Job Description

Job title: 

NWG Exploitation Response Team – Faith Lead 

Salary: 

£40,000 p/a FTE 

Location: 

A flexible approach between working from home and at our Derby based office. 

Hours: 

37 hours per week FTE. This role is full time and can be a job share, and may suit individuals who would like to explore secondment opportunities. 

Accountable to: 

Chief Operating Officer 

Key liaisons: 

The Lead will be required to work closely to develop interfaith dialogue around issues of exploitation and abuse with faith leaders from the major world religions represented in the UK. In addition, liaison with health services, the private sector, and voluntary and statutory organizations who have lead responsibility for tackling child exploitation, and or for providing a range of services to children who have been or are at risk of significant harm from exploitation or at risk of exploitation.

Job purpose: 

Specifically, to provide support to faith-based leaders and communities to improve their response to child exploitation in all its forms including child sexual exploitation, criminal exploitation, and trafficking through modern slavery. 

Scope of work: 

The post holder will be required to reach out to faith-based communities and leaders to ensure support and guidance is appropriate, inclusive and accessible. The role will involve developing and delivering practical tools, information and support to those undertaking formal safeguarding roles with faith-based settings as well as offering help to the congregation and community members to understand the part they have can play in keeping children safe. 

 The role entails: 

Leading on faith based projects for the NWG 

Guide faith-based institutions/settings to achieve a safeguarding culture that is trauma informed. 

Develop learning from the past and from lived experience of victims and survivors. 

Create a benchmarking Self-Assessment Toolkit for faith-based settings. 

Reviews of safeguarding practices and assistance to develop action plans.

The creation and delivery of Virtual National Inter-Faith Safeguarding Forum–bringing together designated safeguarding leads (DSL’S) from all types of faith-based communities to have an inter-faith dialogue about sexual abuse and exploitation, to share emerging best practice, raise knowledge levels and capacity to safeguard effectively. 

Establishing and facilitating a network local inter-faith peer support groups for DSL’s in faith-based settings 

The Development of a Augmented reality tool kit for faith-based congregationsbased on our successful safe to play sports augmented reality card. https://youtu.be/QGiMhGALbog 

Webinars and CPD training targeted at faith leaders. 

Online portal passporting those with safeguarding concerns to information and practical support. 

A development of understanding of exploitation issues, in the context of faith communities and how they can access service delivery and special projects. 

To promote recommendations from research, reviews and reports to be embedded in local policies and procedures. 

To support leaders to include an understanding of diversity and inclusion to improve and monitor strategies, develop services, and create action plans to tackle exploitation. 

To support practitioners to improve their management of CSE/CE cases, offer opportunities to collaborate with other practitioners working in the field, share improved practice, and innovative ways of working. 

To record all interactions accurately and execute any follow up tasks, ensuring a high level of data completion and precision, in strict compliance with NWG’s policy and practice on information security. 

To identify improved practice and resources for dissemination across the network. 

Encourage the voice of young people to be accessible to decision makers. 

Work collaboratively with team colleagues, volunteers and management to plan and execute their own efficient network. 

To provide live guidance to frontline practitioners seeking support. 

Know the limits of own competence and knowledge and refer appropriately to colleagues when the situation calls for it. 

Responding to cases 

Participate in the Team’s collective responsibility to respond to practitioners seeking support. 

Ensure that cases reported are handled in line with NWG policy and processes. 

Draw on specialist knowledge and experience to ensure that cases are supported and referred to the highest possible standard. 

Follow up cases to identify how professionals and organisations involved can benefit from further support from NWG Network. 

Identify and make urgent referrals to colleagues of cases reporting current symptoms. 

Organise own work effectively to maximize volume of calls and successful outcomes. 

Managing information 

Ensure that all data recording, storage and transmission is in line with NWG policy and practice on information security. 

Maintain timely and appropriate data collection. 

Produce reports, information and other documentation as and when required within deadlines, prioritising workload according to need and urgency. 

Highlight trends, identify areas for improvement, good practice and gaps in provision of services 

Communication  

Provide information to individuals and organisations around the benefits of the NWG Network as a single point of contact for guidance and support to improve scrutiny, strategies, action plans and case management 

Liaise with other professionals and national governmental bodies where necessary to seek updated information on current issues. 

Use well-developed communication and interpersonal skills to explain the service available and the benefits of care management to achieve a high level of response to the National Action Plan and encourage engagement to tackling the issue of CSE/CE. 

Maintain an appropriate level of contact with team colleagues and other service providers and share information in an appropriate and timely manner, always maintaining appropriate levels of confidentiality. 

Professional effectiveness 

Work in collaboration with other NWG colleagues to ensure optimal membership to the NWG Network and initiate the relationship between the service and the member/ organisation. 

Support teamwork and display professionalism during daily job responsibilities. Participate actively in team meetings. 

Maintain and comply with NWG policies and procedures. 

Maintain a high level of professionalism in manner and communication. 

Maintenance and development of current knowledge of the NWG Network, current knowledge of the national position, interpersonal skills, and IT skills. 

Undertake audit and supervision as stipulated; participate in performance management and self-assessment. 

General 

The post holder may be required to work at any of the membership’s offices in line with service needs and may be required to undertake overnight trips. 

To undertake any other tasks/duties as requested/required by the organisation. 

The post holder must always carry out his/her responsibilities with due regard to the policies and procedures. 

All staff have a responsibility to participate in the NWG Network development and to contribute to their own development, and the development of any staff they appraise or are responsible for. 

The above Job Description is not intended to be exhaustive, and the duties and responsibilities may therefore vary over time according to the changing needs of the service.

Key competencies 

Essential 

• Experience of working with faith-based communities & leaders in a professional capacity related to safeguarding. 

• Experience of working to deliver service improvement within the field of Child Abuse through Sexual and Criminal Exploitation and/or Modern Slavery Cases.

• Experience of working in line with policy and procedure related to reporting, recording and responding to safeguarding issues. 

• Knowledge of links to missing and Modern Slavery. 

• Experience of working with and advocating on behalf of faith-based groups. 

• Experiences of changing service provision and strategy to meet the needs of faith-based communities. 

• Understanding of priorities for improving Child Exploitation and Modern Slavery across statutory, voluntary and private sector activities in the UK 

• Ability to listen to stakeholders and develop understanding of priorities for further action 

• Ability to escalate concerns with authorities to highlight risks concerning potential/actual victims. 

• A competent user of IT, including Microsoft Word and Excel 

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

• Willingness to travel within the UK. 

Desirable 

• Experience of working with and supporting organisations, and in multi-agency settings dealing with the issues of child exploitation and modern slavery 

• Knowledge of world religion and interfaith dialogue. 

• Working knowledge of key legislation pertinent to child protection, and equal opportunities including disability discrimination, ethnic discrimination and SEND law. 

• Innovative approaches to tackling the issues. 

• Ability to create tools to support practitioners. 

Confidentiality 

In the course of your employment you will have access to confidential information. You are required to exercise due consideration in the way you use such information and should not act in any way, which might be prejudicial to the NWG interests. Information, which may be included in the category which requires extra consideration covers both access and to the general business of the NWG and information regarding individuals.