Job summary
The Safeguarding Children Specialist Nurse at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust (UHSx), based at the Royal Alexandra Children's Hospital, ensures statutory safeguarding duties are met across East Sussex, West Sussex, and Brighton & Hove. The postholder provides expert clinical advice, professional leadership, and operational support, acting as a key resource for staff managing complex safeguarding concerns.
The role involves leading on-site safeguarding activity, supporting the Named Nurse, and offering real-time guidance to clinical teams. Responsibilities include assessing sensitive information, contributing to multi-agency decision-making, and managing high-risk cases in line with legislation, statutory guidance, and Trust policy.
Education and workforce development are central to the role. The Specialist Nurse designs, delivers, and evaluates training, provides safeguarding supervision, supports ward-level champions, and embeds learning from audits into practice. They contribute to audits, quality improvement initiatives, and Trust-wide policy development.
Working collaboratively with internal teams and external partners, the postholder ensures a coordinated, child-centred approach to safeguarding, early identification of risk, and timely interventions. They champion safeguarding culture, advocate for children, and ensure their voice informs clinical and organisational decisions.
Main duties of the job
The Safeguarding Children Specialist Nurse provides expert safeguarding advice, clinical leadership, and professional support across University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust (UHSx), ensuring concerns for children and young people in East Sussex, West Sussex, and Brighton & Hove are safely managed. Working autonomously, they analyse complex safeguarding information, identify risks, and guide appropriate actions, supporting staff to make informed, evidence-based decisions aligned with statutory requirements.
The postholder contributes to national and local safeguarding standards, participates in statutory reviews, internal investigations, and audits, and produces high-quality reports and chronologies to inform decision-making. They design, deliver, and evaluate training, provide supervision, mentoring, and coaching, and support ward-level safeguarding champions, embedding learning from incidents and audits into practice.
They support service development, policy and procedure formulation, quality improvement, and monitoring of safeguarding activity, ensuring Trust-wide systems are robust and responsive. Collaboration is key: they work closely with internal teams--paediatrics, emergency departments, maternity, mental health liaison--and external partners, including social care, police, education, and local safeguarding partnerships, ensuring coordinated, child-centred responses.
About us
Working for our organisation
At UHSussex, diversity is our strength, and we want you to feel included to help us always deliver Excellent Care Everywhere, as shown in our Outstanding for Caring CQC rating. Your uniqueness and experiences will be part of our creative and innovative community where everyone is encouraged to succeed. We have a range of staff networks to help break down barriers, and can offer abuddy to help new members settle in. We're proud to be a Disability Confident Employer (Level 3) and a Veteran Aware Trust.
Candidate Pack
This role is eligible for visa sponsorship under the UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker route however sponsorship can only be provided where applicants meet the specific requirements set by UKVI, including the relevant skill and salary thresholds (£25000), and any role-specific criteria.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The Safeguarding Children Specialist Nurse is responsible for supporting the delivery of safe, effective and responsive safeguarding services across UHSx, based at the Royal Alexandra Childrens Hospital in Brighton. The postholder provides expert clinical advice, guidance and support to staff in relation to safeguarding concerns involving children and young people, ensuring that cases are assessed, escalated and managed in line with statutory requirements, national guidance and Trust policy. They will analyse highly complex and sensitive information, exercise a high level of professional autonomy and judgement, and contribute to decision making in multi-agency contexts. The role includes leading safeguarding activity on site, maintaining strong working relationships with paediatric teams, emergency departments, maternity, mental health liaison and other hospital services, as well as liaising closely with external partners including social care, police, community health teams, schools and local safeguarding partnerships.
The postholder will support the Named Nurse for Safeguarding Children by contributing to the Trusts safeguarding strategy, governance processes and quality assurance framework. They will participate in and contribute to safeguarding audits, statutory reviews, internal investigations and the development of action plans. They will prepare reports, chronologies and safeguarding analyses as required for internal and external processes. The role involves delivering safeguarding children training to a wide range of staff groups, providing safeguarding supervision, identifying learning needs and supporting the development of safeguarding champions across UHSx. The postholder will promote high standards of safeguarding practice, ensure compliance with local and national policies, and embed learning from incidents and reviews into everyday clinical practice.
In addition, the Specialist Nurse will support the operational management of safeguarding activity on the Brighton site, assist in maintaining accurate safeguarding data, and help monitor safeguarding incidents, follow-up actions and performance indicators. They will represent the Trust at relevant meetings, including internal safeguarding forums and external multi-agency discussions, and will work collaboratively with partners to ensure timely, coordinated responses to children at risk of harm. The postholder will maintain a visible presence within clinical areas, act as a role model for best practice in safeguarding and contribute to the continuous improvement of safeguarding services across UHSx.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The Safeguarding Children Specialist Nurse is responsible for supporting the delivery of safe, effective and responsive safeguarding services across UHSx, based at the Royal Alexandra Childrens Hospital in Brighton. The postholder provides expert clinical advice, guidance and support to staff in relation to safeguarding concerns involving children and young people, ensuring that cases are assessed, escalated and managed in line with statutory requirements, national guidance and Trust policy. They will analyse highly complex and sensitive information, exercise a high level of professional autonomy and judgement, and contribute to decision making in multi-agency contexts. The role includes leading safeguarding activity on site, maintaining strong working relationships with paediatric teams, emergency departments, maternity, mental health liaison and other hospital services, as well as liaising closely with external partners including social care, police, community health teams, schools and local safeguarding partnerships.
The postholder will support the Named Nurse for Safeguarding Children by contributing to the Trusts safeguarding strategy, governance processes and quality assurance framework. They will participate in and contribute to safeguarding audits, statutory reviews, internal investigations and the development of action plans. They will prepare reports, chronologies and safeguarding analyses as required for internal and external processes. The role involves delivering safeguarding children training to a wide range of staff groups, providing safeguarding supervision, identifying learning needs and supporting the development of safeguarding champions across UHSx. The postholder will promote high standards of safeguarding practice, ensure compliance with local and national policies, and embed learning from incidents and reviews into everyday clinical practice.
In addition, the Specialist Nurse will support the operational management of safeguarding activity on the Brighton site, assist in maintaining accurate safeguarding data, and help monitor safeguarding incidents, follow-up actions and performance indicators. They will represent the Trust at relevant meetings, including internal safeguarding forums and external multi-agency discussions, and will work collaboratively with partners to ensure timely, coordinated responses to children at risk of harm. The postholder will maintain a visible presence within clinical areas, act as a role model for best practice in safeguarding and contribute to the continuous improvement of safeguarding services across UHSx.
Person Specification
Both
Essential
- Registered Nurse on the NMC register
- Relevant degree level study Post graduate level study in child safeguarding or working towards Evidence of ongoing professional development. Experience of working with children and families and safeguarding children Leadership Experience
- Level 3 Safeguarding Training
- Knowledge of national and local safeguarding guidance and relevant legislation Demonstrates knowledge relevant to patterns of abuse and neglect. Have excellent computer literacy skills and experience of working with databases. Teaching and training and presentation skills Ability to prioritise, work flexibly and to tight deadlines. Able to work collaboratively across multi disciplines and agencies. Able to draw on specialist knowledge and contribute to multi agency meetings, to safeguard the child. Experience in managing uncertainty and risk. Have excellent communication, negotiation, and advisory skills, both written and verbal when interacting with a range of agencies and individuals. Have strong crisis management skills and the ability to deal with stressful and difficult situations. Be compassionate and empathetic. Show initiative and be proactive when managing caseloads and interacting with clients and partner agencies. Work flexibly as part of a team and as an individual. Have strong resilience both emotionally and practically. Ability to support and develop others
- Able to work autonomously and take responsibility for own actions
Desirable
- Children's nurse/health visitor or midwife
- Master's or working towards Teaching and assessment Qualification. Experience of working within an acute health care provider Experience in Safeguarding supervision. Child Death Review experience Improvement & Change management experience. Report writing and policy, guideline development.
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion
Essential
- Evidence of having undertaken own development to improve understanding of equalities issues
- Evidence of having championed diversity in previous roles (as appropriate to role)
Person Specification
Both
Essential
- Registered Nurse on the NMC register
- Relevant degree level study Post graduate level study in child safeguarding or working towards Evidence of ongoing professional development. Experience of working with children and families and safeguarding children Leadership Experience
- Level 3 Safeguarding Training
- Knowledge of national and local safeguarding guidance and relevant legislation Demonstrates knowledge relevant to patterns of abuse and neglect. Have excellent computer literacy skills and experience of working with databases. Teaching and training and presentation skills Ability to prioritise, work flexibly and to tight deadlines. Able to work collaboratively across multi disciplines and agencies. Able to draw on specialist knowledge and contribute to multi agency meetings, to safeguard the child. Experience in managing uncertainty and risk. Have excellent communication, negotiation, and advisory skills, both written and verbal when interacting with a range of agencies and individuals. Have strong crisis management skills and the ability to deal with stressful and difficult situations. Be compassionate and empathetic. Show initiative and be proactive when managing caseloads and interacting with clients and partner agencies. Work flexibly as part of a team and as an individual. Have strong resilience both emotionally and practically. Ability to support and develop others
- Able to work autonomously and take responsibility for own actions
Desirable
- Children's nurse/health visitor or midwife
- Master's or working towards Teaching and assessment Qualification. Experience of working within an acute health care provider Experience in Safeguarding supervision. Child Death Review experience Improvement & Change management experience. Report writing and policy, guideline development.
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion
Essential
- Evidence of having undertaken own development to improve understanding of equalities issues
- Evidence of having championed diversity in previous roles (as appropriate to role)
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
