Job summary
Somerset NHS Foundation Trust is looking to appoint a full-time, permanent Freedom to Speak Up (FTSU) Guardian.
You'll provide a focus on ensuring that colleagues feel able to, or are supported to, speak up in order to:
- Protect patient safety and quality of care
- Improve the experience of colleagues
- Promote continuous learning and improvement
You'll also ensure that:
- Barriers to speaking up are addressed
- A positive culture of speaking up is fostered
- Issues raised are used as opportunities for learning and improvement
Support will be provided locally by the lead guardian, by regional colleagues and the National Guardians Office.
Main duties of the job
You will provide expert knowledge in relation to the Freedom to Speak up agenda and, alongside the lead guardian, work collaboratively with the Trust Board to create the strategic direction, ensuring it meets the needs of the workforce. You will support the lead guardian on interpreting and advising on national policy, guidance and standards on Freedom to Speak Up across the Trust
You will operate independently, impartially, and objectively on all matters relating to speaking up in the workplace, taking a visible role in promoting the processes through which these concerns can be raised.
You will ensure colleagues have an understanding these issues can be raised formally or informally and these processes will enable feedback, understanding and learning from the experiences of those involved.
This role is countywide. The base is flexible and can be agreed at offer stage.
About us
As an organisation, the NHS offers a wide range of benefits including flexible working, fantastic pension contributions, market leading annual leave allowance, career progression and regular conversations, not to mention our Blue Light Card and NHS exclusive discounts.
The benefits of working in Somerset include the idyllic countryside, with our areas of outstanding beauty and stunning coastlines. You will get to enjoy these perks whilst still only being a stone's throw away from bustling city centres like Bristol, Bath and Exeter and only two hours away from London.
There are excellent educational facilities in the area and, when compared to other regions, house prices are reasonable. You will to experience the best of both in Somerset, the countryside and the cosmopolitan - there is truly something for everyone!
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please see job description for full details.
The reactive responsibilities of the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian role include:
- Offering an additional route to speaking up
- Thanking the person speaking up
- Listening without judgement
- Offering support
- Helping the person explore options and think about their next steps
- Empowering people to action or escalate (where appropriate) matters on behalf of the person speaking up
- Ensuring that patient safety or safeguarding matters are handled with the urgency they require
- Providing ongoing support where required
- Not getting involved in investigations but ensuring they happen well
- Ensuring feedback is given to the person speaking up
The proactive responsibilities of the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian role include:
- Communicating your role
- Attending inductions and staff forums
- Looking for opportunities to promote speaking up
- Helping your organisation identify barriers to speaking up and ways to reduce them
- Developing partnerships within your organisation
- Recording and reporting data
- Using data to identify themes and reporting in person to leaders so that speaking up leads to learning and improvement
- Speaking truth to power
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please see job description for full details.
The reactive responsibilities of the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian role include:
- Offering an additional route to speaking up
- Thanking the person speaking up
- Listening without judgement
- Offering support
- Helping the person explore options and think about their next steps
- Empowering people to action or escalate (where appropriate) matters on behalf of the person speaking up
- Ensuring that patient safety or safeguarding matters are handled with the urgency they require
- Providing ongoing support where required
- Not getting involved in investigations but ensuring they happen well
- Ensuring feedback is given to the person speaking up
The proactive responsibilities of the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian role include:
- Communicating your role
- Attending inductions and staff forums
- Looking for opportunities to promote speaking up
- Helping your organisation identify barriers to speaking up and ways to reduce them
- Developing partnerships within your organisation
- Recording and reporting data
- Using data to identify themes and reporting in person to leaders so that speaking up leads to learning and improvement
- Speaking truth to power
Person Specification
Qualifications and Training
Essential
- Educated to Degree level or equivalent
- Evidence of coaching / mentoring experience or willingness to undertake
Knowledge
Essential
- Understanding of the Freedom to Speak up Review and key recommendations
- Knowledge of the NHS, challenges facing frontline and support colleagues and the range of complexities that drive behaviours
Experience
Essential
- Experience of providing effective support to colleagues in difficult work-related situations
- Understanding the organisation Acute, Community and Mental Health & Learning Disability
Planning and Organisational skills
Essential
- Ability to interpret analyse and triangulate data from various sources
- Ability to plan and organise own workload to deliver service provision
Person Specification
Qualifications and Training
Essential
- Educated to Degree level or equivalent
- Evidence of coaching / mentoring experience or willingness to undertake
Knowledge
Essential
- Understanding of the Freedom to Speak up Review and key recommendations
- Knowledge of the NHS, challenges facing frontline and support colleagues and the range of complexities that drive behaviours
Experience
Essential
- Experience of providing effective support to colleagues in difficult work-related situations
- Understanding the organisation Acute, Community and Mental Health & Learning Disability
Planning and Organisational skills
Essential
- Ability to interpret analyse and triangulate data from various sources
- Ability to plan and organise own workload to deliver service provision
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
