We have an exciting opportunity for a Safeguarding Officer to join our team.
Safeguarding Officer- The Role:
Are you innovative and forward thinking with your approach to any task? Are you passionate about safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults? If that sounds like you, then keep reading! The Diocese of Westminster are looking for a professional individual to come and join the team as Safeguarding Officer in the Diocesan Safeguarding team. You will work closely with the Safeguarding Co-ordinator, Safeguarding Caseworker, safeguarding personnel (volunteer, lay and professional) providing professional advice and support to parishes, religious orders and other organisations as well as the Safeguarding team as a whole.
Safeguarding Officer – Key Responsibilities:
Working as part of the Safeguarding team, the post-holder will work alongside another case worker, and assist the Safeguarding Co-ordinator with the following:
- The implementation of the National Safeguarding Policies of the Catholic Church on behalf of the Bishop and Trustees of the Diocese of Westminster.
- The management of safeguarding concerns/allegations and cases to include handling calls from survivors ensuring they are responded to in an appropriate and timely manner.
- Working collaboratively with and providing support and development to the safeguarding personnel (volunteer, lay and professionals) in the parishes, religious orders and other organisations within the diocese.
- To deputise for the Safeguarding Co-ordinator in her/his absence.
Safeguarding Officer: Your Experience:
- Substantial relevant experience as a Social Worker, Police Office, Probation officer or in a similar role
- Experience of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.
- Experience of dealing sensitively and professionally with vulnerable groups.
- Experience of office and team working.
- Awareness of issues affecting survivors/victims of abuse.
- Experience of supporting a volunteer workforce.
Benefits:
In return for your hard work and commitment to us, you will receive a competitive reward package which will include, but is not limited to:
- 5% pension contribution – Standard Life
- £8K Death in Service benefit (all staff)
- 23 days annual leave (not including BH and discretionary days determined by the Trustees)
- Cycle to Work
- Interest Free Season Ticket Loans
- Access to low cost loans with Churches Mutual
- Professional or Chartered Membership fees reimbursed
- Opportunity for continuing CPD or ongoing learning
- Staff Discountsfor Cathedral concerts, can receive a Victoria BID Privilege Card for discounts with major retailers in the Victoria area.
Location: London Victoria SW1
Salary: £40k per annum
Job Type: Permanent, Full-Time
Hours of work: 35 hours per week (Monday-Friday 9am-5pm)
Closing date: 10 October 2021 at noon
Job Reference No: 244-220
Please click below for job description.
Safeguarding Officer Job Description
To be considered for the role, please complete an online application. CVs will NOT be considered, therefore, please do not send them. Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.
Please note that you will need to be eligible to work in the UK to apply for this position. You must provide proof of Right to Work in the UK. We reserve the right to remove the vacancy before closing date.
Who is the Diocese of Westminster?
The Diocese of Westminster is a faith-based charity with offices close to Victoria Train and Underground Station and just a short walk from St James Park and Westminster Underground stations.
We are home to the Archbishop of Westminster (Cardinal Vincent Nichols) and our beautiful Westminster Cathedral. We are one of the leading Catholic dioceses in the country, delivering our charitable mission through our network of 208 schools, 212 parishes and several hundred social justice initiatives. We seek to positively impact the lives of all members of our community.
We believe that to succeed we must be person-centred and place human dignity at our centre. We strive to take a holistic approach to the development of our people so that we may better serve the functions of our Church and the mission of our charity.
Our core values are Competence, Reliability, Honesty, Perseverance and Love
Equal Opportunities & Living Wage Statement:
The Diocese of Westminster is an Equal Opportunities and accredited Living Wage employer. To be successful, we aspire to be person centred at all times and place human dignity at our centre. We aim at all times to recruit the person who is best suited to the job, and we welcome applications from all communities and underrepresented groups, regardless of race, sexual orientation, disability, faith, age and gender. We guarantee an interview to disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria. We strive to take a holistic approach to the development of our people so that we may better serve and empower the mission of our Church as ministered by the parishes, deaneries, schools and communities that we support. Our ambition is to work together to promote a more inclusive environment, which attracts all candidates and signals our commitment to celebrating and promoting diversity.
We want people from all walks of life to feel valued for their individuality, thrive in our organisation, share a sense of belonging and demonstrate our values. With this in mind, we positively celebrate Diversity & Inclusion at the Diocese of Westminster and place it at the heart of our aim which is to reflect and connect with the diverse communities that we serve.
Actions we take to provide equality of opportunity for all candidates include:
- We anonymise application forms during our shortlisting process to ensure that candidates are assessed without any consideration of their name, gender or background.
- As part of this anonymisation, we don’t take into consideration where candidates studied, or the method of that study e.g. full-time, part-time or distance learning.
- We apply a consistent approach to our question setting across our applications and interviews to ensure that everyone is assessed against the identified values, competencies and job requirements. Our values are important to us and as such we use a scoring framework that marks candidates based on values, behaviours and competencies.
- We provide guidance and brief all our interviewers throughout the selection processes in recruitment best-practice to mitigate against any potential for conscious or unconscious bias or discrimination. Whenever possible we will have multiple interviewers when assessing each candidate to ensure marking is accurate and fair.
- We ensure all our assessment venues are accessible. We offer alternative formats of our application forms to encourage applicants with disabilities or who require reasonable adjustments to perform at their best.
- We will work together with candidates with a disability or health condition to implement reasonable adjustments to enable them to feel comfortable and strive during the assessment process.
