Head of Safeguarding and Harm Free Care

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a senior nurse or allied health professional to join Chesterfield Royal Hospital as Head of Safeguarding and Harm Free Care (Band 8c).

This is a high-impact leadership role, leading our integrated approach to safeguarding, complex needs, tissue viability and falls prevention across the Trust. You will play a key role in driving improvement, reducing avoidable harm, and ensuring the highest standards of care for our most vulnerable patients.

We are looking for an inspiring and credible clinical leader with significant experience in safeguarding and harm free care, who can work at both strategic and operational levels, influence across the organisation and system, and lead multidisciplinary teams to deliver measurable improvements.

If you are passionate about quality, safety and improving patient outcomes, and thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative environment, we would love to hear from you.

Main duties of the job

As Head of Safeguarding and Harm Free Care, you will provide visible, expert and compassionate leadership, driving forward an integrated approach to:

• Safeguarding (adults, children and babies)
• Tissue viability and pressure ulcer prevention
• Falls prevention and reduction of harm
• Complex needs and vulnerable patient pathways

You will lead a multidisciplinary team and work closely with clinical, operational and system partners to strengthen a culture of prevention, early intervention and continuous improvement.

This role plays a key part in the Trust’s quality and safety agenda, supporting delivery of harm-free care metrics and ensuring robust governance, assurance and learning across services.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Job Description

please see the attached job description and person specification

Key Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership across safeguarding, tissue viability, falls prevention and harm-free care
• Lead and develop the integrated safeguarding and specialist teams, ensuring high-quality case support, supervision and expert advice
• Drive the harm-free care agenda, reducing avoidable harm through evidence-based practice and quality improvement
• Oversee Trust-wide approaches to: Pressure ulcer prevention and tissue viability Falls reduction and post-fall management Learning from incidents and embedding improvement
• Pressure ulcer prevention and tissue viability
• Falls reduction and post-fall management
• Learning from incidents and embedding improvement
• Ensure compliance with safeguarding legislation, national policy and best practice guidance
• Provide expert advice on complex safeguarding and clinical risk issues, ensuring timely and proportionate responses
• Work collaboratively with system partners, ICS colleagues and external agencies to strengthen safeguarding and harm prevention
• Contribute to Trust governance, board assurance and regulatory requirements, including CQC readiness
• Champion a culture of psychological safety, learning and continuous improvement

About You

We are looking for an inspiring, credible and resilient leader who brings both strategic vision and operational grip.

You will be a registered healthcare professional (NMC / HCPC) with significant senior experience and be able to demonstrate:

• Extensive leadership experience within safeguarding, tissue viability, falls prevention or patient safety
• Strong understanding of harm-free care metrics and quality improvement methodologies
• In-depth knowledge of safeguarding legislation, policy and best practice
• Proven ability to lead complex clinical services and multidisciplinary teams
• Experience of influencing and working at senior organisational and system level
• The confidence to challenge constructively, hold to account and drive improvement
• Highly developed communication and relationship-building skills
• Resilience and adaptability within a fast-paced, operational environment
• A genuine passion for improving outcomes for vulnerable patients and reducing avoidable harm

Why Join Us

This is an exciting opportunity to lead at scale in an organisation committed to quality, safety and continuous improvement.

You will:

• Shape the Trust’s harm-free care and safeguarding strategy
• Work alongside an experienced and supportive senior nursing and clinical leadership team
• Influence care delivery across the organisation and wider system
• Play a key role in reducing inequalities and improving outcomes for vulnerable groups
• Be supported to develop and grow in a forward-thinking Trust