Please note that this vacancy involves a hybrid arrangement of home and office working and therefore candidates will need to be within a commutable distance of one of our Helpline bases in either Salford, Belfast or Birmingham.

At the NSPCC, our vision is to end cruelty to all children in the UK. An ambitious but worthwhile mission — and one you will help us achieve as a Helpline Practitioner.

Every childhood is worth fighting for. This is our belief. It drives us. And it's why our Services team never stop sharing our learning, information, advice and support with everyone who needs it. Join us as a Helpline Practitioner and create work that means the world.

At our UK-wide Helpline, our priority is to empower the public to ensure children and young people are protected from harm. Using empathy and sensitivity, you will provide emotional support, practical guidance and help to anyone who thinks a child may be at risk of abuse. Working at the Helpline for adults across the UK, you will encourage and support them to look out for the children around them - to take action and give children a voice when they are unable to ask for help themselves. This is a fantastic opportunity for you to use your professional skills and existing safeguarding knowledge.

The Helpline operates a hybrid-working model, with the option that one in three weeks is worked from home; these will be a mix of day and evening shifts. IT equipment will be provided, but you will need to have an ergonomic workspace at home that will allow you to work confidentially and keep organisational information secure.

The NSPCC Helpline is operational every day and the post holder will be required to work a rota shift pattern that covers the period 8am-10pm on weekdays and 9am-7pm on weekends. This also includes working weekends and bank holidays.

You will be providing advice and support to members of the public and professionals via telephone, email and social media. You will take ownership of each contact you take and you will be responsible for assessing the risk and liaising with our external child protection partners (including Children's Service and police), as necessary, to ensure prompt and effective action is taken to minimise the risk to any child”

Our people are at the heart of everything we do and they are the reason we can keep working to protect children and prevent abuse. So, to ensure our employees feel happy, supported, and valued, we offer a range of fantastic benefits. Below are just a few:

• Your salary is reviewed every year to ensure it's at least comparable with the UK's top 5 charities
• You are entitled to 29 days annual leave, plus bank holidays (if you work full-time). After 5 years this increases to 32 days!
• We match your pension contributions up to 7%
• You have access to our online discount portal with over 3,000 discounts & offers
• You have access to our Wellness Hub which provides tools to support your wellbeing (Employee Assistance Programme, emotional resilience training, mindfulness resources and more!)

You will need to have the following:

• A qualification from a safeguarding field such as social care, health, education, law enforcement, youth justice, youth work or counselling AND post-qualification experience of working in a role where you have had a level of responsibility for safeguarding children or families.
• Up-to-date knowledge of child protection legislation and practical experience of safeguarding and child welfare issues.
• Experience in a high-demand customer focussed role
• Ability to collect, assess and summarise essential information in written format
• Good IT skills

Join us and you'll become part of a team that cares about the work they do and the people they work with. You'll discover opportunities to grow, along with challenges and a shared purpose that'll bring the best out in you. And you'll get to find your own way to make a difference that means more, and that impacts millions of young lives.

This is a fast-paced national Helpline with demanding targets, where self-discipline and the ability to work quickly are as essential to enable us to effectively deliver a child focused service that positively impacts on the lives of children and families.

 The NSPCC is committed to equality and diversity and wants to attract a range of talented people. The NSPCC fully supports the rights and opportunities of all staff to seek, obtain and hold employment and to enjoy equal employment opportunities without discrimination.

If you would like any further information about the role, please contact our recruitment team at HelplinesRecruitment@NSPCC.org.uk.

The Helpline operates a cohort induction model where we aim for new starters to commence their employment at the same time as other new starters to the Helpline. This will allow you to have a more supportive group learning environment within the induction period.

The following dates will apply to this current vacancy, so that the next cohort can take place.

Closing Date: 12th May

Initial Shortlisting of Candidates: Week beginning 13th May

First stage Interviews: Week beginning 20th May

Second Stage Interviews: 27th May - 5th June

Start Date: 19th August

If successful candidates are unable to commence their employment on this start date, they will be placed in the next available induction cohort.

If you are unable to attend any of the proposed interview dates above, you are encouraged to contact the Helpline Recruitment Team to discuss any additional slots which potentially may be available.