Safeguarding Children Specialist Nurse

University Hospitals Sussex; Brighton; On-site; GBP 47,000 - GBP 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent healthcare organization in Brighton is seeking a Safeguarding Children Specialist Nurse. This role involves providing expert advice and leadership on safeguarding concerns affecting children across Sussex. The successful candidate will lead safeguarding initiatives, analyze complex information, and work collaboratively with internal teams and external partners to ensure children's safety. A registered nurse with experience in safeguarding, and strong communication skills are essential for this role, which includes opportunities for training and professional development.

Benefits

Diversity and inclusion initiatives

Flexible working options

Extensive wellbeing programme

Qualifications

• Experience working with children and families in safeguarding.
• Ability to navigate complex safeguarding concerns.
• Demonstrates knowledge of safeguarding legislation and guidelines.

Responsibilities

• Provide expert safeguarding advice to clinical teams.
• Analyze complex safeguarding information and manage risks.
• Contribute to quality improvement initiatives in safeguarding.

Skills

Communication skills

Crisis management

Team collaboration

Clinical leadership

Data management

Education

Registered Nurse on the NMC register

Post graduate level study in child safeguarding or working towards

Tools

Electronic databases

Job description

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Employer University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site The Royal Alexandra Children's Hospital Town Brighton Salary £47,810 - £54,710 FTW Pro Rata Salary period Yearly Closing 23/02/2026 23:59 Interview date 02/03/2026

At UHSussex we’re proud to be at the heart of the NHS. As one of the UK’s largest acute trusts, we’re a leading example of the excellence, the ambition and the values that have embodied the NHS for over 70 years.

Our hard-working, talented and dedicated people work together towards a common goal – to deliver Excellent Care Everywhere for our patients, our people and our communities. Whatever your role here at UHSussex you will play a part in driving us forwards and in improving the lives of patients across Sussex.

At UHSussex, diversity is our strength, and we want you to feel included to help us deliver Excellent Care Everywhere. 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 a buddy to help new members settle in. We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Employer (Level 3) and a Veteran Aware Trust.

We value compassion, inclusion and respect as our core values . We treat our patients and staff with the same compassion and empathy we expect for ourselves. We’re here for them when they need us, and we go above and beyond to meet their needs. This can be seen in our wellbeing programme for staff which is extensive and designed to support you when you need it, including where possible, flexible working to support work life balance - because we know that to look after others we must first look after ourselves.

As a university trust and a leader in healthcare research , we value learning, teaching and training so that we can be the best that we can be. From the moment you start with us and throughout your career we will help you to grow and develop. We hope that in choosing UHSussex you are choosing a long and happy career where you will be able to see the difference you make and feel valued for all that you do.

As part of our commitment to access for all, please see the different ways you can access the application form: https://apps.trac.jobs/accessibility?_ts=1

We look forward to receiving your application and the start of your journey with UHSussex.

Job overview

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.

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 a buddy to help new members settle in. We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Employer (Level 3) and a Veteran Aware Trust.

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.

Detailed job description and main 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 Children’s 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 Trust’s 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

• 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
• 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

• Evidence of having undertaken own development to improve understanding of equalities issues
• Evidence of having championed diversity in previous roles (as appropriate to role)

Important information for applicants:

A Note on AI Use in Applications We value the individuality and authenticity that each candidate brings to the application process. While AI tools are increasingly accessible, we strongly discourage their use in completing your application. Your responses should reflect your own voice, experiences, and motivations—elements that are essential to a fair and accurate evaluation. Applications that rely heavily on AI-generated content may misrepresent your abilities and could result in your application being rejected. We encourage you to take the time to present your genuine self, as this helps us better understand your potential and ensures a transparent selection process.

Closing Adverts Early: In the event of exceptional interest, we may close adverts earlier than specified.

Some of our adverts are capped for a limited number of applications; therefore, the advert will close once the cap has been reached. We therefore encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible if you are interested in the position to prevent you from missing out on applying for the opportunity.

Flexible Working: If you would like to explore potential options regarding flexible working please speak with the appropriate recruiting/line manager.

DBS Checks: As part of our commitment to a safe working environment, we undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service check on all new employees where the role is eligible for a criminal record check. We make offers in line with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1975.

Skilled Worker Visa: Applications for Skilled Worker sponsorship are welcome for the roles that meet the Visa and Immigrations eligibility criteria. For further information please visit the gov.uk website searching for Skilled Worker. It is your responsibility as the applicant to ensure that you meet this criteria.

UHSussex reserves the right to close the role early if we receive a high volume of applications

Further Information

For help with the application process for Nursing vacancies, please email [e-mail].

For help with the application process for Non-Nursing vacancies, please email [e-mail].

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Application numbers

This advert has been capped for a limited number of applications; therefore, it will close once the cap has been reached. We therefore encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible if you are interested in this post to prevent you from missing out on applying for this opportunity.