People Safety and Safeguarding Lead

Job responsibilities

Lead the development of a new approach to Health, Safety and Safeguarding, creating new strategies to ensure they are fit for purpose in a hybrid workplace and enable our people to be safe, support us to attract and retain colleagues, and are in line with our values to deliver the People and business strategies

Ensure these strategies take into account best practice, legislation and government mandates. Oversee the implementation of these and associated action plans to ensure progress is delivered with objectives and milestones, monitoring, evaluating and reviewing these for effectiveness

Create a culture where safety and safeguarding are the responsibility of all colleagues in effectively managing risk and ensuring legal compliance. Work collaboratively across the business to enable colleague understanding and delivery of robust safety and safeguarding practices

Oversee the provision of highly specialist advice and expertise on all matters of safety and safeguarding, and ensure that robust multi-agency arrangements are in place to enable the organisation to respond appropriately to all safeguarding concerns for the protection of vulnerable colleagues and customers, and to withstand scrutiny by external bodies

Work in partnership with Operational Heads of Service and teams to embed safeguarding within their services, protecting vulnerable colleagues and customers

Work in partnership with the Head of Professional and Clinical Services to design and maintain an integrated approach between safeguarding of customers and patient safety, and act as a member of the Clinical Governance Oversight Committee

Lead the development of the organisation approach to psychological safety of colleagues, including structured professional support, critical incident support, and reflective practice

Work collaboratively with the Head of Professional and Clinical Services and Head of Security and Information Governance to develop appropriate critical incident support arrangements in relation to safeguarding or psychological critical incidents

Ensure that effective risk assessment and control measures are in place to keep colleagues and customers safe when onboarding or developing new services, and work with relevant teams to design services and roles which minimise people safety risks

Oversee the design and implementation of a new Health and Safety Management System, aligned to the requirements of the appropriate professional framework and standards, ensuring effective identification and management of risk, and transformation of a comprehensive advisory service as it relates to the management, and control, of people related risks for colleagues and customers

Work in partnership with the Head of Estates and Senior Management Team to transform the approach to managing buildings compliance related risks which impact on people, including the creation of robust and comprehensive audit, governance and reporting arrangements

Work in partnership with the Wellbeing and Social Impact Lead to design and embed an integrated approach across the organisations approaches to Wellbeing, Safety and Safeguarding, to maximise opportunities to promote the health, safety and wellbeing of colleagues

Work in partnership with the Inclusion, Accessibility and Social Impact (Social Mobility) Lead to lead the design of an improved approach to workplace adjustments, ensuring this fully supports the recruitment and retention of colleagues with disabilities and neurodiversity

Work closely with the People Data Team and other relevant teams to improve data and insight on people safety risks, how we evidence impact in this new area and how we measure continual improvements

Set the vision for and lead the Safety and Safeguarding Team, providing clear direction, enabling them to develop and grow their internal confidence and capabilities through an inclusive and compassionate leadership approach. The team will be the subject matter experts on safety and safeguarding within the NSHBSA and will continually be looking for creative and innovative ideas to support the design and continued transformation of these areas

As a senior member of the People Team, partnering with the Heads of Service across the People Team to create both short and long term departmental strategies, leading on all strategic planning aspects related to health, safety and safeguarding. This will involve leading the delivery of such plans in a timely approach, ensuring benefit realisation

Oversee the creation, implementation and continual review of highly complex policies, processes, practices and systems related to health, safety and safeguarding. This will involve ensuring effective governance across all aspects of these areas to ensure consistency in practice across the NHSBSA, in addition to analyse the overall effectiveness and benefit realisation of policies and practices in achieving the overall business strategy. Assurance to any legal considerations to be given in all activity with a focus to ensure accessibility and equality of approach is open to all

Trusted partnering with the Executive Leadership Team of the NHSBSA, and their senior leadership teams, to provide subject matter professional expertise and recommendations for all health, safety and safeguarding activity. The post holder will ensure organisational compliance with all statutory and mandatory requirements for health, safety and safeguarding, advising on best practice within these fields, and ensuring that robust arrangements are in place to withstand scrutiny by relevant audit or inspection bodies. This includes advising on the way forward where no precedent exists and providing support to the Leadership Team and other senior colleagues on matters relating to future strategy implications

Work collaboratively with the HR Operations and Advisory Lead to oversee all safety and psychological impact related litigation cases on behalf of the NHSBSA, liaising with NHS Resolutions

Working collaboratively with the People Data Lead, oversee a review of organisation wide information systems to bring together and create new data sets which enable meaningful insight into all safety and safeguarding issues. Ensure that effective data monitoring and reporting mechanisms are in place and reviewed regularly, and enable the provision of insight to Leadership Team and Board

Taking highly complex data and its analysis to enable the Leadership Team, People Safety and Safeguarding Team and wider People Team to focus on key current issues and future initiatives; using an evidence-based approach to inform future strategic priorities and plans. In addition, working with the People Data Team to conduct research and data analytics that identify gaps, assess NHSBSA performance, and propose solutions that are in support of the business and that are in promotion of continued improvement to safety and safeguarding practices

Continual benchmarking activity of the NHSBSA people safety and safeguarding offering against frameworks, accreditations and best practice of external organisations, making appropriate recommendations from such activity to Leadership Team and Board members and driving implementation. This will involve presenting highly complex information to Leadership Team and NHSBSA Board members. Associated supporting reports and papers will need to be created for such presentations, with a strong evidence base grounding and clear course of action

Leading the direction and performance of highly specialist internal and external support services for colleagues including the Occupational Health Service, Mental Health First Aid and Domestic Abuse Support Networks. Provide professional supervision, ensure effective evaluation measures and KPIs are in place, and work closely with Commercial to ensure effective performance and value for money of external services

Set the direction for the related colleague networks, providing direction to the Network Co-Chairs and overseeing the networks Communications and Events annual plan, ensuring this is aligned to the wider People and organisation strategies, and maximises colleague engagement. This involves designing regular feedback loops so that the team and networks can understand what is important to colleagues and their priorities around safety and safeguarding in an ever changing environment, and responding to this strategically

Building excellent working relationships with stakeholders, effectively communicating and influencing as needed. This role will be the lead People contact for all aspects of health, safety and safeguarding with such stakeholders. In addition, proactively join external networks to support the continued strategic development of these agendas

Continued thought leadership on health, safety and safeguarding initiatives, actively sharing insight and knowledge and incorporating this into current and future activities and planning. In addition, ensuring the team mirror this approach, with analysis of data into existing practices and industry best practice also informing future activity and changes

Oversew the contract and associated procurement of the Occupational Health Programme, Eye Care Scheme, Specialist Equipment and specialist external training provision in addition to other relevant contracts and suppliers, ensuring any associated budget is appropriately spent to maximise the value of return

Oversee the management of the Safety and Safeguarding budget, maximising value and benefit realisation. Have a thorough knowledge of, and adhere to at all times, the NHSBSAs Standing Financial Instructions, Standing Orders and Purchasing procedures

Deputise for the Head of Colleague Experience and Social Impact as appropriate and coach, mentor and provide professional leadership to other People Team members and wider colleagues

Personal Qualities, Knowledge and Skills

Essential

• 1.Substantial specialist knowledge of current and developing safeguarding, psychological risk, health, and safety legal and mandatory requirements and best practice.
• 2.Ability to assess potential legal risks and problems and make sound judgements around issues that may have an adverse effect on the business from safeguarding, psychological risk, health, and safety perspectives
• 3.Ability to work at a strategic level developing new solutions to meet business need
• 4.Strong management and leadership skills gained from previous experience
• 5.Excellent emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills
• 6.Strong communication and influencing skills to establish trusting working relationships with leaders, colleagues and external organisations
• 7.Ability to use evidence-based practice to develop solutions to meet business need
• 8.Strong analytical and problem solving skills
• 9.Able to use initiative, multi task and prioritise diverse workload and work to deadlines
• 11.Ability to be responsible and accountable for decision making
• 12.Competent IT skills

Desirable

• 1.Knowledge of wider HR&OD/People system plans
• 2.Knowledge of patient safety issues

Experience

Essential

• 1.Demonstrable experience working at a senior level in a large, complex organisation
• 2.Significant experience of creation of safeguarding, psychological risk, health, and safety strategies and translating them into actionable plans
• 3.Significant experience of continually improving safeguarding, psychological risk, health, and safety effectiveness and efficiency
• 4.Significant experience of leading a team and managing their continuous development
• 5.Significant experience in planning and project delivery, with ability to deliver projects on budget and on time with benefits realised
• 6.Significant experience at a senior level of advising on safeguarding, psychological risk, health, and safety best practice
• 7.Ability to work at both a strategic and operational level

Desirable

• 1.Experience of critical incident management and support models
• 2.Contract Management
• 3.Budget Management
• 4.Experience of establishing and managing relationships with external organisations

Qualifications

Essential

• 1.Educated to degree level (or equivalent experience/qualification
• 2.Post-graduate Certificate or Diploma in relevant subject or equivalent experience
• 3.Evidence of on-going continuing professional development

Desirable

• 1.Masters Degree in relevant subject
• 2.Graduate CIPD