Job vacancy: Investigation and Support Officer, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Gloucester

Job summary

Main area: Human Resources
Grade: NHS AfC: Band 8a (Indicative - under review)
Contract: 23 months (This is a fixed term contract for 23 months)
Hours: Part time - 22.5 hours per week (Hybrid)
Job ref: 318-24-COR-T1964

Employer: Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type: NHS
Site: Gloucestershire Royal Hospital
Town: Gloucester
Salary: £53,755 - £60,504 pa pro rata
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 09/12/2024 23:59

Investigation and Support Officer

NHS AfC: Band 8a (Indicative - under review)

Join us at an exciting time for Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust! We have an ambitious plan for our journey to Outstanding and are looking for aspirational, committed individuals to join us, making a real difference to both staff and patients.

As a former winner of England for excellence award: Tourism destination of the year, the beautiful city of Gloucester and the scenic regency spa town of Cheltenham are fantastic places to work and live.

As a hospital Trust we are currently involved in over 100 clinical trials and studies, whilst also providing acute elective and specialist services to a population of over 620,000.

By joining Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust new colleagues can look forward to a warm welcome and a future full of opportunities and support.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Assess, improve and professionalise the Trust response to investigations within the Employee and Human Resource setting by;

- Working with stakeholders to create systems and processes that will ensure consistency of assessment and decision making within a conduct, grievance and disciplinary setting

- Developing and improving the method of recording employee relations decisions within the corporate memory

- Building and maintaining the important links between initial case assessment and any necessity for investigation within the context of a Just and Learning approach

- Ensuring policies relevant to behaviour, discipline and grievance are regularly reviewed and revised to reflect current and best practice.

- Working alongside HRBPs and on behalf of the Associate Director of HR & Resourcing, reviewing and delivering a continuous training programme with HR practitioners to equip relevant Trust managers to deliver investigations and fulfil the role of Investigating Officer

- Deliver high quality training to build the pool of investigators, as well as for case managers and commissioning managers from all professional groups

- Creating and maintaining opportunity for investigators to collectively check, challenge and peer review with appropriate safeguards for anonymity.

- Acting as a mentor and critical friend, where required, for those in the Trust undertaking the role of Investigating Officer and case manager

- Assessing and building upon the engagement expectations with victims and witnesses in employee relation cases

- Developing and ensuring a consistency of assessment and reporting when policy determines a requirement for “fact-finding”

- Developing and maintaining a system of performance data reporting for investigations that recognises organisational threat, harm and/or risk which ensures the necessary proportionate governance and oversight

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

Masters Degree or equivalent or relevant experience
Relevant continuing CPD

Desirable criteria

MCIPD membership (Level 7 minimum)
Level 7 CIPD qualification

Experience

Essential criteria

Experience of leading a team
Record of experience of successfully leading a team
Experience of supporting senior colleagues, up to and including Executive level, with complex Human Resources challenges

Desirable criteria

Experience of negotiating with regional and local Trade Union officials in order to manage disputes, policy implementation and other relationship matters.

Knowledge Skills & Abilities

Essential criteria

Ability to lead a team of professionals who work autonomously, creating an environment to encourage creativity, collaboration and professional development.
Excellent oral and written communication skills
Strong ability to lead, influence and negotiate at senior levels
A solution focussed approach to problem solving and relationship management.
A collaborative approach to working with a range of functions within the wider People and OD service and Integrated Care System; experience of collaborating to deliver solutions and creating opportunities for service development
Ability to analyse complex information and workforce trends to identify key concerns and lead the collaborative development of trust wide solutions.
Ability to manage significant competing priorities with limited resources, prioritising delivery of HR Services in accordance with risk and the achievement of key objectives.
Experience in capturing the learning from sensitive employment relations issues and utilising this to develop improvements to policy, practise and services
Well-developed sensitivity to stakeholder relationships with a constructive yet strong approach to challenge, specifically up to Executive level.
A thorough and up to date knowledge of employment law and demonstrable experience of its pragmatic application.
Tenacity and Resilience
Confidence and experience in making difficult decisions and managing the implementation of decisions within a team.

Desirable criteria

Ability to use Microsoft Office applications
An understanding of the challenges within the NHS modernisation agenda and the ability to generate local solutions to these
Experience of successful partnership with Trade Unions
The ability to provide comprehensive senior reports, workforce information and to support the development of business cases.
Knowledge of the Just and Restorative learning approach to the assessment and progression of employee relations cases.

The health and wellbeing of our staff and patients remains the priority of the Trust. Vaccination remains the best chance we have of conquering COVID and the Trust encourages everyone to take up this offer.

Please note, this vacancy may close as soon as sufficient applications have been received, so please apply as soon as possible if you are interested. The Recruitment Team are unable to accept any applications after the position has closed on NHS Jobs.

Committed to safeguarding our community

If applicable for the post, all successful candidates will be required to pay for their own Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. The cost will be £29 (standard checks) or £46 (enhanced checks), and will be recovered through two instalments from the candidate's salary. Please contact [email protected] for further information.

The Trust is a safeguarding employer committed to the safeguarding and promotion of welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The Trust is committed to safe recruitment practices to protect children and vulnerable adults, and any appointment will be subject to satisfactory clearance. As part of the organisation's commitment to Safer Recruitment, candidates may request copies of relevant policies and procedures by contacting the Recruitment Team at [email protected]

Committed to supporting service personnel

As part of our commitment to support Service Personnel, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, in collaboration with the Career Transition Partnership, offer a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for all qualifying Service and Ex-Service Personnel. To qualify for a guaranteed interview, candidates must meet the essential criteria for the post and be either a current member of the Armed Forces, or be within the two year period of resettlement. If this applies to you please email the job reference number and your AR number to the Recruitment Team at [email protected]