Job responsibilities
The postholderis responsible for operating a high-quality correspondence, enquiries and complaints service for UKHSA stakeholders, including members of the public, healthcare professionals and government departments.
The postholder will have regular contact with staff at all levels across UKHSA and will need to establish and maintain efficient and effective working relationships with both internal and external stakeholders.
In ensuring that UKHSAs responses are timely and accurate, the postholder will work with the organisations scientists and will be able to take complex scientific and technical information and be able to adapt it for a wide range of audiences.
The postholder will support the delivery of a reactive enquiries service to major incidents. The postholder will liaise with colleagues in the communications team and Health Protection directorate to ensure that UKHSAs responses in these situations are authoritative, clear and entirely consistent with our messaging at both national and local levels.
The postholder will support the delivery of a complaints service, providing responses that are in line with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) good complaint handling guide.
The postholder will support the business of the team through undertaking activities relating to reporting, engagement, continuous improvement, learning and development and wellbeing.
The postholder will follow the set approval processes and will notify colleagues of any correspondence that could impact on their work.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities:
- Operate an enquiries and complaints service that satisfies government requirements to answer correspondence from UKHSAs wide range of stakeholders.
- Produce draft responses to correspondence using information gained from a wide range of sources, i.e. subject experts, UKHSA publications.
- Investigate and respond to complaints in line with the Parliamentary and Health Ombudsman Guide to Good Complaint Handling.
- Assisting in the editing of complex contributions from scientists, subject leads and senior members of staff, to the extent that they are appropriate for a lay audience.
- Regularly review with the team what worked well and what didnt, ensuring best practices are embedded and shared.
- Work with colleagues across UKHSA and the wider health system to ensure consistent public messaging during outbreak situations.
- Maintain a comprehensive accurate record of figures, subject areas and complexity level of enquiries and complaints received by UKHSA and a record of responses received and sent.
- Assist in the compilation of regular monthly and quarterly statistical reports from the data held on general enquiries and complaints.
- Monitor levels and nature of correspondence associated with various marketing campaigns.
- Assist in maintaining and regularly updating content for the Public Accountability section of the intranet.
The duties/responsibilities listed above describe the post as it is at present and is not intended to be exhaustive. The Job holder is expected to accept reasonable alterations and additional tasks of a similar level that may be necessary. The job description and person specification may be reviewed on an ongoing basis in accordance with the changing needs of the organisation.
Essential Criteria
- Experience of working in a correspondence and/or complaint handling service area in a government setting and/or health related policy area;
- Ability to work at pace on a range of competing priorities, whilst remaining calm under pressure and demonstrating a high level of resilience;
- Attention to detail, strong organisational skills to ensure accurate record keeping and compliance with procedures;
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to build trust with stakeholders to achieve goals;
- Written communication: highly literate, able to draft clear and well-structured responses and reports, accurate use of grammar, spelling and punctuation, advanced editing skills;
- Ability to use initiative and be proactive to identify solutions and resolve complaints effectively;
- Ability to solve problems and escalate issues to Senior Leadership Team when necessary;
- Good interpersonal skills and the ability to work effectively as part of a team, co-operating with and supporting colleagues;
- Ability to communicate complex legal, scientific and technical information to a non-scientific audience;
- Excellent IT skills Microsoft Office Suite
- Equality and diversity - an understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships, both in terms of day-to-day working practices, but also in relation to management systems.
Selection Process Details
Stage 1: Application & Sift
Success Profiles
You will be required to complete an application form. You will be assessed on the listed 11 essential criteria, and this will be in the form of a:
- Application form (Employer/ Activity history section on the application)
- 500 word Statement of Suitability.
This should outline how your skills, experience and knowledge provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria.
The Application form and Statement of Suitability will be marked together.
Longlisting: In the event of a large number of applications we will longlist into 3 piles of:
- Meets all essential criteria
- Meets some essential criteria
- Meets no essential criteria
The pile 'meets all essential criteria' will proceed to shortlisting stage.
Shortlisting: In the event of a large number of applications we will shortlist on the lead criteria of:
- Experience of working in a correspondence and/or complaint handling service area in a government setting and/or health related policy area;
- Written communication: highly literate, able to draft clear and well-structured responses and reports, accurate use of grammar, spelling and punctuation, advanced editing skills.
If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to interview & assessment.Please do not exceed 500 words. We will not consider any words over and above this number.
Feedback will not be provided at this stage.
Stage 2: Interview
Success Profiles
You will be invited to a single remote interview.
Behaviours and experience will be tested at interview.
The Behaviours tested during the interview stage will be:
- Managing a Quality Service (lead behaviour)
- Delivering at Pace
- Communicating and Influencing
- Working Together
Interviews dates to be confirmed.
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Selection Process
Please note you will not be able to upload your CV. You must complete the application form in as much detail as possible. Please do not email us your CV.
Eligibility CriteriaExternal- open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service (including by definition internal applicants).
Location
This role is being offered as hybrid working based at any of our Core HQs. We offer great flexible working opportunities at UKHSA and operate using a hybrid working model where business needs allow. This provides us with greater flexibility about how and where we work, to get the best from our workforce. As a hybrid worker, you will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of your contractual working hours (approximately 3 days a week pro rata, averaged over a month) working at one of UKHSA's core HQs (Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, and London- Canary Wharf).
Our core HQ offices are modern and newly refurbished with excellent city centre transport link and benefit from benefit from co-location with other government departments such as the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC).
Security Clearance Level Requirement
Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is Basic Personnel Security Standard.
