This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced Manager to join our fast-paced Children Services Complaints Team. We are looking for a highly motivated, enthusiastic, and organised person, who can ensure consistent high levels of support to an increasingly demanding service, and has the ability to manage a heavy workload. Ideally you will have background experience in schools, education and children’s social care to be able to hit the ground running. You will join a friendly, dedicated, and inclusive support team and everyday will bring new challenges. If this sounds like you with an I can do attitude, then we would like to hear from you.
About the Role:
The Complaints Team has management responsibility and overview of the complaints process to ensure that there are correct Policies and Procedures so that all schools, education and CS social care complaints are managed within the statutory guidelines as laid out by the DOH. The Team brings independence, mediation and solutions to solve complex cases and have an overview of all complaints to ensure that the relevant time scales are adhered to and learning implemented as identified through complaints. Where there are joint complex cases with other organisation’s the team bring organisation’s together to resolve complaints using various techniques.
Day to Day Expectations:
-Provide clear guidance/training to support officers to ensure effective complaints management of schools, education and social care complaints process at all stages
-Negotiate solutions and provide mediation to resolve complaints
-Monitor and draft reports on all stages of the complaints process
-Review complex cases to minimise escalation and where necessary draft responses for approval by the Complaints Manager.
-Undertake other activities commensurate with the grade as directed by the Complaints Manager.
You will Need to:
- Have the ability to prioritise a challenging workload and manage a busy team working to statutory timescales.
-Make decisions on whether to accept or decline a complaint from a member of the public.
-Have difficult telephone calls – where someone is demanding to speak to the Director or Chief Executive. Depending on the circumstances, the post holder would need to decide how to best manage the call without it escalating to senior managers.
-Receive numerous correspondence from a complainant who write to everyone in the council with the same issues and expecting individual responses. The post holder would look at how to best manage the situation and take control to ensure that one officer is tasked to action all correspondence so that the complainant receives one consistent message.
-Manage/support the workload of the Support Officers to ensure that they are equipped to deal with the day to day.
Skills:
Experience of local authority social services and or schools, education work or equivalent.
Negotiation and mediation skills.
Knowledge of law, guidance and developing good practice in the areas of
Education and Children's, Adults Social Care.
Independent experience of complaints handling.
Interpersonal, communication and writing skills.
ICT literate.
Ability to deal with stressful situations and challenging clients.
Ability to prioritise a challenging workload and manage a busy team working to
statutory timescales.
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme
Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to
Disability Confident.
