Mash Officer

**MASH Officer**

Purpose of the Role:
The MASH Officer will play a pivotal role in the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) by receiving and handling all initial inquiries and contacts regarding children's safeguarding and social care. The post holder will prioritize vulnerable and at-risk children, providing advice, guidance, and signposting to appropriate services. They will ensure that all contacts are swiftly and accurately processed, facilitating prompt decision-making by relevant stakeholders to safeguard and protect children.

Main Accountabilities:

- Deal effectively with inquiries across all channels from members of the public, customers, service users, internal departments, and professionals from other agencies, obtaining comprehensive details to gather relevant information about concerns for a child at the first point of contact.
- Provide advice, guidance, and prompt, high-quality responses to all child inquiries, ensuring callers are directed to the most appropriate services when support is required, maintaining professionalism and consistency in service delivery.
- Swiftly and accurately progress appropriate contacts to relevant Decision Makers for triage and named partner representatives for information requests within set MASH rag rating timescales.
- Provide feedback on case progress and outcomes to partner agencies, professional organizations, and the public as appropriate, ensuring transparency and accountability.
- Progress appropriate contacts quickly and efficiently, enabling professional decision-making within set timescales, and ensuring contacts not accepted by Children's Social Care are directed to appropriate support services.
- Accurately gather, record, and maintain highly sensitive and confidential data on designated databases, adhering to data protection requirements, and enabling the production of statistical and management reports as required.
- Seek advice and guidance from decision-makers and MASH Team Managers in response to contacts and queries, raising contacts requiring immediate safeguarding action verbally for prompt intervention.
- Demonstrate awareness and understanding of equal opportunities and other people's behavioral, physical, social, and welfare needs.

Safeguarding Commitment:
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults. We require you to understand and demonstrate this commitment.

Person Specification:
Qualifications Required:

- GCSE level or equivalent qualification in English.

Knowledge:

- Experience of working effectively under pressure and producing good quality, accurate, and proportionate written and verbal information.
- Understanding of relevant legislation and guidance relating to safeguarding children.
- Understanding of the roles of different agencies and their collaboration in safeguarding children.

**Skills**:

- Demonstrate an empathetic and sensitive approach to the needs of those requiring advice and support.
- Ability to operate within professional, confidential, and ethical guidelines.
- Commitment to maximizing a child's life chances and promoting their safety and well-being.
- Intermediate level of computer literacy and ability to use appropriate systems to gather and collate key information.
- Ability to use a structured approach to gather and record information relating to safeguarding concerns.
- Ability to collect and analyze complex information drawn from multiple sources.

**Experience**:

- Experience of understanding vulnerability, risk, and the needs of children, young people, and families, including an understanding of family dynamics.
- Experience of working in teams or organizations delivering services to children.
- Experience of working in a Multi-agency safeguarding hub (desirable).

Disclosure Level:

- **Enhanced with barred list checks.**

**Job Types**: Full-time, Fixed term contract
Contract length: 3 months

**Salary**: £11.66-£15.16 per hour

Expected hours: 37 per week

**Benefits**:

- Company pension
- Employee discount
- Sick pay

Schedule:

- Monday to Friday

**Experience**:

- social work: 1 year (preferred)

Licence/Certification:

- HCPC (preferred)

Ability to Commute:

- Northampton, Northamptonshire (required)

Ability to Relocate:

- Northampton, Northamptonshire: Relocate before starting work (required)

Work Location: In person

Reference ID: NCT16940