Head of Workforce Investigations Unit

Job description

Job responsibilities

1. To lead the Workforce Investigations Team within the Trust, monitoring caseload and investigation quality and analysing trends in investigations.

2. To provide a high quality, pro-active and timely investigations service for employee relations cases; allocating investigations within the Team and supporting and advising Investigating Officers on complex cases.

3. Lead and manage investigations with managers and staff in the Trust, providing expert support on a range of highly complex and sensitive ER investigations.

4.To manage, develop and support the Investigations team with a particular emphasis on case allocation, performance management and professional development.

5. Responsible for maintaining an excellent working knowledge of UK and EU employment legislation and case law and best practice in the field of investigations; ensuring that this knowledge is proactively utilised and shared to support best practice across the Trust.

6. Provide specialist ER investigations advice and lead investigations to enable resolutions in a timely manner; proactively identifying opportunities for early resolution where possible.

7. Responsible for developing and implementing the Workforce Investigations Standard Operating Procedure; producing a portfolio of tools and guidance documents for use within the team as well as within the wider organisation to support other managers carrying out investigations; ensuring the sustainability and consistency of high-quality investigations throughout the Trust.

8. To identify and escalate employee relations issues as appropriate to ensure consistency and best practice across the Trust.

9. Promote good management practice and ensuring continuous improvement of practice to maintain high investigation standards.

10. To contribute to the overall service and direction of the Workforce Directorate including communication, teamwork, working professionally, reviewing systems and overseeing change and developing staff to provide a credible, comprehensive and quality Human Resource service.

11. To carry out and deliver on a full range of complex investigations for the Trust; including scoping the investigation, collecting and collating evidence, interviewing all relevant parties, producing high quality comprehensive investigation reports.

12. To act as the Trust in-house investigations expert for Maintaining High Professional Standards (MHPS) cases.

13. Responsible for ensuring that all investigation interviews undertaken by the Investigations Team are conducted in an objective and non-judgemental manner to gather the relevant facts.

14. Responsible for communicating highly complex and at times, highly sensitive, information while at the same time sensitively handling issues of conflict that may arise during the investigation process.

15. Responsible for receiving, analysing and interpreting highly complex information and evidence; using persuasive, negotiating, empathic and re-assurance skills as required to navigate the investigation process.

16. To present investigation findings at hearings and Employment Tribunals as appropriate; ensuring clear and accurate presentation of facts in what may be highly emotive and/or distressing situations.

17. To keep accurate and timely records of investigation activities, and produce management information as required, always ensuing the timeliness and quality of investigations.

18. To ensure that equality and diversity issues are recognised and addressed in accordance with legislation, policies and procedures.

19. Responsible for considering investigation strategy and making continual improvements to any investigator toolkits and related guidance documents.

20. To design and present training sessions on employee relations investigations for staff to ensure best practice is shared.

21. To identify training and development needs within services and opportunities for managers and staff, taking an active role in developing relevant training programmes and the delivery of training and in monitoring individual competency.

22. To develop staff to provide a comprehensive and quality investigations service by facilitating or providing training.

23. Support the Trusts cultural change programme by promoting and embedding strategies related to Trusts People Strategy and Trust Values and Behaviours.

24. To take a lead in identifying own development needs.

25. Responsible for working collaboratively with Workforce colleagues to review and assess current employee investigation practices, improving them to ensure we promote fairness while mitigating risk to the organisation.

26. To manage effective relationships with managers across the Trust; ensuring that complaints are kept to a minimum, dealing with any that arise and taking appropriate actions.

27. To work collaboratively with the wider Workforce team to ensure effective communication and integration, sharing knowledge and information to deliver a seamless service to the organisation.

Person Specification

Education, Knowledge & Skills

Essential

• Educated to Masters Level or equivalent by experience
• MCIPD qualified or equivalent by experience
• Formal investigation training
• Significant employee relations experience in a large complex NHS organisation
• Extensive track record of supporting and advising on complex employee relations investigations
• Excellent and up to date knowledge of HR best practice, employment legislation and current thinking and developments in HR
• Excellent knowledge of NHS Terms and Conditions of Service with demonstrable experience of the application of this knowledge in the workplace

Desirable

• Experience of managing and/or supporting MHPS investigations

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

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).

Employer details

Employer name

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Address

OUH@Cowley, Unipart Business Centre

Garsington Road

Oxford

OX4 2PG

Employer's website

https://www.ouh.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)