Principal Officer Safeguarding - CASS​/MASH

Job Title:

Principal Officer Education Safeguarding - CASS/MASH 12 Month FTC Grade 6 - £54,495- £64,811 Consultation grade - subject to formal evaluation under the Pay Equity Review Working 36.5 hours per week

Are you an experienced safeguarding leader ready to step into a high‑impact role at the heart of Birmingham’s front‑door safeguarding system? We are offering an exciting 12‑month Fixed Term Contract for a committed professional to join our Education Safeguarding Service as a Principal Officer Safeguarding (CASS/MASH).

This is a unique opportunity to influence safeguarding practice across the city, lead critical operational work streams, and shape how education partners contribute to keeping children safe.

As Principal Officer Safeguarding, you will lead the front‑door operations workstream, covering CASS, MASH and EMPOWER U. You will ensure that Birmingham City Council’s statutory duties in relation to Education Safeguarding are delivered effectively, consistently and with professional rigour.

You will act as a key safeguarding partner, representing Education Safeguarding at strategic leadership meetings, contributing to multi‑agency decision‑making, and ensuring that information sharing between partners is robust, timely and effective.

This role is central to improving safeguarding outcomes for children and young people across Birmingham.

• Leading Education Safeguarding’s operational response within CASS/MASH and EMPOWER U
• Ensuring strong, compliant and effective information‑sharing systems across safeguarding partners
• Developing policy, guidance and procedures to strengthen safeguarding practice in schools and settings
• Reviewing and interrogating safeguarding data, providing high‑quality reports to senior leaders
• Leading thematic audits and producing reports for multi‑agency partners
• Contributing to the annual Section 175 audit tool
• Attending SUDIC/JAR meetings and ensuring follow‑up actions are completed
• Representing Education Safeguarding at strategic meetings, including the Child Death Overview Panel
• Coordinating Education Safeguarding’s response to critical or high‑profile incidents
• Overseeing escalated complaints or concerns raised by senior partners
• Providing leadership, supervision and support to Senior Education Safeguarding Officers and the CASS Education Safeguarding Coordinator

We are looking for a safeguarding professional with:

• Substantial leadership and management experience in education or social care
• Strong knowledge of safeguarding legislation, policy and practice
• Experience supervising staff and achieving measurable service outcomes
• Excellent communication, influencing and interpersonal skills
• Confidence working in fast‑paced, high‑risk environments
• Up‑to‑date DSL and single/multi‑agency child protection training

You will be calm under pressure, able to manage complex and sensitive situations, and confident representing Education Safeguarding at a senior level.

Please ensure you have approval from your line manager before applying for this secondment.

If you are passionate about safeguarding, committed to improving outcomes for children, and ready to take on a challenging and rewarding leadership role, we would love to hear from you.

We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the communities we serve. Our data tells us that for this level of role, ethnic minorities are underrepresented and therefore we will use positive action to support us to achieve diverse shortlists. This may mean that recruitment times are a little longer, but we think this is worth it to achieve our aim.

Birmingham City Council is an accredited Disability Confident Leader employer, andwe are committed to employing, retaining and developing all of our people.

We want to ensure your recruitment journey with us is a positive and equitable one, so please let us know if there are any reasonable adjustments, additional support, accessibility needs, or if there is any way in which we can support you through your application.

For any informal enquires please contact the Resourcing Team

A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check will be undertaken.

Proof of Right to work in the UK will be required for all applicants in accordance with UK Home Office requirements, before any employment offer can be confirmed.

Birmingham City Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our citizens and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. You can view our Corporate Safeguarding Policy| Birmingham City Council here.

Job Description and Person Specification