Safeguarding Children Advisor/Practice Development Lead

Job overview

We are looking for an experienced safeguarding professional to join our Safeguarding Children Team as a Safeguarding Children Practice Development Lead.

This opportunity is available as a 2-year fixed-term contract or a 2-year secondment opportunity for substantive West London NHS Trust staff, subject to managerial approval.

Working closely with the Named Nurse and Deputy Named Nurse, you will provide expert safeguarding advice, supervision, training and support to practitioners across the Trust. The role has a particular focus on Hounslow Services, while contributing to safeguarding activity across West London NHS Trust.

What we're looking for

• Registered Nurse, Midwife or Specialist Community Public Health Practitioner.
• Significant safeguarding children experience, including child protection and complex family work.
• Strong knowledge of safeguarding legislation, guidance and best practice.
• Excellent leadership, communication and supervision skills.
• Commitment to reflective practice, learning and service improvement.

For an informal discussion, contact Rebecca Heorton, Deputy Named Professional Safeguarding Children and Young People.

· Closing Date: 19 Nov 2026

· Interview Date: 26 Nov 2026

Advert

· Deliver safeguarding children supervision in line with Trust policy.

· Provide expert advice and support to staff managing complex safeguarding and child protection cases.

· Support multi-agency safeguarding arrangements, including partnership working with Children's Social Care, education and police.

· Contribute to safeguarding training, audits, quality improvement and service development.

· Support learning from safeguarding reviews, incidents and audits to improve practice.

· Deputise for the Deputy Named Nurse for Safeguarding Children and Young People when required.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Candidate Pack provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. Please view as attached

The person specification below is not the full person specification, but outlines the criteria against which your application form will be assessed.

As an employee of West London NHS Trust, you have a responsibility to maintain a sound understanding of, and a commitment to uphold the National Health Service values and principles set out in the NHS Constitution.

We reserve the right to close adverts prior to the closing date stated should we receive a high volume of applications.

By applying for this post you are agreeing to West London NHS Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job, you will be required to undergo a pre-employment checks which can take between 4-8 weeks . After which your information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system (ESR ).

Please ensure you include email addresses for your referees which MUST be at supervisory or managerial capacity covering the last 3 years of employment to date to avoid delay in the recruitment process.

West London NHS Trust is committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

We encourage the thoughtful use of technology as a demonstration of strong time management and a commitment to innovation. However, we encourage applicants to personalise their recruitment application to showcase their unique skills and experiences.

While AI-generated content can be a helpful tool, relying solely on generic responses instead of highlighting your own strengths and achievements may impact the success of your application. The success of an application will always be assessed against the essential and desirable criteria for the role, so it is important to ensure that your application and any supporting information clearly demonstrate how you meet these requirements.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

Person specification

Education/ Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Registered Nurse or other professional qualification eg. Social work
• Educated to degree level

Desirable criteria

• Specialist Community Public Health Nurse Qualification
• Teaching Qualification or Safeguarding supervision course

Knowledge & Experience

Essential criteria

• Substantial experience working with children and families
• Working across agency boundaries
• Experience of working with vulnerable families
• Supervision of staff
• Working within a multi-disciplinary team
• Involvement in child protection procedures

Desirable criteria

• Teaching experience
• Working in the community
• Experience of providing safeguarding children supervision

Skills, Abilities and Attributes

Essential criteria

• Commitment to safeguarding and Promote the welfare of children
• Knowledge of legislation relating to safeguarding
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Ability to lead and motivate staff
• Excellent IT skills
• Ability to autonomously, motivate self and plan workload
• Team Working
• Experience of using of electronic recording system

Desirable criteria

• Experience in training and groupwork
• Clinical audit
• Experience of using of electronic recording system

Documents

• Candidate Pack (PDF, 691.3KB)
• OH Requirements (PDF, 304.6KB)