Safeguarding Trustee
Hackney Foodbank
We are a dynamic, mission-driven charity with a turnover of £1.5 million, working at the heart of East London to address food poverty and support our richly diverse community. Our work is impactful, community-led, and more vital than ever. We are now seeking a Safeguarding Trustee to join our Board and provide experienced oversight of how we protect the people we serve, our volunteers, and our staff.
Hackney Foodbank support people who are in crisis or trapped in poverty with compassion and dignity. We do this by providing emergency food parcels, which offer practical, immediate relief in moments of crisis, and by connecting people with local organisations that can help them to address the root causes and wider effects of poverty in their lives. We are now seeking a Safeguarding Trustee to join our Board and provide experienced oversight of how we protect the people we serve, our volunteers, and our staff. Why This Role Matters: Every week, hundreds of people walk through our doors - many in crisis, many vulnerable. We take our responsibility to keep them safe seriously. We have a dedicated Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) who manages safeguarding day-to-day, and now we want to bolster our governance by bringing specialist safeguarding expertise to Board level. This role will strengthen our governance, bring expert challenge to our policies and practices, and help us build a culture where safeguarding is everyone's priority. What You'll Do: • Strategic oversight - Champion safeguarding at Board level; ensure policies are reviewed annually against current legislation; provide informed challenge to our DSL and senior leadership; and oversee how safeguarding risks are identified and managed. • Culture and practice - Help foster a culture where staff, volunteers, and service users feel safe to raise concerns; support the wider Board in understanding their safeguarding responsibilities; and act as a sounding board for our DSL between meetings. • Governance and assurance - Review quarterly safeguarding reports; oversee the handling of allegations (alongside the Chair and DSL); ensure serious incidents are reported to the Charity Commission; and support safer recruitment practices. We are looking for someone who is: • Experienced in safeguarding - you'll bring relevant safeguarding knowledge - whether through professional experience (e.g., social work, education, health, policing, children's or adults' services), voluntary roles, or personal experience of navigating safeguarding systems. What matters most is that you understand how safeguarding works in practice. • Passionate about protecting people - you understand why safeguarding matters and can bring that conviction to a governance setting. • A constructive challenger - you're comfortable asking difficult questions and holding an organisation to account, while remaining supportive and solutions-focused. • Committed to our community - you care about food poverty, social justice, and the diverse communities of East London. • Able to dedicate time - 5 Board meetings per year (including one all-day away day), plus 4–5 committee meetings annually. Between meetings, you'll liaise periodically with our DSL (approximately 5–8 hours per month in total) and you will be expected to read the safeguarding reports shared with you via email, sometimes daily, and respond where appropriate. At times, you may need to speak with the safeguarding team on an urgent basis where they require your guidance. We welcome applicants with lived experience of using food bank services or similar community support. We particularly encourage applications from people who reflect Hackney's diverse communities - including people from Black, Asian and other ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; people from the LGBTQIA+ community; and anyone with direct experience of the issues we work on. We are committed to building a Board that reflects the community we serve. All appointments are made on merit. If you share our values and are ready to help us keep our community safe, we'd love to hear from you. Please register interest in the role and we will request your CV and a brief statement explaining your safeguarding experience and what draws you to this role.
Trusteeships & Committees
Admin, Basic IT skills - internet & email, Evaluating & Reviewing, Good IT Skills, Managing People, Organising & Planning, Reading & Writing
• Experienced in safeguarding • Passionate about protecting people • A constructive challenger • Committed to our community • Able to dedicate time
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5 Board meetings per year (including one all-day away day), plus 4–5 committee meetings annually. Between meetings, you'll liaise periodically with our DSL (approximately 5–8 hours per month in total) and you will be expected to read the safeguarding reports shared with you via email, sometimes daily, and respond where appropriate
E9 5QB
The Hackney Foodbank, Wally Foster Community Centre, Homerton Road
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