The Role

Independent Chair and Scrutineer for Safeguarding Children in Wandsworth 

Do you have the skills to lead partners to make the best decisions to safeguard children in Wandsworth? 

Wandsworth Safeguarding Partners (Wandsworth Council, the SW London Clinical Commissioning Group and the Metropolitan Police in Wandsworth) would like to hear from candidates with strong skills in bringing challenge and leadership to multi-partner bodies. Whether your skills lie in scrutiny, chairing or both, we would like to hear from you. We are open-minded how we progress this role, it is more important for us to get the right person for the children and families of Wandsworth than be prescriptive about the role(s) that person should offer us.   

Wandsworth is a busy and diverse borough, by population, it is the largest of the inner London boroughs.  It comprises the major conurbations of Battersea, Tooting, and Putney with the range of affluence and deprivation that is associated with London life. The borough is an attractive location for families, has a notably young demographic and provides all of the challenges to keeping children and young people safe that you would expect in the inner city. 

We are looking for someone who is strategic and clear thinking, able to negotiate, support and challenge partners to constructively hold each other to account to deliver high-quality safeguarding work across the partnership and best serve Wandsworth families.  Your focus will be to help us continue to ensure children are safe and improve outcomes for them and their families and to take forward a changing and challenging agenda.  

You must be able to demonstrate your strategic experience to help us embed partnership working at all levels.  You need to form appropriate relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, ranging from practitioners in safeguarding to senior managers and elected councillors. The ability to ensure engagement and, where appropriate, a sense of urgency, are essential to this role. We would look to you to promote collaborative working and to co-ordinate partners to collectively solve problems.  

You need to be experienced and knowledgeable in safeguarding and child protection work at a senior level and possess the ability to lead, influence and motivate others. You should be able to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the Working Together to Safeguard Children Guidance 2018 and what this means to local partnerships. 

This is an exciting opportunity for the right individual to make a real difference to the lives of children and young people. 

We welcome applications from people from a range of disciplines.

Ideally, you will have: 

• significant experience/professional background at an operational and strategic level in a relevant field which could include social care, health, education or criminal justice; 
• experience of working at a senior level in the area of safeguarding and/or child protection; 
• a proven track record of effective leadership at a strategic level; 
• the ability to chair complex multi-agency discussions that result in assurances and changes in policy and practice to improve safeguarding outcomes; 
• a creative approach to ensuring effective governance of and between partnerships. 

A good knowledge of the local context and experience working in a diverse metropolitan borough or a similar area will be an advantage. 

You will be accountable to the Chief Executive of Wandsworth Council, the Accountable Officer of the South West London Alliance of the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), and the BCU Commander for South West London, Metropolitan Police, as part of the tri-partite safeguarding children arrangements.  

The role requires a commitment of circa 50 days per year, paid at £700 per day and, although you are not a direct employee of the statutory partners, HMRC regulations have defined this role as an “office holder” therefore payments arrangements will need to be made in accordance and deductions for Tax and NI taken at source. 

Reviewed after six months, with an initial term contract of two years, the post is subject to annual appraisal.   

For further information about the role please contact Matthew Maher, Head of Community and Partnerships via email; Matthew.Maher@richmondandwandsworth.gov.uk.

Instruction on completing an application 

Please upload your CV and a covering letters of application (which should be no more than three sides of A4 maximum) This should detail how your suitability and experience is relevant to the range of ideal experience included in this advertisement . 

Interviews will be held on 10th May 2019. 

Useful Information

Please note that these dates are only indicative at this stage and could be subject to change.

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and return your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions to the Councils and can improve the way we deliver services. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.

Important Information

This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) helps employers make safer recruitment decisions and prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups, including children. It replaces the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA).

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils