Engagement & Participation Officer - North Somerset Safeguarding Partnership


Company:	North Somerset Council
Salary:	£35,412 - £38,220
Hours:	Part-time
Location:	Weston-super-Mare, BS23 1UJ
Working pattern:	Hybrid - 3 days remote
Job type:	Temporary
Posting date:	24 Aug 2026
Closing date:	7 Sept 2026

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Summary

Can you help us ensure that the voices and lived experiences of children, young people and families are at the heart of safeguarding in North Somerset? Are you passionate about participation, co-production and improving services through meaningful engagement?

North Somerset Safeguarding Children Partnership (NSSCP) is recruiting an Engagement and Participation Officer on a fixed-term basis for 12 months.

The NSSCP is the multi-agency arrangement in North Somerset that oversees the safeguarding of children and young people. The three statutory safeguarding partners who lead the work of the NSSCP are North Somerset Council, Avon & Somerset Police and Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board.

Following an independently commissioned review of participation and lived experience across the safeguarding partnership, the NSSCP is implementing a new Participation and Lived Experience Model to strengthen how the voices of children, young people, parents and carers influence safeguarding policy, practice, learning and improvement.

This is a fixed-term post established to support the implementation and embedding of the NSSCP Participation and Lived Experience Model. The successful candidate will develop and embed sustainable participation approaches that will continue to strengthen the voice of children, young people and families across the partnership.

The postholder will work across partner agencies to coordinate participation activity, strengthen engagement opportunities and ensure that the experiences of children, young people and families inform safeguarding decision making and service improvement.

The role will include:

Delivering the NSSCP Participation and Lived Experience Model

Improving participation opportunities with children, young people, parents and carers

Building effective relationships with safeguarding partners across education, health, police, social care and the voluntary sector

Facilitating participation groups, consultations and engagement activities

Gathering, analysing and reporting lived experience themes and feedback

Supporting the integration of lived experience into safeguarding learning, quality assurance and improvement activity

Contributing to workforce development specific to participation and engagement across the partnership

Creating a robust communications system to allow children, young people and families to understand how their voices have influenced change

Contact Information

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact zoe.gartland@n-somerset.gov.uk.

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