Job Purpose
The purpose of the role is to promote and raise awareness of safeguarding across the Community Foundation and among its stakeholders, whilst also responding to safeguarding concerns and incidents in an effective, timely and professional manner.

Accountability
The Designated Safeguarding Officer is accountable for the effective day-today implementation of safeguarding arrangements within their delegated area of responsibility. The DSO is responsible for ensuring concerns are responded to
appropriately, recorded accurately, progressed and escalated where necessary. The DSO works closely with the Head of Safeguarding & Compliance and relevant managers and
does not replace the statutory responsibilities of external safeguarding agencies or the overall organisational accountability held by senior leadership.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities

1. Safeguarding concerns and case management
Act as a designated point of contact for safeguarding concerns raised by staff, learners,participants, parents/carers and partners.
Respond to concerns promptly and in accordance with the Foundation’s safeguarding procedures.
Assess the nature and level of concern and determine appropriate action and escalation in line with escalation thresholds.
Ensure safeguarding concerns are accurately recorded on the Foundation’s safeguarding system.
Maintain appropriate oversight of open safeguarding concerns and ensure actions are progressed within agreed timescales.
Escalate medium, high and very high-risk concerns to the Head of Safeguarding and Compliance in accordance with the escalation process.
Make or support referrals to statutory agencies where required and maintain appropriate records of referrals and outcomes.
Ensure safeguarding information is shared appropriately and proportionately.
2. Safeguarding advice and support
Provide day-to-day safeguarding advice and guidance to staff and managers.
Support staff to respond appropriately to disclosures, concerns and incidents.
Promote professional curiosity and appropriate challenge where safeguarding practice or decision-making requires further consideration.
Support staff to understand their safeguarding responsibilities and reporting requirements.
Provide safeguarding advice to programme teams when planning activities, trips, events or new provision.
3. Case supervision and reflective practice
Support the Foundation’s safeguarding supervision arrangements.
Provide or facilitate safeguarding supervision for staff managing ongoing concerns, where appropriately trained.
Identify when a case requires additional management oversight, specialist advice or escalation.
Ensure safeguarding decisions are appropriately challenged, recorded and reviewed.
Contribute to learning from safeguarding cases and incidents.
4. Risk management
Support programme teams to identify and manage safeguarding risks.
Review safeguarding elements of risk assessments where required.
Ensure safeguarding considerations are incorporated into new activities, programmes, trips, events and partnership arrangements.
Provide advice where participant risk changes or new information becomes available.
Escalate significant or unmanaged safeguarding risks to the Head of Safeguarding and Compliance.
5. Allegations, low-level concerns and staff conduct
Support the management of allegations or concerns relating to staff, volunteers, coaches or other adults working with participants.
Ensure low-level concerns are appropriately recorded, reviewed and escalated where necessary.
Identify patterns or emerging concerns that may require wider organisational action.
Work with HR and management where safeguarding concerns relate to staff conduct, recruitment or suitability.
6. Safer recruitment and safeguarding checks
Support the implementation of the Foundation’s Safer Recruitment Policy.
Provide safeguarding advice during recruitment processes where required.
Ensure safeguarding considerations are reflected in recruitment, induction and suitability processes.
Support the monitoring of DBS and other relevant safeguarding requirements.
7. Training and safeguarding culture
Support the Head of Safeguarding and Compliance with the identification of safeguarding training needs.
Lead on safeguarding induction and contribute to refresher training.
Promote a culture where staff feel confident to raise concerns and challenge practice.
Keep knowledge of safeguarding legislation, guidance and emerging risks up to date.
8. Safeguarding Visibility, Engagement and Campaigns
Develop and deliver engaging safeguarding awareness campaigns that are relevant to the Foundation’s beneficiaries, staff and wider community.
Identify safeguarding themes and emerging risks that would benefit from targeted awareness activity.
Create accessible and age-appropriate safeguarding resources and communications for learners, participants, parents/carers and staff.
Increase the visibility of safeguarding across Foundation programmes and ensure beneficiaries understand where and how they can seek help.
Work with programme teams to incorporate safeguarding messages into activities, events and community engagement.
Support national and relevant safeguarding awareness campaigns and adapt them to the Foundation’s environment and beneficiaries.
Use creative and inclusive approaches to engage beneficiaries who may not respond to traditional safeguarding messaging.
» Gather feedback from beneficiaries to ensure campaigns are relevant, accessible and responsive to their experiences and needs.
Monitor engagement and identify learning from campaigns to inform future safeguarding activity.
Work with Communications/Marketing and programme teams to ensure safeguarding messaging is consistent, appropriate and visible across Foundation channels and settings.
Promote a culture where safeguarding is seen as everyone’s responsibility and where beneficiaries feel confident to speak up and seek support.
9. Partnership and multi-agency working
Develop effective working relationships with schools, colleges, local authorities, statutory agencies and other safeguarding partners.
Attend and contribute to relevant multi-agency meetings.
Ensure appropriate safeguarding information is shared with partner organisations.
Support the Foundation’s safeguarding requirements within SLAs and partnership arrangements.
Ensure safeguarding responsibilities are clearly understood where delivery is shared with another organisation.
To work collaboratively with Cardiff City Football Club’s Head of Safeguarding and relevant officers to ensure alignment where possible in the policy and practice between the Club and Foundation.
10. Quality assurance and governance
Contribute to safeguarding audits, case reviews and quality assurance activity.
Identify themes, trends and learning from safeguarding concerns.
»Support the Head of Safeguarding and Compliance with safeguarding reports, data and action plans for SLT, the Director of Operations and Board Safeguarding Lead.
Ensure actions arising from safeguarding reviews, incidents or audits are progressed.
Contribute to the annual review of safeguarding policies, procedures and the safeguarding handbook.
11. On-call and incident response
Participate in the Foundation’s safeguarding on-call arrangements where required.
Provide safeguarding advice during significant incidents.
Support the coordination of safeguarding responses where an incident occurs outside normal working arrangements.
Ensure significant incidents are appropriately escalated and recorded.
General
To ensure best use of resources at all times.
Undertake any relevant training as agreed by line-manager or in line with expectations of the programme funders.
Represent the Community Foundation in meetings, both internally and externally at the request of your line manager or a member of the Senior Management Team.
To be able to provide up to date information in line with GDPR requirements.
Promotion of company values internally and externally.
Promotion of equality, diversity and inclusion within the workplace including practices and relationships.
Apply Health and Safety requirement to all aspects of the programme.
To carry any additional work and duties as required that meet the needs of the Foundation.