Safeguarding Officer

Start Date: As soon as possible

Contract Type: Full-time, term-time, permanent

Salary: The salary for this post will be within points 14 to 17 of the pay spine for Support Staff, which is currently £24,932.00 - £27,296.00 per annum (FTE). Actual pro-rata salary for term-time working reduces to £21,370.29 to £23,396.57 per annum.

Located on an attractive campus close to Huddersfield town centre, adjacent to the picturesque Greenhead Park and an easy commute from much of the North West and Yorkshire, Greenhead College has been providing the highest quality academic Sixth Form College education in the area for over 40 years.

Greenhead College is an outstandingly successful Sixth Form College with 2,800 16-19 year old students following advanced level courses. The College has a long history of exceptional examination results and sits near the top of the national sixth-form college performance tables, meaning it is one of the very best in the country.

We are very proud of our students’ achievements and we have a strong ethos of ambition and aspiration which runs through all aspects of College life. The philosophy of the College is based on the understanding that each student is to be valued as an individual. The College is heavily over-subscribed; there are almost double the number of applicants as there are places to accommodate them.

The College is a great place to work, with a warm, inclusive atmosphere between all staff and students. The staff are recognised for their hard work and the College offer a wide range of employee benefits such as free onsite staff carpark, generous holiday entitlement, a significantly enhanced occupational pension scheme, free use of the College gym, cycle to work scheme, plus many more.

The College are seeking a Safeguarding Officer to join the Safeguarding Team.

The Safeguarding Team is made up of eight qualified Safeguarders, all holding middle management or senior roles within the College. The team deal with a wider range of individual, local and national safeguarding incidents on a day-to-day basis. The team are experienced and exceptionally supportive of one another; communication is excellent through informal interaction but also weekly, structured meetings. The team have good links with local schools, colleges and other agencies such as the Kirklees Safeguarding Board, Police and Social Services. 

The successful post holder will be the first point of contact within the College’s Safeguarding Team, providing a triage service to ascertain the required support for College students and co-ordinate as required. The post holder will also support students and the Safeguarding Team with day-to-day safeguarding concerns and assist the DSL and the Deputy DSL when they are dealing with complex safeguarding cases. Other duties will include administration and liaison with external agencies. The role will be busy and demanding but exceptionally rewarding. 

The College are seeking applications from individuals with excellent communication skills and experience of working in a mental health service or similar organisation supporting young people and/or families. A qualification in a relevant subject area would be a distinct advantage, although a significant amount of formal and on the job training will be provided. 

The full job description and person specification can be found on the Greenhead College website http://www.greenhead.ac.uk/vacancies2/39.html Please indicate how you meet this criteria when completing your application.

If you are interested in this vacancy, please complete and submit the following documents:

• Greenhead College application form;

• A supporting letter of application indicating how you meet the criteria within the job description and person specification;

• Equality and Diversity form.

All applications should be submitted to Jen Rothery, Human Resources Officer, via email address jobs@greenhead.ac.uk

The closing date for applications is noon on Sunday 7 November 2021 and interviews will be held shortly after.

If you apply and are unsuccessful in being called to interview, can we thank you in advance for your time and trouble in making this application.  Due to time constraints it would be impossible to respond to everyone individually - we hope that you will understand.

Greenhead College is committed to safeguarding the welfare of all of its students and staff. The successful candidate will have to meet the requirements of the person specification in order to be offered the post and will be subject to safer recruitment checks, including an enhanced DBS check and satisfactory references. This position is working in regulated activity and therefore exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Applicants will be required to self-disclose particular criminal convictions should they be shortlisted for interview. Further details can be found within the DBS filtering guide at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dbs-filtering-guidance 

Greenhead College is committed to Diversity and Inclusion and welcomes applications from all sections of the community.