Job summary
NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) is seeking an exceptional and highly motivated Designated Professional for Safeguarding Adults to provide strategic leadership, expert professional advice and system-wide influence across West Yorkshire. This is a senior specialist role offering the opportunity to work at the forefront of safeguarding, commissioning, quality improvement and partnership working across health and social care systems.

Main duties of the job
As the Designated Professional for Safeguarding Adults, you will lead the strategic safeguarding adults agenda on behalf of the ICB, ensuring statutory safeguarding responsibilities are met and embedded across commissioning, quality and provider assurance functions. You will provide expert advice to senior leaders, commissioners, providers and multi-agency partners, influencing policy, strategy and practice across the West Yorkshire health and care system.

You will contribute to safeguarding adult reviews, domestic abuse related death reviews and investigations where there are complex safeguarding concerns, ensuring learning is translated into improvements in practice and system performance. You will lead on the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), seeking assurance of compliance, supporting policy development and promoting best practice across health and care organisations.

About us
Due to organisational change, staff who are employed by NHS West Yorkshire ICB who are not confirmed in a post/are in the redeployment pool will have access to posts on a preferential basis

Job responsibilities
Job Summary
The Designated Professional for Safeguarding Adults is responsible for safeguarding adults as part of the West Yorkshire ICB statutory duties

This post is a strategic post to provide and promote expert leadership, professional advice and strategic advice to health commissioners, for the direction on all aspects of safeguarding adults.

This includes providing expert leadership, professional and strategic advice to health commissioners on all aspects of safeguarding adults in accordance with national and local requirements arising from relevant legislation and guidance working, across the health economy.

The role encompasses enabling and seeking to ensure that the WY ICB complies with national and local requirements arising from relevant legislation and guidance for Safeguarding Adults along with lead strategic responsibility for the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty safeguards (DoLs) including seeking assurance of compliance and implementation. This includes policy development and providing expert advice to the WYICB, commissioned providers and multi-agency partnerships.

The role will be part of a consolidated safeguarding function at WY but face into place areas to ensure places are meeting their statutory requirements in relation to adult safeguarding

Main Duties and Responsibilities
To fulfil the role of Designated Professional as part of their duties will also be expected to work across other local health and social care organisations in supporting the wider system.

Being responsible to the Associate Director of Quality and Safeguarding, seeking to ensure that the WY through the places is able to demonstrate that it is discharging all its responsibilities for safeguarding adults across the health economy.

Be the lead professional responsible for ensuring that Safeguarding adults is embedded within all WY ICB and place commissioning functions and be responsible for seeking assurance from commissioned Services that Safeguarding Adults is embedded within provider services.

Provide clinical leadership, expert professional advice and strategic direction on all aspects of safeguarding adults to ensure that health service contributions are coordinated and integrated across WY ICB, place-based partnerships, NHS Acute Trusts, Mental Health Partnership Trusts, Local Authorities, Independent health care providers, Police and Probation services and the voluntary sector.

To act as the point of expertise for all issues relating to the Safeguarding Adults agenda and be responsible for the development and implementation of strategy and work plans for Safeguarding Adults in collaboration with the Local Safeguarding Adults Board.

Lead responsibility within the WY ICB and PLACE for the Mental Capacity Act and the Deprivation of Liberty safeguards including monitoring and assurance of compliance with implementation. This includes policy development, expert advice and seeking assurance to ensure practice is compliant with MCA.

Provide leadership to complex enquires/Safeguarding Adults Reviews/ Domestic Homicide Reviews/allegations of abuse or neglect/complaints that may have ethical, legal and professional implications for safeguarding adults at risk, taking responsibility for ensuring the review of case histories in order to undertake, conduct and evaluate Case reviews ensuring where there are lessons to be learnt and systems and processes are established to ensure this occurs within the WY ICB and across the health care continuum and with partner organisations.

Take a supportive partnership approach to working with other organisations including health and social care providers to focus on delivering the needs of adults.

Actively seek and set clear standards for service, including the setting of Key Performance Indicators and seeking assurance that the standards and Indicators are being met through a process of performance and quality monitoring. Work with the Safeguarding Team to support the setting of these.

Provision of high level multi-factorial reports with complex information (that includes cases of adult abuse and neglect) that require detailed analysis, interpretation and presenting of data to highlight issues, associated risks both for the ICB and for the wider local partnership. Be able to support decision making for safeguarding adults, identifying areas that need to be addressed, both within the ICB and wider health and social care footprint. This includes the provision of an annual report to the ICB.

The development and on-going review of WY ICB and PLACE Safeguarding and other related policies and procedures.

Ensure that the impact of any changes to Safeguarding requirements are understood and reflected within the commissioning and contracts for providers.

Ensure that Safeguarding Adults work streams are integrated with the broader Patient Safety/ quality of care agenda and that there are effective systems of audit that monitors the agreed Safeguarding Adults service standards.

The provision of expert, up to date, advice, training and supervision to professionals working with adults including all independent contractors, GP and their Practice teams on issues relating to the protection and safeguarding of adults. Interpretation of national policy and guidance into local strategies and policies.

Contribute to strategic planning by providing professional advice about the Safeguarding Adults agenda in relation to statutory changes and the impact to both the organisation and professional practice

Member of the Local Safeguarding Adults Board actively contributing to the work of the board.

Actively contributing to the review and updating of Safeguarding Adults multi-agency procedures and guidelines providing professional expertise from a health dimension.

Take responsibility for working with colleagues in the consolidated safeguarding team across West Yorkshire to support shared work priorities, taking the lead on any identified areas.

General
The post holder will:

• Treat people with dignity and respect.
• Maintain a high standard of professional and personal conduct.
• Develop a culture that promotes equality and values diversity. The post holder must be aware of and committed to the equality and diversity policies of the organisation.
• Ensure the principles of openness, transparency and candour are observed and upheld in all working practices.
• Ensure compliance with all mandatory and statutory training relevant to the post.
• Be familiar with and adhere to the safeguarding policies, procedures, and guidelines for both children and adults at risk of abuse or neglect. This must be in conjunction with the Multi-agency Safeguarding Children and Safeguarding Adults at risk of abuse or neglect Multi- Agency Policy, Protocols and guidelines.
• Ensure that any infection prevention and control issues are reported appropriately.
• Be aware of and adhere to the provisions of the Health and Safety at Work Act and to ensure their own safety and the safety of others.
• Maintain confidentiality and adhere to the principles of data security and data protection.
• Follow a professional Code of Conduct, where relevant to the post.
• Participate in the organisational appraisal process.
• Be expected to undertake ongoing professional and personal development in line with the responsibilities of the post.

This job description is not intended to be exhaustive. It describes the main duties and responsibilities of the post. It may be subject to change in accordance with developing organisational and service needs and wherever necessary, will follow appropriate consultation with the post holder. The post holder may be directed to complete other duties according to organisational requirements. These duties will always be reasonable and commensurate with the skills of the post holder and level of the post.

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

• Postgraduate degree in relevant subject at Masters level or equivalent and have significant experience of working at a similar level in specialist area.
• Current registration with NMC/HCPC

Skills & behaviours
Essential

• Ability to critically review articles and publications and utilise the evidence of best practice for patient care and/or policies
• Ability to manage complex agendas and ability to develop solutions
• Ability to implement best practice in all areas of safeguarding
• Computer literate with an ability to use the required systems/Microsoft IT office packages
• Has attention to detail, able to work accurately, identifying errors quickly and easily
• Has a planned and organised approach with an ability to prioritise their own workload to meet deadlines.
• Has excellent communication skills.
• Able to exercise independent judgement where appropriate and problem solve. Able to think conceptually, recognising assumptions, interpreting and evaluating arguments and deducing inferences.

Experience
Essential

• Highly developed specialist knowledge of the safeguarding adult function, acquired through a combination of in-depth experience and post-graduate/post-registration study obtained through a masters, equivalent experience or significant formal training or research.
• Evidence of ongoing extensive professional development x
• Significant prior experience of working within the safeguarding function.
• Significant experience of leading and managing staff
• Experience of communicating and engaging effectively with external agencies/stakeholder
• Experience and ability to review reports on all Safeguarding Adult Serious Incidents (SIs), providing highly technical and specialist clinical safeguarding advice

Additional Requirements
Essential

• Has a responsive, solution focused approach to addressing issues and barriers.
• Is open to change and possible alternatives to doing things differently
• Able to regulate behaviour even when challenged and is open and honest and acts with integrity.
• Credible, trustworthy and able to inspire confidence in others
• Independently mobile in order to be able to work across a number of sites in West Yorkshire and travel to attend meetings/support joint working.

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.

Employer details
Employer name: NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board
Address: NHS West Yorkshire ICB, Scorex House West, 1 Bolton Road, BRADFORD, West Yorkshire, BD1 4AS, United Kingdom
Employer's website: http://www.westyorkshire.icb.nhs.uk

Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact: Associate Director of Quality & Safeguarding, Louise Fletcher, louise.fletcher6@nhs.net

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.