Job responsibilities
TITLE: Operational Governance and Compliance Officer
DEPARTMENT Operational Team
LOCATION: Leeds
HOURS OF WORK: 30 hours per week
NATURE OF CONTRACT: Fixed Term 12 months
ACCOUNTABLE TO: Chief Operating Officer
ROLE SUMMARY
This is a fantastic opportunity to be part of an innovative, close-knit team delivering a range of primary and community care services across Leeds. The Operational Governance and Compliance Officer plays a key role in ensuring that Leeds GP Confederation services operate safely, effectively, and in line with statutory, regulatory, and contractual requirements. The postholder will support the implementation of governance processes, oversee operational compliance activity, and ensure that incidents, complaints, patient experience, information governance, and regulatory standards (including CQC) are effectively managed.
Working closely with the Operational Team, and clinical colleagues, the post holder will be proactive, and detail orientated to produce regular governance and compliance reports for senior leadership, Board, and relevant subcommittees. The post holder will support the integration of governance data into performance dashboards and quality reports. This role is essential to ensuring the smooth operation of all governance processes, supporting risk management, and promoting a culture of continuous learning.
The role requires strong organisational, analytical, and communication skills, with the ability to work collaboratively across services to embed a culture of continuous improvement, learning, and quality.
MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Governance and Compliance Oversight
- Support the development, implementation, and monitoring of robust operational governance frameworks across Leeds GP Confederation services.
- Maintain governance documentation, including policy registers, risk registers, compliance logs, and internal assurance records.
- Coordinate internal audits and self-assessments, ensuring actions are followed up and reported through governance structures.
- Ensure services comply with NHS England guidance, contractual requirements, and relevant clinical and corporate governance standards.
- Provide accurate and timely governance reports to senior management, boards, and governance committees.
Incident and Complaint Management
- Oversee the operational management of incidents, and complaints, ensuring timely investigation, documentation, and resolution in line with organisational policy and NHS guidance.
- Support root cause analysis and lessons-learned processes, ensuring findings are communicated and embedded in service improvement plans.
- Prepare reports and trend analyses for governance meetings, highlighting areas for improvement and compliance risks.
Patient Experience and Engagement
- Lead the collection, analysis, and reporting of patient experience feedback, including Friends and Family Test (FFT) and other survey data.
- Work with service leads to ensure patient feedback informs service design and continuous improvement.
- Support communication with patients and stakeholders regarding service quality, complaints, and improvement initiatives.
Policy and Procedure Management
Coordinate the review, updating, and approval of policies and standard operating procedures (SOPs).
Ensure all staff have timely access to up-to-date policies and understand their responsibilities in relation to compliance.
Information Governance
- Ensure operational compliance with information governance legislation and standards, including UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018, and the NHS Data Security and Protection Toolkit.
- Support staff with IG queries, providing advice, escalation routes, and promoting best practice in data handling and confidentiality.
- Oversee the management of IG incidents, data breaches, and Subject Access Requests (SARs), ensuring timely investigation and reporting.
- Work collaboratively with the Data Protection Officer (DPO), Caldicott Guardian, IT, and clinical teams to ensure appropriate data security and data sharing controls are in place.
- Support IG training compliance and maintain evidence required for audits and external assurance.
CQC and Regulatory Readiness
- Support operational leaders in the readiness for CQC inspections, ensuring evidence portfolios, documentation, and staff awareness are maintained.
- Working with operational leaders, monitor compliance with CQC Key Lines of Enquiry (KLOEs) and support action plans to address gaps or recommendations.
- Work with operational teams to implement action plans and improvements arising from inspections or internal reviews.
- Collate and maintain documentation required for external assurance and accreditation processes.
Risk Management
- Maintain and update operational risk registers, ensuring risks are appropriately described, scored, mitigated, and escalated where needed.
- Contribute to governance committees and meetings, providing accurate reporting and assurance on compliance activity.
Training and Awareness
- Support delivery of governance and compliance training for staff (e.g. incident reporting, complaint handling, CQC standards).
- Promote a culture of continuous improvement, openness, and learning across all operational teams.
Reporting and Communication
- Produce regular governance and compliance reports for senior leadership, Board, and relevant subcommittees.
- Support the integration of governance data into performance dashboards and quality reports.
Team working:
- Work as an effective and responsible team member, supporting others and exploring the mechanisms to develop new ways of working.
- Accept delegation from senior staff, prioritise own workload and ensure effective time management strategies are embedded in own practice.
- Participate in team activities that create opportunities to improve patient care.
- Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the teams performance.
