Rate: £26 per hour (umbrella)
Term: 3 months
Hours per week: Max of 30 hours per week over 4 or 5 days - choice by candidate and can be discussed at time of interview.
Location: This role will be working from on a hybrid basis 2 days (office based at least)
Service purpose:
Process requests for information made by the public; manage and respond to complaints and comply with data protection legislation.
Job purpose:
To ensure the authority’s compliance with information law including the UK GDPR and Freedom of Information Act and to provide an effective complaints procedure across all council services.
Core accountabilities:
1. Fulfil the statutory role of Data Protection Officer for the council and ensure the authority is compliant with UKGDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. Be the primary point of contact and advice for all staff and members in relation to the processing of personal data across all services and influence the organisational culture and approach to information governance.
2. Handle information rights requests, including requests for access to personal data and requests for erasure and deal with requests from external organisations for the disclosure of personal data held by the council.
3. Carry out investigations into data breaches including making decisions as to the necessity to report breaches to the Information Commissioner’s office. Make recommendations for procedural change and disciplinary action, as appropriate, depending on the impact of the breach.
4. Ensure published privacy information is GDPR compliant and up to date and take responsibility for policy and procedure for all matters relating to Data Protection, Freedom of Information and Environmental Information Regulations.
5. Provide guidance and advice to staff and Members on compliance with Data Protection legislation including the production of Data Protection Impact Assessments through the regular chairing of an Information Governance Working Board and submission of reports and updates to the Information Governance Board.
6. Act as the authority’s link officer with the Information Commissioner, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and Housing Ombudsman.
7. Ensure that the council provides an effective and compliant procedure for dealing with formal complaints across all service areas.
8. To define and ensure record management processes are followed across the Council.
9. Investigate and produce detailed responses to complaints received from the Local Government and Social Care and Housing Ombudsmen. Ensure compliance with orders and recommendations from the ombudsmen and work with service directors and managers to ensure there is a culture of learning from complaints across the organisation.
10. Responsibility for the council’s compliance with Freedom of Information and Environmental Information legislation with the effective, prompt and accurate response to requests.
11. Provide guidance and advice to staff, managers and Members on compliance with the Freedom of Information Act and Environmental Information Regulations.
12. Promote organisational learning from complaints including regular reporting to Executive Leadership Team and Members on complaint statistics and learning.
13. Assist the Monitoring Officer, as required, with general policy and project work.
14. Produce corporate policies and providing information for self-assessments and inspections and responding to relevant legislation.
15. Provide effective leadership and strong performance management of the information and complaints team. Be accountable for staff related matters within the team by ensuring that Human Resource policies are implemented appropriately including performance management, learning and development, absence, discipline and grievance issues.
16. Encourage a learning culture and positively manage the training and development of the information and complaints team.
17. This is a politically restricted post under Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. The holder of this post is disqualified from being a member of other local authorities, a Member of Parliament or a Member of the European Parliament. In addition, the post holder may not hold office in a political party, canvas at elections or attempt to influence support in any other way for a political party.
18. Make sure that the Information and Complaints Team offers a customer focused service using systems thinking principles.
19. Support the Council’s approach to equalities and diversity ensuring that our services and policies identify, address and promote the needs of our diverse community. This includes the need for safety of children and other vulnerable people.
20. Take personal responsibility for the relevant aspects of the Council’s Health and Safety Policy.
21. Ensure awareness and compliance with the Council’s policies, Code of Conduct and Constitution.
22. Evaluate and assist in managing risk within the service.
Requirements
Ideally candidates will have management experience and be willing to line manage a small team, but this is not essential / is negotiable.
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An in-depth knowledge and understanding of information legislation (UK GDPR, Data Protection Act, Freedom of Information Act, Environmental Information Regulations)
Procedures and legislation relating to district council services
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Legislation and guidance related to information and data processing and management
- Ombudsman codes and guidance related to complaint management and remedies
Skills and Abilities
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Compile, extract, analyse, interpret and redact large data sets / volumes of information
- Accuracy and attention to detail, particularly when working to tight deadlines
- Ability to prioritise work, work on own initiative as well as part of a team
- Excellent communication skills (written, verbal and aural) and ability to adapt to a wide range of audiences
- Excellent people skills, tact and diplomacy
Benefits
Pre-Compliance Checks for Successful Applicants:
At BSS, we uphold the highest standards of screening and trust
for every role. Successful applicants will undergo a comprehensive
pre-compliance process in line with the Baseline Personnel Security
Standard (BPSS). This includes:
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Identity Verification: Confirming the authenticity of
your identity documents.
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Employment History Checks: Reviewing your occupation
history for the past 3-5 years (depending on client
requirement).
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Right to Work Verification: Ensuring you have the
legal right to work in the UK.
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Unspent Conviction Check: Conducting a Basic DBS
Check to reveal any unspent convictions.
These checks are crucial in ensuring a secure and trustworthy
work collaboration, aligning with best practices used in government
and public sectors. While primarily standard in these sectors, our
adoption of pre-compliance checks across all roles reflects our
commitment to maintaining the highest standards of integrity and trust
in our recruitment process.
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What we offer
We believe employee benefits should go beyond just a free drink
or fruit bowl. What’s more, we believe you should get to choose
perks that suit your lifestyle. That’s why we’ve partnered up with
the global benefits and rewards provider Perkbox, to offer
something for all of our people.
Here’s what you can look forward to:
Perks Hub
* Hundreds of global and local perks, available online 24/7
* Free monthly lifestyle perks; such as free coffees,
breakfasts, cinema tickets, etc
* Shopping discounts from the biggest brands, all year round
* Save money on everything from the supermarket shop to
summer holidays
Wellness Hub
* Easy to follow videos for everything from yoga exercises,
to strength training and HIIT workouts
* Mindfulness, meditation and sleep resources, available on
all your devices
* Guides to help with everything from anxiety to stopping smoking
* Confidential mental health helpline, 24/7 access to a qualified counsellor
Celebration hub
* Working with us means you're always part of Team BSS -
celebrate and recognise fellow contractors, whether they're across
the desk or across the world
* Company polls where everybody can vote for the winners
Culture Hub
* A single place to find company updates, photos, benefits
information and lots more!
* Stay in the loop with what’s happening by accessing
Culture hub anywhere, at any time
Equal Opportunities
Business Smart Solutions are a Recruitment Agency - We hire
talented and passionate people from a variety of backgrounds because
we want our global worker base to represent the wide diversity of our
clients. If you’re excited about a role but your past experience
doesn’t align perfectly with every bullet point listed in the job
description, we still encourage you to apply. If you're passionate
about working for a role in local government and share our company
values, we encourage you to apply.
BSS is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We do not
discriminate in hiring or any employment decision based on race,
color, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy,
childbirth, or related medical conditions), marital status, ancestry,
physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran status,
gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or other applicable
legally protected characteristic. BSS considers qualified applicants
with criminal histories, consistent with applicable UK law. If you
need assistance or an accommodation made due to a disability, please
let your recruiter know.
Armed Forces Covenant
We endeavour in our business dealings to uphold the key principles
of the Armed Forces Covenant, which are:
- No member of the Armed Forces Community should
face disadvantage in the provision of public and commercial
services compared to any other citizen
- In some circumstances special treatment may be
appropriate especially for the injured or bereaved.