Health Lead for Multi-Agency Child Protection Team
Job Description
Job summary
Fixed term | 12 months
We are looking for an experienced, dynamic, and highly motivated safeguarding professional to join Sheffield's newly established Multi-Agency Child Protection Team (MACPT) as the Health Lead.
This is an exciting opportunity to play a pivotal role in an innovative safeguarding partnership, hosted by Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust and based within Sheffield City Council. As the senior health representative within the team, you will help shape and strengthen the health contribution to child protection decision-making across the city.
Working collaboratively with colleagues from social care, police, education, and the wider health system, you will provide expert safeguarding leadership and advice to support timely, informed, and effective responses for children at risk of significant harm. You will champion partnership working, influence strategic and operational practice, and drive continuous improvement to ensure the best possible outcomes for children, young people, and their families.
This unique role offers the opportunity to make a real difference by contributing to a pioneering multi-agency approach that places the needs and safety of children at its heart.
If you are a passionate safeguarding leader with the expertise, credibility, and drive to influence practice across organisational boundaries, we would love to hear from you.
Main duties of the job
In this role, you will lead and coordinate the health contribution within Sheffield's innovative Multi-Agency Child Protection Team (MACPT), ensuring health perspectives are embedded within safeguarding decision-making and practice.
You will provide expert safeguarding advice and clinical leadership in complex child protection situations, using your specialist knowledge to support effective risk assessment, decision-making and planning for children and families.
Working collaboratively with colleagues across health, social care, police and education, you will help deliver coordinated, child-centred interventions and strengthen multi-agency safeguarding arrangements across the city.
You will play a key role in driving service improvement, learning and quality assurance activities, helping to develop and embed best practice across the safeguarding partnership.
You will champion inclusive, trauma-informed and anti-racist approaches, ensuring the needs of vulnerable children, young people and families remain at the heart of everything we do.
You will also contribute to workforce development, safeguarding supervision, audit, quality assurance, performance monitoring and service improvement activities, helping to strengthen safeguarding practice and outcomes for children, young people and families across the city.
About us
At Sheffield Children's, our purpose is clear: to provide healthier futures for children and young people. Our three strategic aims are Outstanding Patient Care, Brilliant Place to Work, and Leaders in Children's Health.
We work with partners across local, regional, and national levels to deliver physical and mental healthcare in both acute and community settings. Many of our clinicians are nationally and internationally recognised for their expertise.
We're proud that 73% of colleagues would recommend Sheffield Children's as a place to work, placing us among the top five NHS trusts in England -- and the top-ranked trust in the North East and Yorkshire -- in the latest NHS Staff Survey.
Our nearly 4,000 colleagues bring our CARE values -- Compassion, Accountability, Respect, and Excellence -- to life every day, creating a kind, welcoming environment where patients and families feel safe and supported.
As we approach our 150th anniversary in 2026, we're excited to keep building our leadership in children's health, improve experiences for patients and staff, and focus on our communities and population health.
We also offer excellent benefits to support your wellbeing, with generous annual leave and pension schemes, health and wellbeing programmes, and exclusive discounts -- helping you thrive at work and beyond.
Job responsibilities
For more information on the main responsibilities for this post, please refer to the job description and person specification.
******We strongly encourage all applicants to review their right to work eligibility before submitting an application to help avoid any disappointment during the recruitment process.
This role has been assigned occupation code 2236 using the CASCOT coding tool. Under current Home Office guidance for further information on occupation codes, sponsorship eligibility and right-to-work requirements, please visit: Skilled Worker visa: Your Job GOV.UK. Skilled Worker visa: eligible occupations and codes - GOV.UK
Diversity Statement
At Sheffield Childrens, we are committed to creating an inclusive environment that celebrates diversity and supports everyones success. We prioritise Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in our recruitment practices, creating a welcoming space for people of all backgrounds, including ethnic minorities, individuals with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ members.
Recognising that inclusivity is an ongoing effort, we review our processes and welcome feedback to enhance our practices. A diverse team strengthens our organisation and the quality of care we deliver. For ideas on how we can improve, please contact our Recruitment Manager at [email protected]. Together, were building a workplace where everyone belongs.
Person Specification
Qualifications and Training
Essential
- Registered Nurse (child)
- Specialist Community Public Health Nurse (SCPHN)
- Educated to Master's level in relevant subject or able to demonstrate equivalent advanced clinical knowledge and experience
- Evidence of ongoing professional development and commitment to maintaining up to date clinical and safeguarding experience
Desirable
- Experience across both acute and community safeguarding settings
Experience
Essential
- Post-registration experience in a specialist safeguarding role, including management of complex child protection cases and exercising advanced clinical judgement.
- Experience of multi-agency and partnership working, with the ability to influence decision-making, provide professional challenge and build effective partnerships across organisations.
- Experience of leading teams, supporting colleague performance and contributing to service development and improvement
- Experience of delivering safeguarding supervision and supporting reflective practice
- Experience of developing, implementing and reviewing safeguarding policies, protocols or practice standards.
Knowledge and Skills
Essential
- Expert knowledge of up to date safeguarding legislation, statutory guidance and child protection processes
- Excellent communication, analytical and report-writing skills, with experience of presenting complex information to a range of audiences.
- Proven ability to produce high-quality management reports, including the interpretation of safeguarding data, performance metrics and trends for boards and senior leaders
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).
Employer details
Employer name
Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust
Address
Howden House
1 Union Street
Sheffield
S1 2SH
United Kingdom
