MASH Health & Children in Care Service Lead

Job overview

Are you an experienced safeguarding professional with a passion for driving quality and managing risk?  Join East of England Community Health & Care  Services as our MASH Health & Children in Care Service Lead, where you’ll play a critical role in ensuring the safety of vulnerable children and adults through effective multi-agency collaboration.

This is a pivotal leadership role, requiring a strong understanding of safeguarding legislation, risk management, and partnership working.  You’ll oversee quality assurance, compliance, and continuous improvement within our Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub and our Children in Care service helping to shape best practices and improve outcomes for those at risk.

Why Join Us? •  Be part of a dedicated, forward-thinking team committed to safeguarding excellence •  Work in a dynamic, multi-agency environment with key partners, including social care, health, and police •  Enjoy a supportive workplace that values innovation, development, and staff well-being

If you’re a proactive leader with expertise in safeguarding and risk, we’d love to hear from you!

Apply today and make a real difference in Cambridgeshire & Peterborough.

Main duties of the job

The post holder is responsible and accountable for the delivery of the MASH health service and the Children in care team  including clinical responsibility for the safeguarding of service users who are open to MASH Health and the initial and review health assessments for children who become looked after. They will be responsible for the operational running and team management.

The post holder will ensure and develop quality assurance and improvement and the clinical governance of the services. The post holder influences service strategies and has input into decision-making at the senior management level. The post holder will provide operational leadership, and direction across the service to drive improvements and a culture of learning.

The post holder with have responsibility for the operational management of the Multi- Agency Safeguarding Hub health team and the children in care team providing clinical leadership and highly developed subject matter expertise to team, The Trust and as a senior leader in the safeguarding partnership. The post holder has strategic oversight across the safeguarding partnership to develop collaborative working practices.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The post holder is responsible and accountable for the delivery of the MASH health and children in care service including clinical responsibility for the safeguarding of service users who are open to MASH Health and the children in care team. The post holder will ensure and develop quality assurance and improvement and the clinical governance of the services. They will be responsible for the operational running and team management. The post holder influences service strategies and has input into decision-making at the senior management level. The post holder will provide operational leadership, and direction across the service to drive improvements and a culture of learning.

The post holder with have responsibility for the operational management of the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub health team and the children in care health team providing clinical leadership and highly developed subject matter expertise to team, The Trust and as a senior health leader in the safeguarding partnership. The post holder has strategic oversight across the safeguarding partnership to develop collaborative working practices.

The post holder will co-ordinate and lead the MASH health  team to share health information lawfully following requests for information in line with national legislation and local partnership policy. The post holder is responsible for ensuring the triage and prioritisation of work dependent on risk to children, using analytical and judgement skills. The post holder uses professional judgement whilst being mindful of any potential emotional impact on staff and pressures on capacity within very specific timeframes.

The post holder with support the children in care team manager to ensure service delivery is within statutory time frames from both an initial and review health assessment perspective as well as the care leaving processes from health perspectives.

The post holder will lead the team to work with multi-agency partners to secure a timely consensus about what needs to happen to safeguard and promote a child's welfare. The post holder will use high level expertise to professionally challenge and escalate professional differences at a senior leadership level where this is required using highly developed interpersonal and communication skills in a sensitive and contentious environment and in line with local and national policy.

The post holder will work autonomously making complex service delivery decisions with consideration for competing operational priorities within The Trust and those of multi-agency partners. The post holder is responsible for all current and ongoing future planning and organisation of the MASH Health and Children in Care Health  Service.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

The post holder will provide day to day operational management of the MASH health Service including all staff (MASH practitioners and administrative staff). The post holder is responsible for the creation and implementation of the MASH Health operational framework and maintenance of policy standard operating procedures.

The post holder will offer the line management support to the children in care Team managers to support smooth running of the teams.

To lead the development of and the monitoring of governance arrangements for the MASH health & CIC Services through expert clinical practice. This will include systems for ensuring quality assurance, auditing, clinical risk management, clinical audit, evidence-based practice and professional development and training.

The post holder will be responsible for the review and response to all DATIX incidents and any complaints that relate to the MASH health & CIC Services and ensure that there is opportunity to identify and implement learning.

To ensure that supervision, training and development opportunities are in place to support the MASH health practitioners and administrators in carrying out the functions of their role, as per local Trust policy.

To work with partner agencies at service lead level to develop Cambridgeshire and Peterborough MASH services to deliver a high-quality safeguarding service and explore ways to develop safe effective services that promote the safety and wellbeing of children.

The post holder identifies clinical risks and escalates appropriately, taking action to mitigate harm. The post holder monitors the quality of MASH health practice & CIC practice through audit, benchmarking and research activity, and ensure concerns are escalated and solutions to mitigate risk are identified.

Responsible for succession planning and for identifying opportunities for future planning and service development.

The post holder will be responsible for all preparation required for CQC inspections.

Communication

The post holder is required to represent the MASH health & CIC services as service lead across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough at senior leadership level both internally and externally. They will need advanced communication and negotiating skills due to the highly complex nature of the work.

The post holder leads on organisational challenges requiring extensive and assertive communication skills across a wide range of staffing levels in a contentious and complex safeguarding environment. The post holder maintains effective professional relationships.

The post holder has responsibility to ensure communication systems are in place for the health practitioners and administrators within the MASH health & CIC services ensuring that all staff are clear about their roles/responsibilities and understand the service and organisation objectives, vision and values.

To ensure that there are robust processes and systems in place to disseminate and process information regarding vulnerable children, and families open to MASH health to relevant CCS departments and services.

Responsibility to complete MASH Health & CIC service reports as directed by CCS Senior Leadership.

Responsible for completion of quarterly report and present MASH performance data and updates at CCS Cambridgeshire Operational Safeguarding Group.

To represent the MASH health Service at MASH operational board and strategic meetings as directed. The post holder will use networking skills and ability to form positive alliances.

To represent the performance of the children in care teams at internal and external boards including celebrating successes and leading any improvement areas identified.

The post holder will be responsible for making decisions which will involve the handling and delivery of conflicting views, sensitive information and drawing conclusions that may be contentious.

The post holder will provide and receive complex, sensitive and contentious information, where there are significant barriers to acceptance which need to be overcome using developed interpersonal and communication skills such as would be required when communicating in a hostile, antagonistic or highly emotive atmosphere.

Important relationships job holder must maintain:

EEC HCP senior leadership, Service Leads, Named Nurses Clinical Leads and Team managers. Named Nurses and Lead safeguarding practitioners across wider health organisations ie Acute hospitals, primary care and other community providers. Cambridgeshire County Council- Heads of Service MASH and Assessment teams, team managers. Peterborough County Council - Heads of Service MASH and Assessment teams, team managers. Cambridgeshire Constabulary- MASH Detective Chief inspector, Detective Inspector. Sergeants. ICB Designates and Deputy designates.

Budgetary Responsibility   Budget holding responsibility. Authorised signatory. Orders equipment.

People Management

The post holder will provide day to day operational management of the MASH health & CIC Services including all staff. The post holder is responsible for all the following: appraisals; sickness absence; disciplinary and grievance matters; recruitment and selection decisions; personal and career development; departmental workload and allocation.

Develop and empower all members of the team to perform to high standards and to innovate.

Responsibility for the creation, implementation and review of the MASH health operational framework so that policies remain up to date and to ensure service aims and staff roles and responsibilities are clear.

Support CIC team managers to ensure clinical guidance is up to date and aligned to stator guidance.

Maintaining own professional development and requirement to take part in appraisal and KSF process.