Job summary
Are you an organised, motivated and passionate about upholding transparency and accountability in the NHS?
Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are seeking a dedicated Freedom of Information (FOI) Officer to join our dynamic Information Governance Team on a 12 month fixed term basis.
You'll play a key role in managing and coordinating Freedom of Information requests, ensuring the Trust meets its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Working closely with departments across the organisation, you'll support locating and reviewing information, applying relevant exemptions and prepare accurate, timely responses to applicants including members of the public, media and other sources.
We offer flexible working with a blend of office and home-based arrangements.
37.5 hours per week - Monday to Friday.
Please note that this vacancy may close early if a sufficient number of applications are received.
NHS Employees should ideally secure their manager's agreement for a secondment arrangement ideally prior to applying, as this will be a condition of any offer made.This vacancy is advertised on a fixed term basis for 12 to provide cover for a substantive employee on secondment and will end in December 2026 or when the substantive postholder returns. Whilst this post is advertised on a fixed term / secondment basis there is the potential that this post may become permanent in the future.
Main duties of the job
The main duties will include:
- Coordinate, monitor and respond to incoming FOI requests within statutory deadlines.
- Apply exemptions appropriately and assist in conducting public interest tests
- liaise with internal teams to gather and validate information
- maintain accurate records and contribute to performance reporting
- support wider Information Governance initiatives including: transparency, records management and publication schemes
- Provide advice and guidance to staff on FOI processes and best practice.
About us
Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are the proud providers of acute hospital and community services to the people of the Wigan Borough and surrounding areas. At WWL, we value our staff believing that 'happy staff, makes for happy patients'. We have a recognised track record in staff engagement and living our values.
People at the Heart
Listen and Involve
Kind and Respectful
ONE Team
WWL are committed to placing the patient at the heart of everything we do, and in the provision of safe, effective care that acknowledges and ensures dignity. We are seeking to recruit people who share our values and beliefs.
At WWL we value the benefits a rich and diverse workforce brings to our community and therefore welcome applications from all sections of society.
COVID-19 vaccination remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course our patients from the virus when working in our healthcare settings. Whilst COVID-19 vaccination is not a condition of employment, we do encourage our staff to get vaccinated. If you are unvaccinated there is helpful advice and information available by contacting covid-19.vaccine@wwl.nhs.uk where you can also ask about how to access vaccinations.
Job description
Job responsibilities
- Demonstrate a detailed knowledge of various legislation such as the Data Protection Act but, more specifically the Freedom of Information Act and the Environmental Information Regulations, acting as a source of expertise and guidance to Trust staff within the organisation.
- Provide statistical information to the Information Governance Officer/Manager, to support ongoing monitoring of Trust compliance with core performance standards, using knowledge of statistical process control techniques.
- Produce monthly document control performance reports for executive review, ensuring that all information is timely and accurate, based on knowledge of key performance indicators around corporate governance.
- Maintain and update own knowledge of developments in Freedom of Information / Environmental Information Regulations and their related statutory instruments/policies.
- Assist the Information Governance Officer in administering the process of appeals against refusal of Freedom of Information and Environmental Information Regulation request decisions, maintaining a log of the issues actions taken.
- Analyses information provided by departments in order to provide responses to Freedom of Information queries
- Analyses trends of requests and provide those finding in report form.
For further information, please see attachments.
Job description
Job responsibilities
- Demonstrate a detailed knowledge of various legislation such as the Data Protection Act but, more specifically the Freedom of Information Act and the Environmental Information Regulations, acting as a source of expertise and guidance to Trust staff within the organisation.
- Provide statistical information to the Information Governance Officer/Manager, to support ongoing monitoring of Trust compliance with core performance standards, using knowledge of statistical process control techniques.
- Produce monthly document control performance reports for executive review, ensuring that all information is timely and accurate, based on knowledge of key performance indicators around corporate governance.
- Maintain and update own knowledge of developments in Freedom of Information / Environmental Information Regulations and their related statutory instruments/policies.
- Assist the Information Governance Officer in administering the process of appeals against refusal of Freedom of Information and Environmental Information Regulation request decisions, maintaining a log of the issues actions taken.
- Analyses information provided by departments in order to provide responses to Freedom of Information queries
- Analyses trends of requests and provide those finding in report form.
For further information, please see attachments.
Person Specification
Additional
Essential
- Speak English to an appropriate standard relevant to the role, i.e with confidence and accuracy, using correct sentence structures and vocabulary and without hesitation
- Flexible approach to work
- Hardworking
- Professional appearance / attitude
- Ability to remain calm under pressure
- Ability to travel independently to other locations within the Trust as required
- Ability to travel to other locations within the Trust
Desirable
- Ability to handle difficult circumstances
- Full and clean UK Driving licence
Knowledge
Essential
- Knowledge of the NHS
- Knowledge of the Access to Health Records legislation
- Knowledge of the General Data Protection Regulations and the UK Data Protection Act
- Full knowledge of the Freedom of Information Act and Environmental Information Regulations
Desirable
Skills
Essential
- Excellent Communication Skills
- Ability to prioritise workload
- Able to communicate both written and verbally with all levels of staff
- Computer literate and knowledge of Microsoft Office
- Ability to deal sensitively with confidential information
- Excellent organisational skills
- Advanced keyboard skills
- Ability to use own initiative and work under direction
- Ability to work as part of a team
- Able to extract and analyse information from databases
Experience
Essential
- Experience of adhering to targets
- Relevant NHS experience of the Data Protection Act
- Experience of HIS, EPR and Patient Centre
- Ability to prioritise workloads to tight deadlines
- Demonstrate experience of using Microsoft Word / Excel spreadsheets
- Day to day management and supervisory experience
Desirable
- Ability to use Microsoft Office Packages
- Awareness of organisational policies, procedures and guidelines
- Customer service focused experience
Qualifications
Essential
- 5 GCSE's level 4-9 / Grade A*-C including Maths and English
- NVQ Level 3 in Business Administration or equivalent
Desirable
Person Specification
Additional
Essential
- Speak English to an appropriate standard relevant to the role, i.e with confidence and accuracy, using correct sentence structures and vocabulary and without hesitation
- Flexible approach to work
- Hardworking
- Professional appearance / attitude
- Ability to remain calm under pressure
- Ability to travel independently to other locations within the Trust as required
- Ability to travel to other locations within the Trust
Desirable
- Ability to handle difficult circumstances
- Full and clean UK Driving licence
Knowledge
Essential
- Knowledge of the NHS
- Knowledge of the Access to Health Records legislation
- Knowledge of the General Data Protection Regulations and the UK Data Protection Act
- Full knowledge of the Freedom of Information Act and Environmental Information Regulations
Desirable
Skills
Essential
- Excellent Communication Skills
- Ability to prioritise workload
- Able to communicate both written and verbally with all levels of staff
- Computer literate and knowledge of Microsoft Office
- Ability to deal sensitively with confidential information
- Excellent organisational skills
- Advanced keyboard skills
- Ability to use own initiative and work under direction
- Ability to work as part of a team
- Able to extract and analyse information from databases
Experience
Essential
- Experience of adhering to targets
- Relevant NHS experience of the Data Protection Act
- Experience of HIS, EPR and Patient Centre
- Ability to prioritise workloads to tight deadlines
- Demonstrate experience of using Microsoft Word / Excel spreadsheets
- Day to day management and supervisory experience
Desirable
- Ability to use Microsoft Office Packages
- Awareness of organisational policies, procedures and guidelines
- Customer service focused experience
Qualifications
Essential
- 5 GCSE's level 4-9 / Grade A*-C including Maths and English
- NVQ Level 3 in Business Administration or equivalent
Desirable
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.
Employer details
Employer name
Wrightington Wigan & Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Address
Suite 9, Buckingham Row
Brick Kiln Lane
Wigan
WN1 1XX
Employer's website
http://www.wwl.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)
