Job summary
An experienced and influential safeguarding professional is required to lead the health system's contribution to the implementation of the Families First Partnership Programme (FFPP) across Oldham.

This is a unique strategic leadership role at the forefront of national social care reform for children and families. Working on behalf of the Northern Care Alliance and the Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board (ICB), you will serve as the Strategic Health Lead, representing the statutory safeguarding partner across the local health economy on a 12-month secondment.

This role offers an exciting opportunity to shape how services work together to improve outcomes for children and families, ensuring that health plays a central role in designing, implementing and embedding a new system of help, support and protection.

You will be a Registered Nurse or other relevant professional with significant safeguarding and leadership experience. You will have a strong background in partnership working, expertise in child protection, early help and multi-agency collaboration, and be skilled in data analysis, quality improvement and change management. Above all, you will be passionate about improving outcomes for children and families while promoting equity, inclusion and effective partnership working.

Main duties of the job
Strategic System Leadership and Quality Assurance
Provide health representation within the Multi-Agency Child Protection Team (MACPT), contributing to partnership performance monitoring, audits and safeguarding practice reviews. Deliver expert, highly specialised advice and support across the health economy on all safeguarding matters relating to children and young people.

Represent and articulate agreed health system positions within programme governance arrangements, design forums and multi-agency working groups, reducing the need for routine escalation to senior ICB leadership. Work with health providers and commissioners to agree how health practitioners contribute to MACPT and Family Help Teams, Section 47 enquiries, child protection conferences and statutory decision-making processes. This includes establishing clear escalation pathways and ensuring access to medical expertise and advice where concerns about significant harm arise.

Support the alignment of health pathways, including 0-19 services and relevant community health provision, with the end-to-end Families First Partnership Programme (FFPP) model, avoiding duplication, fragmentation and parallel processes.

Lead and support the design and mobilisation of MACPTs by shaping and agreeing health's contribution to ensure that service models reflect statutory safeguarding responsibilities, local health system realities and the expectations set out in Working Together to Safeguard Children (2023).

About us
The Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust (NCA) provides hospital and integrated health and social care services to over one million people living across Greater Manchester. Our 20,000 colleagues care for people in hospital and in the community, working across Bury, Rochdale, Oldham and Salford, to save and improve lives.

As a large NHS trust we are committed to enhancing the health of our local population by delivering consistently high standards of care and working closely with local authorities and key partners. We believe in our power and potential to make a difference and we're always looking for people who demonstrate our three core values - care, appreciate and inspire - to join our team.

In return, we can offer you a job role with purpose and flexibility. The size and scale of the NCA means we can provide more challenge and opportunities so your career can always be moving in the right direction. By joining us you can also access a competitive benefits package, including, a fantastic annual leave allowance, flexible working opportunities and protected hours for health and wellbeing activities, helping you to achieve more personal downtime and a better work-life balance.

Learn more about us in our Candidate Information Pack

Details
Date posted
16 September 2026

Pay scheme
Agenda for change

Band
Band 8a

Salary
£57,528 to £64,750 a year

Per annum

Contract
Secondment

Working pattern
Full-time

Reference number
236-UEC-NM652-26-A

Job locations
Community

Medlock Family Hub

Oldham

OL8 3PB

United Kingdom

Job description
Job responsibilities
To read more information about the advertised role, and the main job duties/responsibilities please open the Job Description and Person Specification located under the supporting documents heading. You can also read more information about working at the Northern Care Alliance within the attached Candidate Information Pack or by visiting our careers website: www.careers.northerncarealliance.nhs.uk

Person Specification
Qualification and Registration
Essential

• Professional qualification relevant to health, safeguarding, or public health nursing leadership e.g. Registered General Nurse /Midwife
• Part 3 registration in specialist Community Public Health Nursing; Health Visiting or School Nursing
• Current NMC Registration
• Have completed a post registration training in safeguarding Children including Law, Policy and Practice at post graduate Level.
• Knowledge and expertise in management acquired through in- depth experience or theoretical study, equivalent to post graduate level.

Desirable

• Educated to master's level or equivalent level of experience working at a senior level in specialist area
• Postgraduate qualification or equivalent experience in leadership, systems change, public health or safeguarding

Experience
Essential

• Significant senior-level experience within health, safeguarding, or a closely related system role
• Experience contributing to or leading system change, service redesign or reform programmes
• Experience of working with children, young people and families in a safeguarding or public service context
• Experience of multi-agency and partnership work across disciplines, organisational and professional boundaries e.g. ideally across education, social care or safeguarding
• Proven record of leading and managing change across services.
• Ability to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults
• Significant experience of leading and managing community public health nursing at service level

Desirable

• Experience of engaging provider organisations to implement system-level change
• Experience supporting or influencing statutory safeguarding processes (e.g. child protection, early help, family support systems)

Knowledge
Essential

• Knowledge of statutory safeguarding arrangements and multi-agency responsibilities under Working Together to Safeguard Children (2023) and wider children's safeguarding legal and policy framework
• Strong understanding of the health system's role as a statutory safeguarding partner, including commissioning, provider delivery and governance
• Demonstrate evidence of specialist expert knowledge in Specialist Community public Health Nursing.
• Extensive Knowledge of clinical governance, safety and risk management.
• Demonstrates understanding of safeguarding issues and is up to date with legislation and current reforms.

Desirable

• Knowledge of Families First reforms, inc Multiagency Child Protection Teams (MACPT) and Family Group Dynamic (FGDM)
• Understanding of roles and responsibilities of the ICB, NHSE and Commissioning
• Training on DOLs and MCA
• Experience of setting and managing budgets

Skills
Essential

• Intellectual flexibility to be able to work between strategic and operational priorities.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capability, able to interpret complex health and safeguarding information,
• Managing groups / stakeholders in conflict and professional boundaries
• Able to create and communicate a shared vision in a range of compelling ways
• Experience of report writing formal and informal presentations both internally and externally.
• Planning and performance management skills and techniques

Desirable

• Experience of undertaking investigations/RCA

Abilities
Essential

• Ability to work effectively and sensitively with children, young people and adults, communicating in a manner that promotes dignity, respect and person-centred care
• Ability to deliver against KPIs
• Demonstrates a high level of highly complex numerical and data analytical skills, including spreadsheets and databases.
• Ability to travel to different geographical locations across the Trust footprint in line with service needs

Desirable

• Understanding of information sharing frameworks, consent, and proportionality in safeguarding contexts
• Full UK driving license with willingness to use own car for work purposes

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 (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

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