We are seeking an experienced and compassionate safeguarding leader to join Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust as Head of Safeguarding Adults. This role provides strategic, clinical, professional and operational leadership for adult safeguarding across acute and community services.
The post holder will act as the Trust’s lead expert, ensuring statutory duties are met, providing assurance to the Trust Board, and supporting services to deliver safe, effective and responsive safeguarding practice. They will lead the development of robust governance, systems, processes and training, while promoting visible, inclusive and collaborative leadership.
The role also provides professional leadership to the Acute Liaison Learning Disabilities nurses and the Dementia and Delirium Clinical Nurse Specialists. Working with internal teams, local authorities, commissioners, health and social care partners and wider stakeholders, the post holder will strengthen partnership working and ensure safeguarding activity reflects local and national requirements.
They will provide expert advice on complex and sensitive issues, including the Mental Capacity Act and Liberty Protection Safeguards, and support best practice sharing across the organisation. This is an excellent opportunity for a credible safeguarding leader to influence practice, build effective relationships across organisational boundaries and contribute to sustained improvements in the care and protection of vulnerable adults.
The post holder will lead the Trust’s adult safeguarding function, ensuring statutory requirements are met and providing assurance to the Trust Board.
As the Trust’s safeguarding adults lead expert, they will offer specialist advice, guidance and visible leadership across all services, acting as a role model for the care and protection of vulnerable adults.
They will support Clinical Groups to meet required safeguarding standards, address areas of risk, implement corrective actions and deliver high-quality safeguarding adults training.
The role provides strategic, operational, professional and clinical leadership across acute and community services, including professional leadership for the Acute Liaison Learning Disabilities nurses and the Dementia and Delirium Clinical Nurse Specialist team.
The post holder will ensure effective governance, systems and processes are in place so safeguarding activity is coordinated, responsive and aligned with local and national requirements.
They will work collaboratively with Clinical Group leadership teams, local authorities, commissioners, health and social care providers and external partners to strengthen partnership working and promote consistent safeguarding practice.
The successful candidate will be an experienced communicator, able to manage complex and sensitive information, build effective relationships across organisational boundaries and report at senior and strategic levels on safeguarding adults activity.
Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK’s busiest and most successful foundation trusts, providing outstanding hospital and community services across Lambeth, Southwark and beyond.
Our services include internationally recognised specialist care in areas such as heart and lung, cancer and renal services, alongside a full range of local hospital and community care.
The Trust brings together five of the UK’s best-known hospitals — Guy’s, St Thomas’, Evelina London Children’s Hospital, Royal Brompton and Harefield — with a strong history of clinical excellence, research, teaching and innovation.
As part of King’s Health Partners, one of England’s academic health sciences centres, we work with partners to advance care, education and research for the benefit of patients and communities. With around 22,700 staff, we are one of the largest NHS Trusts and local employers.
We are committed to recruiting and retaining skilled, dedicated staff who share our values and help us deliver safe, high-quality, patient-focused services.
Our values are Caring , Ambitious and Inclusive : we put patients first, strive for excellence and innovation, respect each other, work collaboratively and aim to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve.
Leadership & Performance Management
- Provide strategic leadership and governance for the Safeguarding Adults portfolio, ensuring statutory duties are met and assurance is provided through local and national reporting requirements.
- Lead implementation, delivery and oversight of safeguarding adults services across acute and community settings, championing high-quality, safe and effective practice.
- Interpret national policy, best practice guidance and emerging developments, working with partner agencies to ensure safeguarding services remain responsive, evidence-based and aligned to clinical governance requirements.
- Provide professional and clinical leadership to the Safeguarding Adults Team, Acute Liaison Learning Disabilities nurses and Dementia and Delirium Clinical Nurse Specialist team, ensuring clear communication of Trust values, priorities and expectations.
- Represent the Trust at statutory, strategic and multi-agency forums, including Local Safeguarding Adults Boards, and support effective partnership working.
- Manage complex and competing priorities, model effective interdisciplinary working, contribute to incident review and root cause analysis, and promote a culture where staff feel confident to raise concerns.
- Lead horizon scanning and adoption of local, national and international best practice, and formally deputise for the Director of Nursing for Vulnerable Adults when required.
Professional and Clinical Responsibilities
- Line manage safeguarding adults, acute liaison learning disabilities and dementia and delirium teams, supporting performance, supervision, professional development and workforce planning.
- Provide expert safeguarding advice, consultancy, risk assessment and clinical leadership to
clinicians and frontline staff across Trust services, including complex decision-making for vulnerable adults with safeguarding needs.
- Improve professional standards in the identification, escalation and management of safeguarding concerns, ensuring staff are supported with MCA 2005, Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and Liberty Protection Safeguards requirements.
- Ensure coordinated operational cover, clear standard operating procedures, effective supervision and accessible senior safeguarding advice across the organisation.
- Maintain visible leadership and open communication with staff, patients and the public, supporting staff safety and confidence when managing complex or challenging situations.
- Ensure safeguarding activity is accurately recorded on EPIC and that information and data are available for assurance committees, Safeguarding Adults Boards and inspections.
- Act as a main contact for external agencies, coordinate Trust responses to reviews and reports including DHRs, SARs, Coroner reviews, Serious Case Reviews and Section 42 enquiries, and represent the Trust in complex strategy meetings.
- Work with senior colleagues to assess allegations involving staff and vulnerable adults, disseminate learning from reviews, ensure recommendations are implemented and prepare safeguarding performance briefings for the Chief Nurse.
Patient Safety, Risk, Audit & Governance
- Promote continuous quality improvement in safeguarding adults and ensure staff can challenge or report practice, resource or system issues that may compromise safeguarding standards.
- Identify and escalate practice or system risks, take immediate action where safeguarding practice is compromised and work with partners to reduce or mitigate risk.
- Lead an effective safeguarding adults audit programme, identifying outcomes, analysing data, drawing conclusions and developing realistic recommendations and timed action plans.
- Provide timely audit feedback to the Trust Safeguarding Adults Operational Group and Vulnerable Person Assurance Committee, supporting Clinical Groups to implement and evaluate improvements.
- Produce quarterly reports to the Vulnerable Person Assurance Committee and bi-annual reports to the Trust Risk and Assurance Committee and Trust Board, ensuring senior leaders are informed of key risks, performance and policy changes.
- Lead the review, update and implementation of Trust safeguarding policies, procedures and protocols in line with legislation, evidence-based practice, Pan London and national guidance.
- Contribute to inspections, case reviews, service improvement projects, national audits and risk management arrangements, ensuring safeguarding risks are clearly identified, documented and mitigated where possible.
- Act as deputy chair for the Trust Safeguarding Adults Operational Group.
Staff Management
- Lead, coach and manage the safeguarding adults, dementia and delirium, and acute liaison learning disabilities teams in line with Trust values and policies.
- Influence service design and delivery across the organisation, supporting high standards of practice, professional accountability and effective team performance.
- Monitor compliance with staff management policies and procedures, taking appropriate action where shortfalls are identified.
- Ensure all team members have annual appraisals, clear objectives, development plans and access to required supervision and support.
- Maintain compliance with statutory, mandatory and professional training requirements.
- Manage sickness absence and return-to-work processes in line with Trust policy, while supporting staff wellbeing, morale and professional resilience.
Education, Training & Research
- Ensure safeguarding adults team members maintain ongoing professional development, personal development plans and access to appropriate continuing education.
- Generate and share specialist knowledge across the team, using new evidence, learning from reviews and research to inform practice and service improvement.
- Lead a coordinated Trust-wide approach to safeguarding adults education and training, ensuring staff receive evidence-based training appropriate to their role and aligned with the Intercollegiate Document: Adult Safeguarding: Role and Competencies for Health Care Staff.
- Ensure training includes safeguarding responsibilities, MCA 2005, DoLS and LPS requirements, and is delivered at Levels 1, 2 and 3 as appropriate.
- Establish systems to evaluate, audit and quality assure safeguarding training content and delivery, maintaining high standards and compliance.
- Promote a culture in which staff feel empowered and accountable for safeguarding adults through education, communication and professional development.
- Maintain contemporary safeguarding knowledge through education, research, professional supervision and self-development, and contribute to multiprofessional education programmes through the College of Healthcare.
Financial Management
- Work with the Director of Nursing for Vulnerable Adults to manage financial resources within the safeguarding adults nursing budget, ensuring alignment with Trust values, strategies and objectives.
- Monitor the safeguarding adults financial position, implement corrective actions, maximise income opportunities and support delivery of efficiency savings.
- Contribute to financial balance within the Chief Nurse’s Office and support year-on-year cost improvement programmes.
- Empower the Safeguarding Adults Team to work efficiently and reduce costs in line with agreed cost improvement plans.
Strategy, Change Management and Service Improvement
- Identify opportunities and threats for safeguarding adults services arising from external developments, internal innovation and changing national or local requirements.
- Lead complex change management programmes relating to safeguarding adults operational services and processes across the Trust, ensuring successful implementation of initiatives with Trust-wide impact.
- Advise the Chief Nurse and senior colleagues on national professional and service developments, including implications for safeguarding adults and the wider Trust.
- Support service modernisation, pathway improvement and evidence-based change that strengthens safeguarding practice and improves outcomes for vulnerable adults.
King’s Health Partners (KHP)
- Act as a member of the Clinical Academic Group executive leadership team, ensuring the nursing contribution to safeguarding adults is clearly articulated within strategic work.
- Identify safeguarding adults priorities with KHP partners and collaborate with safeguarding leads across the partnership.
- Use opportunities across KHP to raise the profile of safeguarding adults, promote shared learning and support consistent, high-quality practice.
