Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the Corporate Governance Team at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust. The FOI & Policy Officer provides administrative support for the processing and management of the Trust's Freedom of Information requests and Trust policies. This is a dynamic role that requires exceptional organisational and communication skills and the ability to build effective working relationships with staff across the Trust and its various hospital sites.
Early application is advised as the post may be closed early if a high volume of applications is received.
For an informal discussion about the role contact Bannin De Witt Jansen, Head of Corporate Governance, on 0118 3225335
Main duties of the job
As a public organisation, the Trust has a statutory duty to comply with its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act. The administration of Freedom of Information requests is an integral part of adhering to the Trust's statutory duties.
Reporting directly to the Head of Corporate Governance, the FOI & Policy Officer is responsible for:
- Coordinating the management and response of incoming requests for Information that fall within the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) and Data Protection Acts and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
- Providing advice and guidance to Trust employees at all levels regarding the application of national Freedom of Information legislation.
- Ensuring the Trust remains compliant with national legislation and set deadlines in respect of Freedom of Information requests.
- Building and maintaining relationships with key senior members of staff within the Trust, FOI leads and Trust staff in general.
- To administer the Trusts database of policies and procedures, including approval, archiving storage, retention and publication of formal Trust procedural documents.
- Arranging for the efficient uploading of all corporate Trust procedural documents onto the intranet, ensuring that policies can be accessed easily and quickly.
- Collating evidence for the approval of policies and to ensure owners are notified of the need to review existing documents in a timely fashion.
About us
This role offers an opportunity to be part of a highly performing and ambitious Foundation Trust providing health services across Berkshire.
Reporting to the Head of Corporate Governance, you will play a key role in supporting the Trust's Freedom of Information and Policy compliance functions. You will work with the Head of Corporate Governance and to ensure that the Trust's FOI & Policy systems and processes are in place to ensure the highest standards of corporate governance in the organisation.
You will have exceptional organisation and administrative skills and will be a strong communicator. You will also be able to demonstrate high standards of tact, diplomacy and integrity in your work.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The post-holder is required to work with minimal supervision and autonomously, will be open, transparent and trustworthy.
The post-holder will liaise closely with other Trust staff with Freedom of Information and Policy responsibilities, to ensure the successful delivery of both Trust Compliance targets and legal duties.
The post-holder will work closely with, and report regularly to, the Head of Corporate Governance on all aspects of Freedom of Information and Policy and Procedure. The post-holder will be expected to actively contribute to the overall service provision of the Department.
Key Responsibilities/Duties:
Freedom of Information (FOI)
The post-holder will:
- Process FOI requests received into the Trust within the nationally set 20 day deadline.
- Ensure FOI requests do not breach the 20 day deadline.
- Maintain the Trusts FOI database and shared drive, ensuring that data quality within the database is to a high standard.
- Maintain and update the FOI policy and procedures to ensure they are compliant with national legislation.
- Provide weekly performance reports to the Head of Corporate Governance & Trust Secretary highlighting any concerns, confirmation of departments causing breaches, or trends in requests for that week.
- Produce monthly reports on FOI performance for the Information Governance Steering Group.
- Maintain the FOI contacts list for FOI leads within the Trust
- Maintain the FOI structure charts, requesting that FOI leads within each department provide you with updated structure charts on an annual basis.
- Continue to build and maintain strong relationships between the IG team and FOI leads within departments.
Policy and Procedures
The post holder will:
- Administer the Trusts database of policies and procedures, including approval, archiving storage, retention and publication of formal Trust procedural documents
- Arrange for the efficient uploading of all corporate Trust procedural documents onto the intranet, ensuring that polices can be accessed easily and quickly.
- Collate evidence for the approval of policies and to ensure owners are notified of the need to review existing documents in a timely fashion.
- Prepare compliance reports in respect of procedural documents for the Executive and as part of the Departments Corporate Performance reporting.
Other:
Arranging meetings and booking meeting rooms where required.
- Provide support with adhoc administration tasks.
- Provide support across the Corporate Governance Department, including attendance/support at membership events as required.
- Archiving of Department paperwork, in line with the Trust retention policy and procedure.
This job description is not exhaustive and will be subject to periodic review in association with the post holder.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The post-holder is required to work with minimal supervision and autonomously, will be open, transparent and trustworthy.
The post-holder will liaise closely with other Trust staff with Freedom of Information and Policy responsibilities, to ensure the successful delivery of both Trust Compliance targets and legal duties.
The post-holder will work closely with, and report regularly to, the Head of Corporate Governance on all aspects of Freedom of Information and Policy and Procedure. The post-holder will be expected to actively contribute to the overall service provision of the Department.
Key Responsibilities/Duties:
Freedom of Information (FOI)
The post-holder will:
- Process FOI requests received into the Trust within the nationally set 20 day deadline.
- Ensure FOI requests do not breach the 20 day deadline.
- Maintain the Trusts FOI database and shared drive, ensuring that data quality within the database is to a high standard.
- Maintain and update the FOI policy and procedures to ensure they are compliant with national legislation.
- Provide weekly performance reports to the Head of Corporate Governance & Trust Secretary highlighting any concerns, confirmation of departments causing breaches, or trends in requests for that week.
- Produce monthly reports on FOI performance for the Information Governance Steering Group.
- Maintain the FOI contacts list for FOI leads within the Trust
- Maintain the FOI structure charts, requesting that FOI leads within each department provide you with updated structure charts on an annual basis.
- Continue to build and maintain strong relationships between the IG team and FOI leads within departments.
Policy and Procedures
The post holder will:
- Administer the Trusts database of policies and procedures, including approval, archiving storage, retention and publication of formal Trust procedural documents
- Arrange for the efficient uploading of all corporate Trust procedural documents onto the intranet, ensuring that polices can be accessed easily and quickly.
- Collate evidence for the approval of policies and to ensure owners are notified of the need to review existing documents in a timely fashion.
- Prepare compliance reports in respect of procedural documents for the Executive and as part of the Departments Corporate Performance reporting.
Other:
Arranging meetings and booking meeting rooms where required.
- Provide support with adhoc administration tasks.
- Provide support across the Corporate Governance Department, including attendance/support at membership events as required.
- Archiving of Department paperwork, in line with the Trust retention policy and procedure.
This job description is not exhaustive and will be subject to periodic review in association with the post holder.
Person Specification
Essential
Essential
- oA good standard of general education to GCSE level or equivalent, including Maths and English.
- oCustomer service, strong administration experience and ability to communicate at all levels
- oThe post holder must be self-motivated, an excellent organiser and able to work under pressure, managing time and priorities appropriately
- oProficient in Microsoft Office and Microsoft Excel
- oExcellent interpersonal and presentational skills, both written and verbal; Good verbal and written communication and presentation skills are essential in order to translate legislation in relation to a variety of Acts to a wide range of stakeholders, ensuring this information is readily and easily understood is key to perform the job successfully
Desirable
- oExperience in an FOI or similar post.
- o Knowledge of current and emerging Data Protection national legislation
- o Previous experience in a compliance role/ Corporate Governance
Essential
Essential
- oA good standard of general education to GCSE level or equivalent, including Maths and English.
- ooExcellent interpersonal and presentational skills, both written and verbal; Good verbal and written communication and presentation skills are essential in order to translate legislation in relation to a variety of Acts to a wide range of stakeholders, ensuring this information is readily and easily understood is key to perform the job successfully
Desirable
- oExperience in an FOI or similar post.
- o Previous experience in a Corporate Governance or Compliance role
Person Specification
Essential
Essential
- oA good standard of general education to GCSE level or equivalent, including Maths and English.
- oCustomer service, strong administration experience and ability to communicate at all levels
- oThe post holder must be self-motivated, an excellent organiser and able to work under pressure, managing time and priorities appropriately
- oProficient in Microsoft Office and Microsoft Excel
- oExcellent interpersonal and presentational skills, both written and verbal; Good verbal and written communication and presentation skills are essential in order to translate legislation in relation to a variety of Acts to a wide range of stakeholders, ensuring this information is readily and easily understood is key to perform the job successfully
Desirable
- oExperience in an FOI or similar post.
- o Knowledge of current and emerging Data Protection national legislation
- o Previous experience in a compliance role/ Corporate Governance
Essential
Essential
- oA good standard of general education to GCSE level or equivalent, including Maths and English.
- ooExcellent interpersonal and presentational skills, both written and verbal; Good verbal and written communication and presentation skills are essential in order to translate legislation in relation to a variety of Acts to a wide range of stakeholders, ensuring this information is readily and easily understood is key to perform the job successfully
Desirable
- oExperience in an FOI or similar post.
- o Previous experience in a Corporate Governance or Compliance role
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Additional information
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
