Form, (opened in September 2023); and the National College for Motorsport alongside Silverstone race circuit. To widen accessibility to education and training, the Group also has community-based Learning Centres in Bedford, Corby and Kettering which offer IT training.

Safeguarding our Students

The Bedford College Group is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The successful candidate will be subject to thorough vetting process which includes, an enhanced DBS check and satisfactory references. This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the Exceptions Order 1975, provides information about which convictions must be declared during job applications and related exceptions and further information about filtering offences can be found in the DBS filtering guide. The Bedford College Group's policy on Employment of Ex-Offenders is attached to this vacancy. Candidates who are barred from working with children are reminded it is a criminal offence to apply for this post.

Terms and Conditions - BCPS

• 37 hours per week (1.0 FTE)
• 27 days annual leave per annum, plus bank holidays
• Peoples Pension
• Retail and leisure discounts