Safeguarding Children Specialist Nurse
Closing date: 28 July 2026

Job summary
Join Our Safeguarding All Ages Team. Are you an experienced and passionate registered nurse with a commitment to safeguarding children and families? We are looking for an enthusiastic and highly motivated Band 7 Safeguarding Children Nurse Specialist to join our dedicated Safeguarding All Ages team, supporting the delivery of high-quality safeguarding services across Hertfordshire.

This is an exciting opportunity to work collaboratively with healthcare professionals, local authority partners, education, police, and voluntary agencies to ensure that children, young people and adults at risk receive safe, effective and compassionate care.

As a Safeguarding Children Nurse Specialist, you will provide expert advice, leadership, education and support to Public Health Nursing and Clinical specialist teams, promoting best practice and ensuring compliance with national safeguarding legislation, statutory guidance and local safeguarding arrangements. You will also be part of the Joint Agency Response Rota for unexpected child death.

Proposed interview date: 11 August 2026

Main duties of the job

• To provide specialist safeguarding children advice and high-quality supervisory support to staff within HCT by providing child protection supervision to health visitors/school nurses and allied health professionals. Contributing to an ethos in which reflective practice and self-questioning are accepted and actively promoted.
• To be part of the Joint Agency Response for Unexpected Child Deaths in Hertfordshire
• To be part of the safeguarding children duty rota that offers support and guidance to HCT staff where there are concerns regarding the safeguarding of children
• To ensure effective communication and support and a cohesive approach is applied across the organization within its remit to safeguard children.
• To contribute to, facilitate and provide any safeguarding children training within HCT and multi-agency settings. To monitor systems that are in place to audit training needs, training and evaluate outcomes
• To support with any legal requests or records requests that may also include the support of HCT staff in the development of court statements.
• To be responsible for research of cases for Hertfordshire MARAC and MACE and to be an HCT representative for MARAC meetings.

About us
A big thank you for considering joining us at Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust

You'll find it a great place to work with many benefits offered to you as a member of our staff

We put our patients, their families and carers at the centre of our vision - Outstanding Services and Healthier Communities

Our staff are proud to be Innovative, Caring and Agile in their work to help achieve the Trust vision

We welcome diversity in our workforce and are interested in applicants from all backgrounds and ages

We don't want you to miss out so we'd like you to know that if we have a high level of interest in this role, the vacancy may close prior to the advertised closing date, so please make your application as soon as possible - Apply now

You've made a great decision to apply to join to HCT - we're looking forward to taking the next steps of the journey with you

Flexible Working
We are committed to supporting flexible working options for staff, wherever possible, and welcome discussions on flexible working patterns to support our staff to maintain a healthy work life balance.

AI Declaration
The use of AI is monitored and if you have used it then you are required to declare this, as well as what type of AI tools you have used and for what purpose. We reserve the right to further test your individual knowledge and skills in relation to the requirements for the post through robust and thorough interview and assessment.

Person Specification
Qualifications and Training
Essential

• 1st Level Registered Nurse with evidence of further training to degree level
• Evidence of self-managed continued professional development
• Teaching qualification
• Supervisory qualification or equivalent
• Qualifications relevant to safeguarding
• Advanced knowledge of key legislation and documents relevant to safeguarding children, Demonstrates knowledge and application of theoretical frameworks used in safeguarding
• Community Specialist Practitioner (SCPHN) or equivalent post registration qualification

Experience and Knowledge
Essential

• Previous experience working with families, children and young people
• Clinical experience of safeguarding children
• Effective contribution to local multi-agency groups, systems and networks.
• Experience of working under pressure and to deadlines.
• Experience as a clinical supervisor
• Delivery of safeguarding children training to health staff and of some aspect of multi-agency training
• An understanding and experience of court procedures

Skills and Abilities
Essential

• Ability to respond positively to change
• Excellent communication and listening skills with some understanding of basic counselling skills
• The ability to transfer the principles of clinical effectiveness into clinical practice
• Ability to analyse issues and think critically
• Excellent standard of report writing and record keeping
• Ability to support staff in decision making processes in complex circumstances
• Ability to work well within multi-professional and multi-agency forums

Personal qualities
Essential

• Credibility as a clinical expert
• Innovative and dynamic
• Able to recognise own stress and take measures to manage it
• Tactful and diplomatic in negotiating skills
• Ability to manage complex and stressful situations and issues at local organisational and clinical levels in a calm manner
• Awareness of issues relevant to black & minority ethnic families and other potentially disadvantaged or socially excluded groups
• Confidence to challenge colleagues appropriately in difficult situations

Other requirements
Essential

• Willingness to uphold the Trust's values
• Eligible to live and work in the UK
• A full valid driving licence and access to a car to use for business purposes is essential (unless you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010).

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Apply through our website).

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (Apply through our website).

Employer details
Employer name: Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust
Address: Sandridge Gate Business Centre, Ronsons Way, St Albans, AL4 9XR
Website: Apply through our website

Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact: Sheila Middleditch, Named Nurse for Safeguarding Children
Email: s.middleditch@nhs.net
Telephone: 07768237467