JOB ROLE PURPOSE
Responsible for managing the Customer Resolution & Information Team to ensure that statutory and organisational requirements are met in relation to dealing with and responding to complaints, Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, Subject Access Requests (SAR) and enquiries made by Local Councillors and Members of Parliament in relation to Children's Services at Wirral Council. Responsible for developing reporting systems for complaints/information requests, for analysing trends and patterns and translating this into outcome focussed action plans.
KEY TASKS
1. Manage and oversee the effective and timely delivery of responses to all complaints, SAR, FOI, Section 29 Police Requests for disclosure and representations made to Children's Services.
2. Undertake analysis of subject access requests to ensure compliance with Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR prior to escalation to Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).
3. Responsible for ensuring that the Council meets statutory timescales in relation to responding to complaints, FOI requests and SAR.
4. Manage the investigation of complex complaints by independent investigators, assess the quality of investigations and findings and authorise reports for adjudication.
5. Report to senior management, Heads of Service and Overview and Scrutiny about complaints including patterns or trends and produce action plans which result from learning from all stage 1 and stage 2 complaints.
Qualifications:
- Professional qualification or degree.
Knowledge & Skills:
- Thorough understanding of the current issues relating to the effective management of complaints.
- Thorough understanding of the statutory and legal requirements relevant to the area including Data Protection Act 2018 and Freedom of Information Act 2000.
- Excellent analytical skills - the ability to identify patterns and trends of enquiries or complaints and develop recommendations and actions for improvement.
- Excellent communication skills - able to communicate effectively with customers and explain complex processes in a format which the customer understands.
- Excellent negotiation skills - able to defuse potentially difficult situations in a calm and confident manner.
- Good ability to interpret complex legislation and translate it into meaningful procedures and processes.
- Ability to work impartially in relation to dealing with and investigating complaints and ensure that processes are fair and in line with good practice.
- Ability to work in highly pressurised situations to produce quality responses within tight deadlines.
- Excellent report writing and letter writing skills.
- Ability to liaise with officers across the Council, providing support, advice and guidance, where necessary to ensure that responses to complaints and enquiries are dealt with appropriately and within timescales.
- Excellent planning and organisational skills - ability to identify pressures within the team and plan and co-ordinate resources appropriately.
- Excellent knowledge of Microsoft office suite including Word, Excel, Outlook and Powerpoint.
Experience:
- Managing and implementing effective processes for dealing with complaints and enquiries.
- Developing organisational policies which reflect national legislation relating specifically to the handling of complaints and/or adhering to information responsibilities.
- Reviewing investigation reports in response to complaints to ensure compliance with Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR.
- Dealing with sensitive issues which may pose significant risk to the organisation.
Working in a customer-focussed role, including with service-users, families, elected members, MPs, other professionals and organisations
RQ1346555