Bury Safeguarding Partnership Independent Scrutineer

Post Title: Bury Safeguarding Children Partnership Independent Scrutineer

Bury Safeguarding Children Partnership Board (BSCP) is looking for an experienced independent safeguarding scrutineer, to ensure our partnership provide assurance that they are delivering the strategic vision and board’s priorities. The role is critical to analyse the effectiveness of the multi-agency arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children and young people across Bury.

Our strategic partnership leaders want to learn about the lived experiences of children, young people and their families, ensuring that they are at the heart of everything we do. We want to ensure our partnership is meeting families’ needs at the earliest stage, that we are working together to safeguard children and young people, and supporting children to remain in loving home with their families wherever possible.

Building on Bury’s SCP governance arrangements, the scrutineer will undertake robust, solution focused and restorative challenge, to improve the quality of partnership practice, so we can ensure that we are all supporting Bury’s children and families to experience great future outcomes.

As a ‘critical friend’, you will advocate reflection and promote continuous improvement, and scrutinise if our partnership is embedding a learning culture, enabling our frontline staff and volunteers to implement learning from multi agency quality audits, Local Child Safeguarding Case Reviews (CSPRs), as well as national statutory guidance developments and National CSPR Panel learning.

The scrutineer will act as a public representative of BSCP, reiterating the importance of safeguarding being everybody’s business, challenging discrimination and promoting diversity. They will ensure voices and experiences of individuals at risk of harm, their families and carers are listened to and acted upon by the partnership leadership governance and their frontline practitioners.

The scrutineer will analyse the impact of the board’s quality assurance work, contributing their scrutiny insight of the Partnership’s efficacy, with evidence-based findings and recommendations to inform the BSCP Annual Report.

The role of independent scrutineer requires a resilient individual who is committed to drive forward this fundamental agenda, bringing inspirational and innovative leadership qualities. The role requires significant experience of working at a strategic partnership board level, which evidences the credibility to hold a range of strategic leadership stakeholders to account.

You will be accountable to the 3 strategic leader partners from; Bury Council, NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board and Greater Manchester Police and will have the support of Bury’s Joint Partnership Business Unit to undertake this role.

We welcome applications from individuals with significant leadership experience from a range of partnership disciplines, who can demonstrate our shared values and offer our Bury partnership high challenge and support. This role would suit an individual with senior management experience within a public service, social care or health setting.

To maintain the integrity of this appointment, applicants must not have any current affiliation with any of the agencies represented on the partnership and must be able to demonstrate that they can undertake this role independently.

Hours: Up to 20 days per year.

Salary: £500 per day (plus reasonable expenses).  This role is within IR35.

The specific commitment required will be agreed upon during the appointment process. Meetings will be held in person and online.

The role will require a DBS Check at an Enhanced Level.

You will have to travel to Bury for face-to-face meetings.

The arrangement will be for an initial period of 2 years with an annually renewable contract subject to three months' notice by either side.

Application: Candidates must submit their CV with a supporting statement stating their suitability against the person's specification, how they satisfy the requirements of the role and why they are interested in the role.

For further information please see the role description.

Closing date is 1^st May 2024.