The Designated Nurse for Children in Care (CiC) is a senior professional leadership role operating across the clustered Integrated Care Board (ICB) footprint, providing strategic leadership for the health contribution to children in care and wider safeguarding systems.
The post holder will work at system level to ensure that all organisations across the ICS meet their statutory responsibilities to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people, with a particular focus on children in care, care leavers, and vulnerable groups.
- Operate effectively in a flexible and demanding environment and proactively engage with NHS staff, consultants and contractors working on a variety of topics.
- Provide expert professional leadership on all aspects of safeguarding relating to Children in Care, care leavers, and vulnerable children.
- Undertaking work around CIC placements, associated costs and budget management in line with the ICB policies.
- Work with a variety of external consultancies working on other projects and programmes and within other NHS directorates as required.
- Provide and receive highly complex, sensitive and contentious information, presenting information to a wide range of stakeholders in a formal setting.
- Manage challenging and unpredictable situations, maintaining the focus on the child’s wellbeing.
- Commit to working and engaging constructively with internal and external stakeholders on a range of business sensitive issues.
The Shropshire Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care Board (ICB) and Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent NHS Integrated Care Board (ICB) is responsible for planning functions; managing the NHS budget and arranging the provision of health services in the geographical area.
Location: Home based/hybrid working.
New starters are expected to collect IT equipment, from offices in Stoke-on-Trent, and if working from home are required to have appropriate desk/chair/ relevant equipment in compliance with DSE regulations.
There will be an expectation to travel extensively across the geographic footprint of the Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent and Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Cluster Integrated Care Board and further afield.
Posts at Band 8c and above, will take part in the On-call rota, flexible over 7 days, supporting the System Control Centre, with full training provided.
Unconscious Bias/Invisible Disability Training and Equality Induction are mandatory.
Interviews may take place via MS Teams or in person.
The role has a significant strategic and operational remit, including leading the development, implementation and assurance of safeguarding and CiC health strategies, policies, and commissioning intentions across multiple localities. The post holder will provide expert advice to senior leaders, Boards, and multi-agency partnerships, influencing decision-making and driving system-wide improvement.
In addition to Children in Care responsibilities, the role contributes to the broader safeguarding agenda, including participation in statutory processes such as Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews, Rapid Reviews, Domestic Homicide Reviews, Prevent, and modern slavery arrangements, ensuring learning is embedded into practice and commissioning.
The post holder will play a key role in quality assurance, performance oversight, and governance, including presenting to senior committees and supporting compliance with Section 11 duties and relevant statutory frameworks.
Working across a large and complex geographical footprint, the role requires highly developed leadership, analytical, and influencing skills to manage competing priorities, deliver transformation, and improve outcomes and experiences for children and young people.
The post holder will champion the voice of the child, ensuring that lived experience, feedback, and engagement are embedded within service design, delivery, and evaluation, in line with the CQC Single Assessment Framework.
Further responsibilities:
- Nurture key relationships and maintain networks internally and externally, including national networks.
- Develop and retain close liaison with the Communications and Stakeholder team on public relations and marketing activities.
- Link with managers and members of other functions, to address inter-dependencies and ensure alignment.
- Apply a structured change management approach and methodology for the impact of any change.
- Maintain own professional nursing registration and ensure that own skills, education and training relevant to the post are maintained including ensuring that own training needs are identified through appraisal, supervision and audit.
The role includes responsibility for team leadership, workforce development, and resource management, contributing to the development of a high-performing safeguarding system across the ICS.
The job description and person specification are an outline of the tasks, responsibilities and outcomes required of the role. The job holder will carry out any other duties as may reasonably be required by their line manager.
The job description and person specification may be reviewed on an ongoing basis in accordance with the changing needs of the Department and the Organisation
Operational Responsibility
- The role supports the business in driving transformation as well as value for money.
- The role is designed to build a combination of subject matter expertise and technical skills to develop a strong service delivery.
Financial and Physical Resources Responsibility
- Budget holder for department/service and or project
Human Resources Responsibility
- Day to day management; teaching, devise training, development programmes as major job responsibility/ line manager for function/department.
- Manages team; develops project training programmes/ line manage
Information Management Responsibility
- Responsible for the operation of one or more information systems
- Manages, maintains, and develops directorate information system
Planning and Organisation Responsibility
- Plan and organise broad range of complex activities; formulates, adjusts plans, or strategies/formulate long-term strategic plans, involving uncertainty, may impact across the whole organisation
- Develops a range of plans/long term strategic plans for performance and service
- Improvement in new areas across organisations
Policy and Service Development Responsibility
- Responsible for policy implementation, development for directorate or equivalent
- Develops policies for implementation of specialist programme across the organisation/sector
Research and Development Responsibility
- Regularly undertake research and development activity
- Undertakes complex audits/surveys related to programme
Freedom to Act
- Works to general policies, has freedom to establish interpretation.
- Interprets national guidelines for organisation
Analytical and Judgemental Responsibility
- Complex facts or situations, requiring analysis, interpretation, comparison of a range of options/Highly complex facts or situations, requiring analysis, interpretation, and comparison of a range of options
- Makes decisions on a range of complex/highly complex issues where there may be more than one course of action; interprets national guidance; expert in their field
Communication Responsibility
- Provides and receives highly complex, sensitive, and contentious information;
- Agreement or co-operation required; Presents complex, sensitive, or contentious information to large groups · Persuades board, senior managers of the importance of the initiative/programme.
- Negotiate with and motivate on project delivery, including linking in with other initiatives, · Very sensitive information about performance and change.
- Makes formal presentations to large groups
