Safeguarding Manager Role Description

The British Equestrian Federation is the National Governing Body for Equestrianism in the UK, affiliated to the FEI and supported by UK Sport and Sport England. The organisation has 20 Member Bodies reflecting the interests of a very broad spectrum of equestrian sports and activities, ranging from Olympic and Paralympic competition, to equine welfare, trade and recreational riding.

The BEF and its Member Bodies place the highest priority on the safety and welfare of those involved with and/or participating in equestrian sport, and welfare, inclusion and integrity are three of the six golden threads forming the essential foundations to our strategy. Working together, the BEF and its Member Bodies have established a strong shared approach to safeguarding practices, policies and educational materials, supported by campaigns such as the BEF’s Safe to Play campaign (https://equestrian.safetoplay.co.uk/), and we are committed to continually enhancing and improving our safeguarding governance and practices.

The BEF is looking to recruit a new Safeguarding Manager into its team, following the retirement of the individual who has held the role for the last 8 years. The Safeguarding Manager, working alongside our Member Bodies, plays a pivotal role in embedding safeguarding culture, policy, practice and assurance across the Federation and in meeting our ambitions to ensure that everyone engaging in activities across the Federation has the opportunity to thrive.

The Purpose of the Role

Reporting to the Head of Integrity and HR, the Safeguarding Manager will:

• Lead the development and delivery of the BEF’s safeguarding strategy and day-to-day operational priorities.

• Shape and strengthen safeguarding policies, procedures and assurance frameworks across the Federation.

• Provide expert safeguarding advice and oversee the management of concerns and casework.

• Promote a unified, collaborative approach to protecting children and adults, while fostering a proactive, positive and effective safeguarding culture across the Federation.

What you’ll do

· Use your influence and leadership to continually improve and promote a positive, inclusive and welfare-centered culture.

· Provide expert safeguarding advice and manage safeguarding concerns and casework in line with policy, procedure and best practice.

· Develop, implement and review safeguarding policies and procedures in collaboration with Member Bodies.

· Lead safeguarding audits, assurance activity and action planning.

· Oversee safeguarding training content, DBS compliance and safer recruitment processes.

· Champion and maintain our Safe To Play campaign and associated materials.

· Act as the first point of contact for all safeguarding matters and enquiries for both internal and external individuals and agencies.

· Work collaboratively with Member Bodies, statutory and national safeguarding partners, representing the BEF at multi-agency meetings, strategy discussions and assessments as required.

· Manage the central recording platform for safeguarding concerns raised across the Federation or by external agencies, ensuring relevant information is shared appropriately with Member Bodies to minimise risk.

· Data analysis and review to continually inform, learn and evolve our safeguarding practices.

· Maintain and develop your own professional safeguarding knowledge and expertise.

What you need to succeed

Key Experience, knowledge and Skills

You must be a knowledgeable, experienced and resilient safeguarding professional who leads with integrity, empathy and confidence. Ideally, you will have experience of leading and managing safeguarding within a sports regulatory environment.

You will also need to demonstrate:

· Excellent judgement, resilience and ability to handle sensitive matters with empathy and professionalism.

· The ability to provide advice, guidance and support at all levels of the organisation.

· Excellent communication, collaboration, engagement and relationship-building skills.

· The ability to work collaboratively to develop national-level guidance, policies and initiatives

· Strong influencing skills and the ability to facilitate and support organisational and cultural change.

· Confidence and competence when working with external agencies and multi-disciplinary teams.

· Strong administration, organisational and records management skills.

· Experience of inspection, audit and quality assurance processes.

· Experience of safeguarding case management and leading child protection processes.

· A value-driven mindset: You believe safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and understand its central importance across all areas of governance and practice.

· Courage and curiosity: A willingness to work collaboratively with; to listen, learn, challenge and reflect; and to communicate clearly, respectfully and pragmatically.

· Ambition and drive to move beyond compliance to develop initiatives that focus on culture and prevention, continually strengthening our safeguarding framework and governance.

The role may include out-of-hours working, being on call and some travel within the UK.

You must share our commitment to safeguarding and to protecting and promoting positive outcomes for all stakeholders, including children, young people and adults who may be additionally vulnerable or at risk.

As the needs of the business change this role will change accordingly, therefore this document should be viewed as a guideline which may be subject to change. 

Applications should be submitted by no later than 17:00 on Sunday 26th July 2026. Interviews will be held in the week commencing 10th August, with second interviews being held week commencing 17th August 2026.

British Equestrian is committed to becoming a more diverse and inclusive organisation to bring new and different perspectives to our work. So that we can more closely reflect UK society, we particularly encourage applications from individuals within groups which are currently underrepresented within our organisation and include candidates from ethnically diverse communities, candidates with a disability, candidates from the LBTQ community or from under-served communities.

If you would like to discuss the role in further detail, please contact melissa.kinrade@bef.co.uk