Leadership in Safeguarding in the International Aid Sector

Develop your leadership skills and enhance organisational culture

There is a growing need to develop leadership skills and a culture of accountability within organisations working with vulnerable communities in the international aid sector.

This free, four-week blended course will help you improve your leadership capacity. It will provide an opportunity for critical reflection on your personal leadership skills and styles and a chance to share frameworks and tools with peers through online discussion.

You’ll be able to join live webinars with esteemed speakers, which will further support the development of your advanced safeguarding practice. 

This course will equip you with the skills to support greater accountability in your organisation and challenge impunity in the sector, to foster public trust and keep staff, and beneficiaries alike, safe.

Take a strengths-based approach to leadership

You’ll explore the importance of organisational culture and how this is conducive to safeguarding. The course will also emphasise the role of equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in promoting safeguarding.

You’ll have the chance to evaluate mechanisms for reporting, responding, and investigating safeguarding concerns before learning how to take a strengths-based approach to leadership, good governance, and organisational oversight in safeguarding.  

Access safeguarding training from the experts at The Open University

This course was co-created by senior academic safeguarding specialists from The Open University and an international human rights and safeguarding expert who has worked with several international aid agencies.

Course materials were developed with support from BOND, CHS Alliance, Safeguarding Resource and Support Hub, leaders in the sector and critically reviewed by leaders and safeguarding leads in international aid agencies.

This course is designed for those in leadership, governance, or management positions who have a joint responsibility in safeguarding.

Those who have completed both Introduction to Safeguarding in the International Aid Sector and Implementing Safeguarding in the International Aid Sector will also find this course beneficial to consolidate their learning and to enable them to influence safeguarding practice in their organisations. This course is intended for those who are aged 18 years and above only.

This online course has been funded by UK aid from the UK government; however, the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the UK government’s official policies.

Please note: this course is facilitated by Philippa Ramsden, Helen Horn & Tina Fahm from 9 May 2022 until 19 June 2022.

• Leadership skills required for safeguarding
• Introduction to the course
• Leadership in safeguarding
• Creating safe spaces through supervision and wellbeing
• Review your learning and join a webinar
• The importance of a safe organisational culture
• A positive and safe organisational culture
• Why equality, diversity and inclusion matter
• Transforming organisational culture
• Strong safeguarding cultures among leaders
• Reporting, responding and investigations
• Challenging the culture of silence
• Principles of investigations and roles and responsibilities
• Accountability and protecting whistleblowers
• Review this week's learning and join a webinar
• Good governance and organisational oversight
• Power and privilege
• A diverse and purpose-driven Board
• Risk management, regulatory bodies and internal relationships
• Review your learning and join a webinar