Senior Fieldwork Manager – Designated Safeguarding Officer

Are you passionate about safeguarding children and driving high-quality practice?

We are seeking an experienced and dynamic Senior Fieldwork Manager to undertake the role of Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO) within Children's Social Care. This is a unique opportunity for a highly skilled social work leader to provide strategic and operational leadership for safeguarding practice across services, ensuring that children and young people receive timely, effective and protective interventions.

The Designated Safeguarding Officer is a senior leadership role with responsibility for providing expert safeguarding advice, oversight and challenge across Children's Services. The postholder will be a visible safeguarding leader, supporting practitioners and managers, championing high standards of practice, and ensuring that safeguarding arrangements are robust, effective and compliant with statutory requirements.

The Designated Safeguarding Officer acts as the organisation's lead professional for safeguarding matters. They provide advice, guidance and support to staff, oversee the management of safeguarding concerns, ensure effective partnership working, promote learning and development, and provide assurance to senior leaders that safeguarding responsibilities are being met. The role involves participating in strategy discussions, quality assurance activity, safeguarding reviews and multi-agency forums whilst supporting staff to respond effectively to risks affecting children and young people.

About the Role

As Senior Fieldwork Manager and Designated Safeguarding Officer, you will:

• Provide professional leadership and oversight of safeguarding practice across Children's Social Care.
• Act as the principal source of safeguarding advice and guidance for staff and managers.
• Support the identification, escalation and management of safeguarding risks.
• Promote high-quality safeguarding practice through audit, quality assurance and learning activity.
• Lead on safeguarding training, practice development and organisational learning.
• Develop strong partnership arrangements with health, education, police and safeguarding partners.
• Participate in strategic safeguarding forums and represent Children's Social Care at multi-agency meetings.
• Provide advice regarding allegations, complex safeguarding concerns and professional decision-making.
• Ensure safeguarding policies, procedures and practice standards remain effective and compliant with legislation.
• Support senior leaders to maintain strong safeguarding governance and assurance

Further information from Becky.Towle@sheffield.gov.uk/Sue.Eggleshaw@sheffield.gov.uk

We are investing in our workforce and are promoting opportunities to our under-represented groups.  We value equality, diversity and inclusion and are focused on increasing the diversity of our workforce, particularly the number of Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic, Disabled and LGBTQ+ people, so that our teams reflect the communities in the city we serve. We are also supporting staff with unpaid caring responsibilities to work flexibly.

It is a great time to join us and we welcome your application.

Under the Guaranteed Interview scheme, applicants who are disabled, care leavers, or armed forces veterans will be guaranteed an interview if they meet the essential criteria and indicate their eligibility on the application form.  Sometimes, if lots of people apply, we might not be able to interview everyone who qualifies for the Guarantee. In these cases, we’ll interview the candidates who best meet the essential criteria for the job.

Full-time employees work 37 hours for 52 weeks of the year and we offer a generous holiday entitlement. We are open to discussions about a wide range of flexible working opportunities which benefit you and the Council, including reduced hour contracts, working part time or as a job share.

If you are appointed to this role, your starting salary will be at the bottom of the grade. If you provide payslip evidence that your basic pay is greater than the bottom of the grade, we will consider starting you at the point of minimum advantage within the grade. 

Equality of pay is extremely important to us. All roles at Sheffield City Council are going through an evaluation process which may result in changes to some pay arrangements from 2026. Find out more on our Sheff news page. 

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all individuals, ensuring a safe and supportive environment for everyone and where appropriate to the role the successful applicant will be required to undertake relevant safeguarding checks.