Grade 6 Specialist Safeguarding Role - Clinical

The Disability and Health Support Directorate (DHSD) brings together all policy and analysis of DWP’s main disability benefits: Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Industrial Injuries Disability Benefit (IIDB). The Directorate also has responsibility for major reform of the way we assess eligibility for incapacity benefits and the conditions set for those with health conditions across working-age means-tested and contributory benefits.

You will be expected to be an active member of your Division and Directorate’s extended leadership team, ensuring that the Directorate remains an excellent and inclusive place to work.

The role will be the most senior safeguarding expert within the department, working closely with the providers of health assessments, the customer experience and clinical teams. You will set and oversee the safeguarding training for over 5500 health care professionals and ensure policies and processes are in line with best practice. You will give high level and accurate advice to the Chief Medical Advisor to provide assurance that safeguarding across the department is in line with relevant legislation requirements and clinical best practice.

Responsibilities will include:

• Being the most senior clinical expert in the department on clinical safeguarding holding accountability for the clinical safeguarding policy and its execution.
• Overseeing the clinical safeguarding reviews for 5500 health care assessors running 2 million health care assessments per year.
• Being the lead clinical expert on the departmental review of safeguarding, providing final clinical decision making and advice to ministers alongside the Chief Medical Advisor.
• Advising the Clinical Governance Team and HR teams on safeguarding processes and policies for clinical staff.
• Running the new safeguarding process due to be implemented in 2026 in collaboration with the customer service directorate and act as the final clinical sign off.
• Being able to quickly identify when things are going wrong and put measurable steps in place to put them right.
• Drafting and delivering (including in-person) high quality advice for the Chief Medical Advisor and senior officials on DWP wide safeguarding and how it's working from a clinical perspective.
• Working directly with departmental senior clinical safeguarding leads and those within the providers of disability/functional assessments to deliver high standard, accurate clinical and health related advice that reflects current practice.
• Leading ad-hoc strategic work/projects in this area in response to areas in need of improvement.