PALS & Complaints Manager

If you are Kind, Fair, Ingenious and Determined then we want you to come and join our #PennineCarePeople

https://www.penninecare.nhs.uk/values

Job overview

We are looking for an inspiring leader to join our team and help us make the patient and carer voice loud, unmissable and impactful in our Trust.

Our Trust’s Big Ambitions include Listening to Improve. One of the ways we will achieve this is by understanding and acting on the concerns and complaints of our patients and carers. In this role, you will lead our PALS and Complaints Team to make sure we have accessible, person-centred ways of receiving and responding to concerns and complaints, maximising the benefit we take from understanding how people experience the care we provide.

The role is full-time, with opportunities for flexible working, leading a dedicated team and working alongside colleagues across our Trust. As a key member of our patient and carer experience and engagement leadership team, you will make a real impact on the lives of those raising concerns and complaints, other patients, carers and our staff.

We would encourage any applicants to contact Ben Woffenden, Head of Patient and Carer Experience and Engagement, if you would like more information on the role, our Trust or the application process.

Main duties of the job

The Complaints & PALS Manager has responsibility for the ensuring we respond to complaints and concerns in a patient and carer focused manner, in compliance with national legislation, contractual requirements, internal key performance indicators and best practice, to drive service improvements across our Trust.

They will ensure our Trust’s procedures for addressing complaints and concerns are accessible and integrated with other quality governance and organisational processes. Key responsibilities include:

• Develop and maintain policies and procedures that enable complaints and concerns to be responded to in a patient and carer focused, robust and timely manner to a consistently high standard.
• Act as a cultural leader within the organisation, offering constructive challenge to ensure patient and carer feedback is sought, addressed and acted upon and that this is done in accordance with the principles of Just Culture.
• Develop and maintain strategies to drive learning from complaints and concerns to improve our services.
• Lead the PALS & Complaints Team to deliver a flexible and patient and carer focused service.
• Provide expert advice and training to staff throughout our Trust, working collaboratively across our leadership structure and with other senior staff when expressions of dissatisfaction are received from patients, carers or those acting on their behalf.
• Consistently displaying our Trust values in every aspect of the role.

Working for our organisation

We are proud to provide high quality mental health and learning disability services, both inpatient and in the community across five boroughs of Greater Manchester - Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport and Tameside and Glossop.

Our vision is for a happier and more hopeful life for everyone in our communities and our staff work hard to deliver the very best care for the people who use our services. We’re really proud of our #PennineCarePeople and do everything we can to make sure we’re a great place to work.

All individuals regardless of race, age, disability, ethnicity, nationality, gender, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marriage and civil partnership are encouraged to apply for this post. We would also encourage applications from individuals with a lived experience of mental illness, either individually or as a carer.

If you come and work for us we will offer a range of benefits and opportunities, including:

• Generous annual leave entitlement for Agenda for Change and Medical and Dental staff.
• Flexible working opportunities to support your work/life balance
• Access to Continued Professional Development
• Involvement in improvement and research activities
• Health and Wellbeing activities and access to an excellent staff wellbeing service
• Access to staff discounts across retail, leisure and travel

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see attached job description and person specification to support your application for this post. Please refer to the essential criteria in the person specification which will highlight the skills, knowledge and experience you will need to demonstrate in your application, by way of example, to give yourself the best opportunity to be shortlisted.

Person specification

Education / Qualifications

• Educated to degree level in relevant field of study or equivalent level of experience together with specialist knowledge of NHS complaints procedures.
• Evidence of commitment to continuous professional development.
• Evidence of post graduate study to Masters level or equivalent experience in any of the following: Qualitative / quantitative data analysis teaching and/ or training delivery, Management/ leadership

Experience

• Demonstrable experience of successfully leading organisational responses to complex complaints.
• Proven experience of working alongside senior managers to effectively implement policy and procedures with measurable results.
• Demonstrable experience of managing and developing staff to work effectively as a team.
• Proven experience of effectively undertaking investigations into complex complaints and/or incidents.
• Demonstrable experience of consistently dealing with patients, carers and staff, maintaining a caring and compassionate approach in difficult, emotive and stressful circumstances in which they are raising serious concerns and complaints.
• Experience of successfully leading a team to plan and organising complex programmes of work, collectively managing multiple tasks and conflicting priorities and work under pressure to tight deadlines.
• Significant experience of working and communicating with vulnerable people from diverse backgrounds.

• Experience of leading a service through periods of change.
• Experience of using Ulysses database and Tableau or Power BI.
• Experience of co- designing policies and practices with patients and carers.

Knowledge

• Highly developed understanding of NHS complaints legislation, regulatory expectations, best practice publications and how they can be effectively complied with / implemented.
• Working knowledge of Quality Governance principles and workstreams, including patient experience, patient safety and clinical effectiveness.
• Understanding of quality improvement methodologies and their application.

• Knowledge of mental health service provision.

Skills and Abilities

• Proven excellent interpersonal skills including the ability to explain highly complex issues clearly and sensitively using tact and diplomacy, verbally and in writing.
• Proven ability to identify key issues, themes and points in large volumes of correspondence / data provided in extremely emotive contexts and then reach agreement with involved parties as to how they should be addressed.
• Demonstrable ability to produce written reports and present them to a variety of audiences, conveying and analysing complex qualitative and quantitative data in an accessible and understandable format.
• Proven ability to perform under pressure, meeting multiple competing deadlines and lead others to do so.
• Confidence in making presentations, public speaking and delivering training.
• Proven ability to influence senior managers and clinicians, using mediation and negotiating skills.
• Demonstrable ability to develop and communicate a clear strategic direction and implement effective policy and processes to deliver it.
• Proven ability to lead a team to deliver shared goals in a manner that embodies organisational values.
• Proven ability to develop and deliver effective training to all staff levels.
• Demonstrable ability to select appropriate investigatory method to suit characteristics of a case.
• Proven ability to chair difficult meetings where emotive, sensitive and contentious matters are discussed.
• Proven ability to offer challenge in an organisation and to escalate concerns appropriately.
• Highly competent IT skills.

• Financial and budget management skills.

Work Related Circumstances

• Use of a car or access to a means of mobility to travel across the Trust footprint in line with service needs
• Willing to carry out all duties and responsibilities of the post in accordance with the Trust’s Equal Opportunities and Equality and Diversity policies
• Appointments to regulated and controlled activities require an enhanced DBS disclosure.

Hints and tips for completing your application can be found here.

Sponsorship - We are an approved sponsoring organisation. Applications will be considered from applicants requiring sponsorship alongside all other applications. Please be aware, not all roles are eligible for sponsorship. You can review the list of eligible role and requirements on the government website.

What happens after your application has been received?

You will be informed about the progress of your application following shortlisting via email. Only applicants who clearly demonstrate the criteria listed in the person specification will be shortlisted for interview. Interview invites will be sent out via email.

What happens if I am offered the position after interview?

The hiring manager will make contact with you to verbally offer you the position. The hiring manager will then inform Recruitment of the decision and provide relevant paperwork. You will be sent a formal conditional offer via email.

What pre-employment checks will I need to complete?

By conducting pre-employment checks, the recruitment team will verify that you meet the pre-conditions of the role you have been offered. Pre-employment checks will be carried out according to NHS Employment Check Standards. The checks are:

• Identity verification
• Right to work check
• Disclosure and barring service (DBS)/Criminal record check (dependent on role)
• Professional registration and/or qualification check
• Occupational health assessment
• Employment history and reference validation

All applicants external to NHS will be required to provide HMRC employment history to cover the most recent three years. This information will used to validate employment history and references as part of pre-employment checks.

If you are offer a position with is and you require sponsorship to support your right to work, we will review your eligibility in line with government guidance. If the role you have been offer is not eligible for sponsorship, and you are not able to evidence your right to work, your conditional offer could be withdrawn.

What happens when pre-employment checks are complete?

Recruitment will liaise with you and the hiring manager to arrange a start date for your new position. You will then be booked on to a Trust Welcome Session and be sent your Pennine Care NHS Terms and Conditions.

• We are committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) and recognise the importance of ensuring our diverse service user population is reflected within our workforce. Unfortunately, we know that, at present, there is underrepresentation of our communities in our workforce. We welcome applications from people from diverse communities to help us grow, learn, be better and consider brilliant innovation diverse people bring.
• If you would like to be considered under the disability confident scheme, you will be guaranteed an interview if you meet the essential criteria on the person specification for the post.
• If you require reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process please phone us on 0161 716 3181 at the earliest opportunity. We will support you to complete your application.
• Unfortunately we are not able to guarantee the transfer of lease cars, or cover the costs of early termination charges.
• We have a strict policy on unsolicited contact from recruitment agencies. Please do not contact our hiring managers directly.

We reserve the right to close a vacancy earlier than the advertised closing date if a sufficient number of applications have been received. To ensure you application is considered, please submit at the earliest opportunity.