Adviser - Safeguarding in Education

Job Description

The Opportunity

FTE Salary: NJC Grade 9 £37,563 to £40,444 per annum

Pro Rata Salary: £32,506 to £34,999 per annum

Contract Type: Permanent

Working Pattern: Term Time Only 39weeks, 37 hours per week

Location: County Hall North, Horsham

Closing date: 16 October 2026

Interview date: 03 November 2026

Are you passionate about safeguarding children and young people in schools?

Do you enjoy working collaboratively and inclusively?

Our Standards and Effectiveness Service are looking for an Adviser to join our Safeguarding in Education Team.

You will be responsible for auditing education settings, drawing conclusions about their safeguarding duties and whether safeguarding is being managed effectively.

This role includes holding conversations with children and staff so you can make informed decisions on school policies, procedures, and practices, and evaluate the culture of safeguarding. You will be required to effectively share your audit findings and be confident in challenging schools where appropriate.

You will work closely and collaboratively with your team and the team leader, as well as with a wide range of stakeholders and educational settings. You will support and provide safeguarding case supervision and management to colleagues within the Education and Skills Directorate.

You will be responsible for:

• Providing guidance on safeguarding frameworks.

• Responding to safeguarding concerns and raised complaints.

• Developing solutions and recommendations for schools following audits.

• Providing training to a wide range of stakeholders on safeguarding frameworks, including designing and delivery training to assist schools.

• Analysing and interpreting complex and sensitive data.

• Maintaining confidentiality and security of highly sensitive information.

• Contributing to projects and/or reviews, recognising and balancing risks with reward.

For more information on the Key Skills, Qualifications and/or Experience required, please refer to the Job Description attached.

About Us

Our Standards and Effectiveness Service is the key service driving a cultural change towards a school and sector led improvement programme that provides a sustainable capacity within the sector for continuous improvement.

It has oversight of provision from early years through to primary and secondary schools and into post 16 and further education and skills. It has the power to ensure continuity and quality of provision through transition points and to tackle inequalities and underperformance across the county in relation to the quality of providers and outcomes for children and young people.

For more information on our Safeguarding in Education Team, please visit our West Sussex Schools Services for Education website

Benefits

As an employer we recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance, and are rewarded for the work they do.

For a full list this can be found at our Rewards and Benefits page.

Upon joining us you will have access to a range of benefits including the following:

Employer Pension Contribution: 15% (this alters per annum on the 1 April each year)

Annual leave: 27 days holiday + Bank Holidays = 35days

How to Apply

The reference number for this role is 116.

For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Sally Arbuckle, Safeguarding in Education Manager, at Sally.Arbuckle@westsussex.gov.uk

To apply, please follow the links below to complete your application.

In your application, please outline your motivations for applying and explaining the skills and experience you can bring to the role (please refer to the key skills) ensuring that any gaps in employment are covered in your CV.

Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again.

Job Description:

MASH Adviser Safeguarding and Education Job Description

Safeguarding statement

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults.

This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check, five years referencing, and an occupational health check.

Equity, inclusion, and accessibility is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.

We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our application helppage.

If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your application, please contact Natalie Greene, Recruitment Specialist, at Natalie.Greene@westsussex.gov.uk

Qualifications

We are looking for someone who is up to date with safeguarding legislation with knowledge on how to identify safeguarding issues within education settings.

You will need to be emotionally resilient due to the nature of this role.

Please refer to the key skills and experience in your application as these will be used for shortlisting criteria.

Key Skills:

1. Ability to influence decision making in order to promote the best outcome for a child and family with other professionals and provide expert advice and guidance.
2. Ability to appropriately challenge schools and other safeguarding stakeholders in order to ensure practice and policy are effectively delivered.
3. Competent IT skills to use multiple databases for extracting and analysing data appropriately.

Qualifications and/or experience:

• Degree, or equivalent qualification or experience.
• Advanced technical knowledge and understanding of all relevant areas of work including practical applied knowledge gained by 'on the job' experience, for example management of early help plans / effectively contributing to strategy meetings.
• Relevant theoretical or organisational knowledge of systems, procedures, policies and relevant legislation associated with operating a demanding and customer-focused service.
• Understanding of integrated working and sound knowledge of other agencies’ practices, specifically the role of school or college designated safeguarding leads and other safeguarding professionals, and of assessment/referral mechanisms within the wider safeguarding context.
• Knowledge and experience of providing safeguarding advice or direction within an educational provision or setting.
• Detailed knowledge of statutory procedures relating to child protection and safeguarding and an ability to translate those into meaningful child focused practice.
• Commitment to continuous professional development and an understanding of the value of developing skills and expertise within a specialist area to improve outcomes for children and young people.