Associate Caseworkers

Transcription

1 Associate Caseworkers Office of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman October 2015 Application pack and information for candidates

2 Contents About us... 3 Our role, vision and strategic aims... 4 Ombudsman s introduction to the principles... 7 About the role... 8 Job description... 9 Person specification... 9 Selection process Summary of terms and conditions Equal opportunities This document gives candidates information about the recruitment and selection of the Associate Caseworkers for the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. For further information about the Ombudsman, please visit our website at: 2

3 About us The work of the Office The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman s Office currently has around 475 employees based at our two sites in London (Millbank) and Manchester. Complaints about government departments and other public organisations are referred to us through MPs, while we usually receive those about the NHS in England directly from complainants. Since 1 April 2009, following the abolition of the Healthcare Commission, there has been a two-stage system for dealing with NHS complaints. This Office is the second and final complaint handler. During the business years, we received 27,566 enquiries and accepted 3,900 cases for investigation (825 parliamentary and 3,075 health). In this period, the largest numbers of parliamentary complaints were about the Department for Work and Pensions, the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice, and HM Revenue & Customs. The largest proportion of health complaints were about NHS hospital, specialist and teaching trusts (46 per cent), GPs (21 per cent) and mental health, social care and learning disability trusts (9 per cent). When an investigation leads to an upheld complaint, the Ombudsman seeks appropriate redress for any unremedied injustice or hardship suffered by the complainant. This may involve an explanation of what went wrong, an apology, changes in procedures to prevent problems recurring and, where appropriate, financial compensation. 3

4 Our role, vision and strategic aims Role The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman was established by Parliament nearly 50 years ago to help both individuals and the public at large. We are not part of government or the NHS: our role is to investigate complaints that individuals have been treated unfairly or have received poor service from government departments and other public organisations and the NHS in England. We ask people to complain to the body they are unhappy about before they bring their complaint to us. Our powers are set out in law and our service is free for everyone. The law gives us the power to investigate individual complaints and produce a report on our findings that recommends how mistakes can be put right. If our investigations find significant or repeated mistakes, we share this information with regulators to help them do their job. Our vision We want complaints to make a difference and help to improve public services for everyone. We want everyone, whoever they are, to be confident that complaining about public services is straightforward and fair. When people complain about public services, we want them to be listened to and treated fairly, and we want mistakes to be put right. We want public services to learn from complaints and use them to improve the services they provide to everyone. Over the next five years we will deliver our vision and carry out our role by: Investigating complaints fairly and without taking sides; Making the final decisions on complaints about public services for individuals; Using what we learn from complaints to help others make public services better; Leading the way in making it easier to complain about public services and to help public services resolve complaints better. Strategic aims The strategic aims of our business help make our vision real. Our aims for the next two years are to: 1. Make it easier for people to find and use our service This includes raising awareness of our work for everyone and helping people who find it hard to complain to contact us. 2. Help more people by investigating more complaints and to provide an excellent service for our customers This includes using different ways to investigate and resolve different types of complaints and setting high standards for the service we provide. 4

5 3. Work with others to use what we learn from complaints to help them make public services better This includes sharing information about what went wrong with different organisations so that mistakes can be avoided in the future. We will help Parliament find out the reasons for mistakes and how services can be improved. 4. Lead the way to make the complaints system better This includes working with Parliament to help make it easier for people to complain. We will also share information about the way in which public services respond to complaints to help them do it better. 5. Develop our organisation so that it delivers these aims efficiently and effectively This includes changing our governance, structure, processes and technology, as well as underlying ways of working, collaborating and culture, to make sure we deliver a fit-for-purpose and value for-money organisation, aligned to the strategy. For more information about our work and strategic plan please visit our website at: 5

6 Governance The Ombudsman is appointed by the Queen and is directly accountable to Parliament. She is independent of government and the NHS, and is solely responsible and accountable for the conduct and administration of all work carried out by the Office and for the decision made in each case. The Board Chaired by the Ombudsman, the Board makes decisions about our performance, our plans, our finances and how we are delivering our strategy. The Board does not make decisions on complaints. It is made up of non-executive directors and executive directors. Leadership Team The Leadership Team is responsible for day-to-day management of the organisation, and makes recommendations on proposed actions to the Board. The Leadership Team is accountable to the Board for implementing its decisions. It regularly monitors operational and casework performance, and is kept informed of developments in major cases. The Audit Committee The role of the Audit Committee is to support the Ombudsman (as Accounting Officer) and the Board in monitoring the adequacy of the Office s corporate governance and control systems. 6

7 Ombudsman s introduction to the Principles We want to be open and clear with both complainants and public organisations in the Ombudsman s jurisdiction about what we expect when public organisations deliver services and the questions we ask when we decide whether maladministration and service failure have occurred. In particular, we want public organisations to understand how we approach complaints, and complainants to understand how we will consider their cases. For those reasons we have produced this document which brings together three earlier documents: Principles of Good Administration Principles of Good Complaint Handling Principles for Remedy. These three sets of Principles outline the approach we believe public organisations should adopt when delivering good administration and customer service, and how they should respond when things go wrong. The Principles underpin our assessment of performance, our vision of good complaint handling and our approach to putting things right. The Principles are based on 40 years experience of handling large numbers of complaints. The Principles endorse legality, flexibility, transparency, fairness and accountability the necessary ingredients of good administration. The same six key Principles apply to each of the three documents. These six Principles are: Getting it right Being customer focused Being open and accountable Acting fairly and proportionately Putting things right, and Seeking continuous improvement. For more information about this please go to: 7

8 About the role You will be joining an established team of Associate Caseworkers, primarily working from home. As an Associate Caseworker, you will be investigating complaints from members of the public about the health service in England. This is an opportunity to gain invaluable experience and to help make a difference to society. The work we do is extremely important in righting individual wrongs, informing public policy and driving improvements in public services. This is chance for you to be involved if you would enjoy working in a challenging and varied role. 8

9 Role description Job title: Associate Caseworker Fees: Reports to: Direct reports: Location: 700 on successful completion of a case Investigations Manager None Home Working Job Purpose To conclude investigations in a timely and proportionate way to the agreed quality and output standards. Key Accountabilities Manages personal caseload effectively, ensuring that all cases are progressed promptly and proportionately, are sampled in line with PHSO s quality assurance process and are fully resolved at the earliest opportunity Analyses information; identifies any gaps in that information that need to be filled in order to resolve the case (taking into account any wider strategic issues to be addressed in order to contribute to the improvement of public services); and obtains that information in a proportionate and efficient way Provides logical, succinct and justified analysis Provides an appropriate and clear explanation of our findings Provides excellent customer service to all customers (internal and external) and maintains appropriate relationships with other stakeholders Maintains full, accurate and up-to-date records/audit trails on the case management system and paper files 9

10 Person Specification Knowledge Skills Understanding of the NHS or Public administration (central government in particular) and the context in which it operates ideal but not essential. IT literate Excellent oral and written communication skills Able to influence others including those outside of your direct working relationships Excellent interpersonal skills Experience Experience of analysing complex written material to identify a way forward Identifying and summarising key issues Negotiating outcomes with others Working in a customer focused environment Managing a complex and varied caseload/project Competencies 1. Achieving and delivering results Being objective, using evidence and knowledge to problem solve Making sound judgements and providing accurate and expert advice Showing clarity of thought, setting priorities, analysing and using evidence to weigh up options/alternatives before reaching well-reasoned, justifiable decisions 2. Leadership Focussing on, and taking responsibility for, delivering timely outcomes Responding to goals and dealing with challenges in a responsive and constructive way Maintaining a focus on priorities and delivery Striving to improve and maintain a high quality of service through all channels and opportunities Taking into account diverse customer needs both internally and externally Seeking out opportunities to maximise customer benefit Being responsible for ensuring available resources are used responsibly 3. Engaging with people Communicating clearly in an effective and appropriate way, including being able to vary the delivery of the message being communicated to the needs of the audience Listening attentively and recognising people s diverse backgrounds and needs Influencing others effectively creating support for ideas and initiatives Engaging with people with honesty, integrity, conviction and enthusiasm 10

11 4. Organisational and External Sensitivity Being open and responsive to change, embracing new ways of working Identifying where things can change and actively suggesting ways of making improvements Being innovative about doing things differently or working in a smarter more focussed way Making sure we strive to deliver more results to more people. 11

12 Application process Your application should be in the form of written CV and supporting statement covering the 2 specified application questions stated below: 1. Please describe a time you have analysed complex material, what did you do? What was the outcome? 2. Please describe a time you have had to complete a task within a challenging time frame, what did you do? What was the outcome? In answering the questions you should take into account the person specification and the competencies required for the role. Selection process CVs and responses will be considered and shortlisted. Applicants will be invited to attend an assessment day where you will be asked to complete a written assessment and an interview. Further details regarding the assessment day will be provided to shortlisted candidates. Applications should be submitted via our e recruitment site no later than 10am on Tuesday 17 November Assessment and Interviews are due to take place the week commencing 30 November Adjustments to the selection process The nature of the selection process is described above. If you need to have adjustments made at the interview to enable you to complete the selection process, please ensure that you state this in the disability section on the application form. We are committed to making reasonable adjustments where possible. 12

13 Summary of Terms and Conditions Contract Self Employed Fees 700 on successful completion of a case Pre-employment checks All offers of employment are conditional and subject to our pre-employment checks, including security clearance, references and a health assessment for fitness to work. If necessary, you may need to undertake a medical assessment. Equal opportunities No employee or job applicant will receive less favourable treatment on the grounds of age, colour, disability, ethnic (or national) origin, gender, marital status, political opinion, religious belief, sexual orientation, trade union activity, or any other relevant factor, or be disadvantaged by any condition or requirement that cannot be shown to be justifiable. Disability Applications from people covered by the Equality Act 2010 are particularly welcome. The term disability is defined in the Equality Act 2010 as a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term effect (that has lasted or is likely to last for a period of twelve months or more) on the ability to carry out normal day-today activities. Any disabled applicant who applies under the guaranteed interview scheme (GIS) and who meets the minimum selection criteria will automatically progress to the next stage of the recruitment process, which may be an assessment or interview. By minimum selection criteria we mean that you must provide us with evidence in your application form that you meet the level of competence required for the qualifications, knowledge, skills or experience defined as essential. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us. A false declaration of a disability under the GIS to obtain a guaranteed interview, which results in employment, may invalidate your contract of employment. If you think you have a disability but are unsure, then you may wish to consult your doctor before completing the relevant section on the application form. You may wish to declare a disability but not apply under the GIS. Where a disability is declared, we will make all reasonable adjustments to accommodate your needs. 13

14 Data protection The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman s Office will record the information given for the purposes of recruitment and selection monitoring. We will process the information for the purposes of HR administration and statistical evaluation only. Travelling expenses Candidates who are invited to interview can claim reimbursement of reasonable travelling expenses to the interview, up to a maximum of 100 per return journey (please note that this is for standard class travel only). Further information will be in the invitation to interview letter. Feedback Candidates are asked to note that we do not provide feedback on applications at longlisting or shortlisting stage. 14