Job summary
The Designated Nurse for safeguarding children is responsible for leading on safeguarding children and the promotion of their welfare within the Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin, Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Cluster ICBs. The Designated Nurse for safeguarding children will provide strategic leadership and act as a source of expertise for the ICB. The responsibilities include working with the local authority and safeguarding partnerships on their statutory and legislative duties for safeguarding children as stipulated in current and future primary legislation, government strategy and national, regional and local guidance.

Although accountable to the Head of Quality, Safety and Improvement, the post holder will also be accountable for any additional delegated authority as agreed or requested by ICB.

Main duties of the job
Be accountable as the ICB Designated Nurse for safeguarding children, as set out in Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 and Promoting the Health and Wellbeing of Looked After Children 2015. The post holder will have a primary responsibility to take on a safeguarding leadership role across the Cluster ICBs ensuring a visible presence in the ICB on a regular basis. The post holder will also provide support to peer Designated Nurses when required.

Location: Home based/hybrid working.

Band: Band 8b
Salary: £66,582 to £77,368 a year PA
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time
Closing date: 03 November 2026

Job responsibilities

• Provide strategic, professional leadership and specialist advice and support on the safeguarding of children and child death and promoting the health of looked after children to governing bodies and designated and named professionals.
• Be responsible for ensuring that comprehensive and robust arrangements are in place in all commissioned services, including primary, community and independent care in order for them to fulfil their responsibilities to safeguard children and to improve the health of looked after children.
• Provide a framework for commissioning high quality evidence-based safeguarding, looked after children services and child death services and be a source of expertise across sectors on all matters regarding planning, strategy and identifying any gaps in service provision with regards to the safety of vulnerable children, domestic abuse, child death and looked after children.
• Ensure that safeguarding children and young people is central to service planning and delivery across the health economy.
• Be a source of expert professional advice to Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin, Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Boards, and other local, sub-regional and regional strategic multi-agency partnerships such as those for domestic abuse, the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH), the Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP) Executives, Performance, Childrens Safeguarding Practice Reviews, any safeguarding reviews and the Child Sexual Abuse Forum (CSAF). (This list is not exhaustive and will be subject to change).
• Responsible for the development and implementation of ICB safeguarding vision and strategic plans that enables them to fulfil their statutory duties in relation to safeguarding children and ensuring the health needs of looked after children are met.
• Facilitate the commissioning of high-quality safeguarding services for vulnerable and looked after children that meets all national legislation, local policy and guidance.
• Ensure there are processes for effective and timely communication and information sharing, both internally and externally, which compliment multidisciplinary/interagency working.
• Provide leadership, advice and support for the development of robust training strategies and delivery programmes, to meet all safeguarding children educational/training requirements for health professionals, across all sectors.

Essential Knowledge, Training and Experience

• Registered Nurse or Midwife with current, valid NMC registration or allied health professional with relevant, current, and valid professional registration
• Educated to master's level in relevant subject or equivalent level of experience of working at a similar level in specialist area
• At least five years' experience in a senior nurse leadership role.
• A minimum of 2 years' experience in a Childrens Safeguarding role related area.
• Proven track record of strategic planning with NHS and partner organisations.
• Experience of collecting, analysing and reporting data and other information at Board Committee level and below.
• Experience of leading Childrens Safeguarding within the wider NHS including the development of specific safeguarding aspects of the NHS contract.
• Evidence of effective data analysis work.
• Experience of Safeguarding policy review and development.
• Experience of managing a budget.
• Experience of dealing with complaints in line with the NHS complaints legislation.
• Experience of working with a range of internal and external agencies.
• Previous experience of Safeguarding service and quality reviews.
• Experience of undertaking high level investigations or external reviews e.g., coroner's court, root cause analysis, professional bodies, HR, etc.
• Track record of producing and delivering meaningful reports to a variety of audiences.
• Experience of managing staff, including recruitment and undertaking performance development reviews.
• Experience of working in challenging environments.
• Proven and significant leadership experience.
• Evidence of post qualifying and continuing professional development
• Must have an understanding of the background to and aims of current healthcare policy and appreciate the implications of this on engagement
• Should have an appreciation of the relationship between the Department of Health, NHS England and local government

Essential Communication Skills

• Developed communication skills for delivering key messages to a range of stakeholders both internal and external (including outside the NHS) to the organisation, some at very senior level.
• Good presentational skills for conveying complex concepts.
• Ability to use informed persuasion to influence others.

Essential Management Skills

• Skills for direct line management and job management.
• Skills for delivering results through managing through others and using a range of levers in the absence of direct line management responsibility.
• Skills for managing relationships with a range of different stakeholders.

Essential Equality and Diversity

• Detailed understanding of the Equality Acts, Public Sector Equality Duties and publishing requirements from a workforce and/or patient equality perspective.
• Experience of embedding and advancing EDI functions at a strategic level e.g. stakeholder engagement, equality monitoring and data analysis (disaggregated by protected/population groups), equality impact assessments and reasonable adjustments.
• Experience of reporting on key equality outcomes to the executive team and/or other key stakeholders/decision making bodies.

Employer contact details
Patient Safety Specialist, Sharon Fletcher, sharon.fletcher9@nhs.net

Employer name: NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care Board

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and requires a Disclosure and Barring Service check. Applicants must have current UK professional registration. 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. Apply through our website.