NHS 111 Absence Manager

Job description

Job responsibilities

NHS 111 Absence Manager

The purpose of the role is to lead on reducing employee absenteeism and to develop a positive culture around attendance management. The post holder will work alongside the 111 management & HR team to effectively use and implement processes in a consistent way, together with identifying areas of improvement to support the business in monitoring and reducing absence levels.

Absence Management

• To coordinate all absence management through established policies, rules and regulations
• To support 111 management to reduce absence, maintaining acceptable levels in clinical and non-clinical teams including management
• To support the welfare of staff by identifying trends and providing recommendations
• To support and guide individuals in managing team members effectively ensuring staff are on track and processes are being adhered to
• To support line managers in conducting meetings where identified
• To undertake formal absence investigatory meetings as identified, as and when required
• To undertake staff welfare meetings in line with the policy to support staff whilst absent from work, as and when required
• To act as a note taker in meetings where identified, as and when required
• To monitor and report on any staff members absence giving cause for concern, liaising with the performance managers to support

• To provide proactive and professional management and support during staff absence
• To provide assistance to staff in order to ensure effective use of staff benefits
• To work alongside Human Resources in supporting reducing absenteeism, taking advice and seeking guidance as required to ensure risks are minimised
• To support the operational team in matters relating to absence management and look to identify efficiencies in the process
• To coach management on process, procedures and effective absence management
• To review and identify areas of improvement in policies and procedures with the ability to implement change

To be proficient in interpreting and applying absence data to gain a reliable picture of individual and organisational staff absence levels and take timely action to address any concerns identified

To identify improvement in processes to support the implementation of the Empactis absence system

Reporting

• To work with the workforce management team, collate and provide data to relevant teams as required
• To monitor and identify patterns or absence trends and act on findings
• To provide accurate reporting on a regular basis as to ensure transparency and identify root causes
• To accurately maintain records and reports
• To work alongside Resource Planning, Human Resources and Business Analytics in developing any reporting required to monitor and manage absence

Projects

• To undertake projects as specified by the senior management team
• To participate, as required, in the design and delivery of any specific training and development events on relevant HR/DHU procedures
• To review all absence processes and use knowledge gleaned to implement efficient processes for the smooth introduction of the Empactis system

General duties

• Taking calls and queries from managers and staff, by e-mail, phone or in person in respect of absence related queries, responding in a timely way with accurate information
• Generation of general correspondence, including letters, minutes and reports, as and when required
• Filing, photocopying and general administrative duties as required
• Provide support and guidance to the management team as required

Communications and working relationships

To work cooperatively with;

• Employees within the 111 Service, clinical and non-clinical
• 111 Line Managers
• 111 Management team
• Senior management team
• Workforce Planning
• Human Resources
• Business Analytics
• Payroll
• Staff within DHU Healthcare CIC and related organisations
• Maintain strict confidentiality in relation to all issues concerned within the service and adhere to DHU policy ensuring staff are aware of their obligations under the Freedom of Information Act, Information Governance and the Data Protection Act

Professional

• Demonstrate professionalism and service knowledge when participating in stakeholder engagement and liaison
• Work within and promote the DHU Vision and Values

• Maintain own competence through continuing development
• Seek feedback on own performance from direct reports and line managers
• Contribute to the development of own Balanced Scorecard
• Participate in regular performance review with the Senior Operational Performance Manager using the agreed competency framework appropriate to individual scope of practice

Education Practice Development

• Offer appropriate advice on care practices, delivery and service development within the parameters of own role
• Participate in the ongoing individual and own personal development within the organisation ensuring maintenance and review of own personal development plan
• To keep up-to-date knowledge on DHU processes and an awareness of employment law

General

• Adhere to all DHU procedures, protocols and other relevant memoranda as appropriate

• Attend training and meetings as and when required to do so by senior management

• Maintain strict confidentiality in relation to all issues concerned within the service/business and adhere to all DHU policies ensuring staff are aware of their obligations under the Freedom of Information Act, Information Governance and the Data Protection Act
• Communicate outstanding issues to immediate reports, peers or the Operational Performance Managers before going off duty. In relation to serious issues, these must be reported to the NHS 111 Senior Operations Performance Manager, NHS 111 Director or, in their absence, the director on call
• Notify the appropriate senior manager immediately of any circumstances which may affect the provision of a high quality service
• Maintain and ensure maintenance of a tidy work environment at all times
• Organise and prioritise effectively own work schedule and work schedule of immediate reports, to ensure operational excellence with minimum supervision
• Deal with matters raised under the Incidents and Complaints procedure/protocol and use the procedure/protocol when answering queries and complying with requests from the Integrated Governance Team for investigations and information requests within the specified timeframe, i.e. 5 days for statements
• The post holder is required to take responsible care for the health and safety of him/herself and other persons who may be affected by his/her acts or omissions at work. The post holder is also required to co-operate with DHU to ensure that statutory and departmental safety regulations are adhered to
• DHU is an equal opportunities employer and the post holder will be expected to comply with all relevant policies and procedures in this area together with all other policies and procedures as initiated by DHU
• DHU is a non-smoking organisation and you are therefore required not to smoke in any of the buildings where DHUs business is carried out

Communications and Working Relationships

• Staff within DHU Healthcare and related organisations
• Out of Hours and other related services within the health economy

The job description may be subject to review over time in discussion with the post-holder.

It is expected that this position will cover 24/7 shifts working according to the needs of the service and a requirement of weekend working.

It is expected that the post holder will be able to travel to all DHU sites and external meeting locations across the country on request.

This job description is not exhaustive and it is expected that the post holder will be flexible in their approach, and undertake any reasonable duties as requested by Management/Directors.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Educated to a degree level or similar level of job related experience
• HR qualification beneficial
• GCSE passes or equivalent in Maths and English

Experience

Essential

• Previous experience of absence management processes with proven effective outcomes
• Experience of writing investigation reports and implementing new processes
• Experience of reporting on large data sets through excel or other applications
• Understanding of financial and resource impact on the business
• Proven experience of working within a similar environment
• Experience of working with various workforce management tools
• Desirable experience in using absence management systems and tools
• Experience of managing a team

Skills and Knowledge

Essential

• Ability to deal with emotional/sensitive/challenging situations calmly and with sensitivity and tact
• IT proficiency, competence in use of Microsoft office software
• Excellent interpersonal communication and organisational skills
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and ability to adapt communication style to deliver most effective message to differing audiences
• Strong note taking abilities
• Ability to work to tight deadlines
• Good organisational skills with the ability to prioritise
• Ability to work on own initiative
• Ability to deal with difficult situations in a professional manner
• Strong interpersonal skills, including sensitivity and ability to influence
• Accurate record keeping
• Excellent telephone manner
• Results driven
• Attention to detail
• Problem solving with root cause analysis
• Solution focussed with ability to communicate recommendations and continuous improvement
• Ability to recognise and act upon the implications of actions and decisions
• Analytical thinking
• Ability to understand trends and patterns in organisational and individual behaviours
• Ability to plan diary to ensure timely intervention with employees
• Effective time management strong organisational skills
• Ability to collect, collate analyse and report information to enable informed decisions to be made
• Ability to maintain strict levels of confidentiality

Desirable

• Full UK driving licence (occasional travel to other sites will be required)

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.

Employer details

Employer name

DHU Healthcare

Address

D H U Healthcare

Joseph Street

Oldbury

West Midlands

B69 2AQ

Employer's website

http://www.dhuhealthcare.com/ (Opens in a new tab)