ST HELENA GOVERNMENT

TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE POST OF

Director, Safeguarding Directorate

1.Background

1.1 The island of St Helena is an internally self-governing Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom located in the South Atlantic approximately 4,000 miles from the UK. The Government comprises a Governor (who is appointed by the Crown) an Executive Council, which has the general control and direction of Government, and a Legislative Council. The Governor retains responsibility for internal security, external affairs, defence, the public service, finance and shipping.

1.2 The island’s population is around 4,500 and it has a typical small island economy with a high import dependency, a narrow economic base, a large public sector (around 790 staff), and significant outward labour migration. St Helena receives UK Government financial assistance to support recurrent and capital expenditure as part of their obligation to ensure that the reasonable needs of the population are met.

1.3 The 10 Year Plan for St Helena captures the following National Goals:

Altogether Safer

Altogether Healthier

Altogether Better for Children and Young People

Altogether Greener

Altogether Wealthier

The plan will improve joined up thinking, focus, and crucially reflect the views of the community. This can be found here:

1.4 The Prospectus for Change, launched in December 2015, is a three year plan which sets out St Helena Government’s Goals and Strategies for making the public service a great place to work, while ensuring customers experience the best possible service. This can be found here:

1.5 The vision and mission that has been agreed for the Public Service and which will be incorporated in future plans and strategies are as follows:

Vision – A great place to work and do business with

Mission – Provide Services that are responsive to the needs and expectations of the people of St Helena, by taking account of their views in decisions on the design, delivery and performance of services, and by working with our colleagues to create an environment that encourages everyone to do their best.

1.6Commercial flights to St Helena commenced on 14 October 2017. It is hoped that the tourism activity resulting from this will significantly enhance St Helena’s economic prospects and have a dramatic impact on the island community, bringing a period of accelerated social and economic change. Achievement of the Goals and Strategic Objectives will require sound management and transformation of the public sector to make it a professional, modern, and flexible organisation able to initiate and respond to change.

1.7SHG is implementing a modernisation programme that will enable the Public Service to improve its delivery of the government’s developmental objectives. Central to this programme has been the re-structuring of Government functions and directorates. There are currently five directorates reporting to the Chief Secretary who is the head of the Service; Education and Employment, Health, Safeguarding, Environment & Natural Resources and Corporate Services. The Police Service reports to the Governor.

1.8The service context of St Helena is one with considerable gaps in ‘civil society’ provision and in formal services. Despite strong family connections, for many vulnerable people there support networks are fragile and in cases of harm or abuse may be potentially unhelpful or negative. Government is often the key source of support. The Safeguarding Directorate is committed to working with a range of agencies to improve and protect independence and life outcomes for vulnerable people. The vision of the Safeguarding Directorate is to ensure St Helena is an increasingly safer and better place for vulnerable people at risk of abuse and neglect. The Safeguarding Directorate works closely with the Health Directorate, Education, Police and other services to achieve this.[i]

The key objectives of the post are;

  1. Ensure that processes and systems are in place and these are regularly reviewed to protect the vulnerable children and adults within the community of St Helena.
  2. Strategic oversight and responsibility for investing in our staff and the services provided to the community ensuring continuity of service provision.
  3. Work closely with key stakeholders to improve and enhance the quality of care provided within the residential establishment.
  4. Promote well-being and inclusion for vulnerable people in the community, taking a strategic lead on empowering and supporting vulnerable people to contribute socially and economically.
  5. Ensuring that the Safeguarding Adult and Children Boards operate in an effective and challenging manner holding all directorates, NGO’s and wider community to account and taking a lead with regards to delivery of relevant training and the ongoing development of child and adult protection services across the Island.

St Helena has a Welfare of Children Ordinance and safeguarding policies which are on a par with those in the UK. Central to this role will be developing the island’s social services to international standards.

Scope of Work:

The Director has the following principal responsibilities:

i)Assist the Chief Secretary, internal colleagues and external partners to create a strategic framework for integrated social services/safeguarding that:

  • Supports multi-disciplinary working;
  • Enables vulnerable individuals and families to be identified at the earliest possible stage;
  • Identifies the requirements for services to improve;
  • Supports adults and children with social care and/or welfare needs and ensures that safeguarding frameworks are in place to protect them;

ii)Work collaboratively to ensure that services are provided in the most cost effective and “joined-up” way, and so far as possible at a universal and prevention level. This includes in particular promoting collaboration across social services, which includes Children and Young People, Learning Disabilities, Adults Services and residential provisions. Establishing complementary and consistent ways of working between the sections of service delivery is critical.

iii)Develop and maintain strategic and operational partnership relationships across health, education, police and voluntary organisations and thereby continue multi agency work to address the major issues affecting community life. This will include development work on domestic violence, alcohol abuse, care for older and disabled persons and under age sexual activity by older men;

iv)Assist the Chief Secretary and internal colleagues in the further development of St Helena’s health and well being strategy to help ensure the cost effective delivery of health and social services

v)Be the strategic lead for the implementation of ‘Signs of Safety’ as the practice framework across adult and children social care teams, working in conjunction with the UK Signs of Safety consultant assigned to work with St Helena.

vi)Be the strategic lead for ensuring the delivery, oversight and review of the Directorate’s Strategic Plan, Risk Register and Improvement Plan for adult services.

vii)Plan and manage the timely and effective delivery of assessments and services to ensure that individuals and families that need services and/or benefits are supported;

viii)Lead on the development of self directed support to ensure the health, safety and well being of vulnerable individuals whilst enabling people to retain their dignity, control and, so far as possible, independence;

ix)Ensure that children’s and adult’s safeguarding is a corporate and universal priority;

x)Manage the Safeguarding teams and lead them in the further development of safeguarding and social services on St Helena, reviewing and developing strategies, policies and plans as appropriate;

xi)Be a mentor for the permanent Assistant Director and operational managers, Developing local staff through coaching approaches to ensure that there is a strong, coherent and sustainable Leadership Team within the directorate.,

xii)Ensuring that appropriatequality assurance systems are in place and these are reviewed and where necessarydeveloped to ensure theislands Safeguarding objectives are met, and that reassurance can be given to political leaders and that the service understands its areas of strengths and areas for development.;

xiii)Ensure the training programmes agreed by the Safeguarding Children Board and for other services are delivered effectively;

xiv)Provide support and professional advice to staff both within the directorate and across other directorates on St Helena. To ensure that safe and appropriate decisions are made for children and vulnerable adults in a timely manner and that relevant oversight at a senior level exists around all child and adult protection decisions.

Management and Reporting:

The Director will report to the Chief Secretary.

Personal requirements for the post:

  • Must be able to work in a small isolated community.
  • Flexible approach to work and be prepared to assist with the provision of services when there are staff shortages.
  • Must be a good communicator.

The position is for two years in the first instance.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

Essential

  • UK Qualified Social Worker CQSW or DipSW or equivalent. Must have a current registration with the Health Care Professionals Council (or equivalent for Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland) or equivalent internationally.
  • A minimum of 10 years experience within the field of social work – at least 5 of which are in a management/ leadership capacity
  • Experience of coaching and or mentoring of staff in a similar field or work setting.
  • Experience of leading and managing systems change and delivering on cultural change within teams and services.
  • Up to date knowledge and practical experience of managing frontline social work services.
  • Management Qualification – minimum Diploma in Management Studies or equivalent
  • Experience of safeguarding children and young people
  • Experience of working with vulnerable adults
  • Experience of working in elderly care, both in terms of community and residential settings.
  • Experience working in remote and/or isolated environments

Desirable

  • Crisis management skills
  • Experience developing new services

Competencies

Under the SHG Competency framework, this post holder is required to have the competencies as outlined in the attached annex.

Note: A successor will not be trained and ready to assume this post at the end of this contract, but the aim will be to identify and fully train a suitable person to assume the role at an appropriate time.

Annex

SHG Competency Framework Levels

Professional Development

  • Requirements for Continuous Professional Development met and when necessary submitted to Professional Institute in order to continue recognition of professional status

Planning and delivery of work

  • Ensures appropriate resources and levels of capability to deliver to plan.
  • Promotes and enforces appropriate organisational rules and procedures
  • Leads by example in managing business relationships

Analysis and use of information

  • Identifies trends from complex or conflicting data.
  • Takes steps to address the root causes of highly complex problems
  • Develops new policy and procedures.

Decision making

  • Shapes new policies and sets long-term objectives.
  • Understands the wider strategic environment to make appropriate resource decisions.
  • Strategically processes the impact of decisions.
  • Determines results which are aligned to strategic decisions
  • Ensures decisions are evidence-based drawing on available knowledge and past experience

Working with others

  • Manages relationships with key stakeholders by utilising a high level of understanding of own and other’s behaviours.
  • Develops relationships with key stakeholders.
  • Influences key stakeholders on issues relevant to the organisation.
  • Creates an environment which will enable delivery of shared policy outcomes

Communication

  • Varies language and content to ensure understanding of audience.
  • Facilitates understanding by explanation and example.
  • Highlights key points for summary from detailed and complex documents

Influencing and persuading

  • Influences the organisation’s strategy by utilising internal and external resources.
  • Delivers influential advice and briefings.
  • Focuses on outcomes irrespective of the source of the challenge.
  • Sets strategies to support a diverse workforce.

Dealing with change

  • Encourages employees to embrace and contribute to change.
  • Presents the business need for change and can focus others on the positive aspects.
  • Enables others to implement change.
  • Anticipates obstacles to change.

Continuous improvement

  • Can describe what the future looks like in terms of service improvements and modernisation.
  • Motivate others to improve and develop their performance.
  • Constructively challenges existing strategies.
  • Sets SMART objectives for teams and evaluates them

Managing resources

  • Ensures appropriate resources and levels of capability to deliver to plan
  • Uses management information to monitor/control resources.
  • Supports initiatives for new and more efficient use of resources.
  • Gains respect and credibility from team members through effective delegation, coaching and development.

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[i] Safeguarding Directorate Strategic Plan available on request