Section 1 of the Safer Recruitment and People Management Guidance states that:

"A responsible person must be identified for each role being appointed to that falls within the scope of this guidance.  The responsible person is accountable for the recruitment and appointment into that role and must him/herself have been safely recruited."

"A responsible person must also be identified for the ongoing support of the person appointed into the position."

Which roles require a designated Responsible Person?

Consider the following questions:

• Does the role involve substantial contact with children or young people under 18?
• Does the role involve substantial contact with vulnerable adults?
• Does the role involve managing, supervising or advising people in the above roles?

If the answer to any of the above questions is 'yes', the role must have a designated Responsible Person.  This is because the role falls within the scope of the Safer Recruitment and People Management Guidance.

What does the Responsible Person do?

The designated Responsible Person for a role must:

• Approve the Role Description and Person Specification.
• Verify that an applicant has successfully completed the safer recruitment process.
• Provide ongoing support for people who have been appointed to the role. 

Who is eligible to be a Responsible Person?

The Responsible Person could be the incumbent, an associate minister, a curate, a parish safeguarding officer, a reader, a group leader, a volunteer coordinator, a member of staff, or any other suitable person.  The final decision rests with the incumbent and PCC, since they have overall responsibility for safeguarding in the parish.

It is a requirement that a Responsible Person must have:

• Been safely recruited themselves
• Completed the Foundation or Leadership pathways in the past three years
• Completed the Safer Recruitment and People Management pathway in the past three years
   

How do I designate a Responsible Person in the Hub?

If the Hub is at Stage 2 or Stage 3, a Hub Owner can designate a Responsible Person for each role.

They do this by:

• Opening the Role Creator and selecting the required role
• Selecting Role Approval (this may need to be switched on via the Role Options on that page)
• Selecting Responsible Person

This displays a list of everyone who has completed the Safer Recruitment and People Management Pathway during the past three years. If someone is missing from this list, please use the People Manager to update their training records.