Senior Registration Officer

This is a Permanent, Full Time position. We are seeking an experienced and highly motivated Registrar to play a key role in the delivery of high-quality registration services. This is a unique opportunity for an experienced Registrar to take on a lead role in supporting staff, driving quality standards and help shape the future of the Registration Service in Hull.

The successful candidate will have extensive operational experience within the Registration Service, supported by a comprehensive knowledge of registration and associated legislation, policies, and procedures. The successful candidate must be able to demonstrate technical expertise and proven ability to interpret legislation accurately and consistently. In this role you will be recognised as a reliable source of professional advice and guidance.

The senior registrar will lead on training, development and mentoring of registration staff, maintaining high standards of service delivery and compliance with the Public Protection and Counter Fraud Framework.

ROLE AND PURPOSE

To ensure the delivery of a high quality, responsive and innovative Civil Registration Service to all services users. This includes birth and death registration, marriage and civil partnership registration, citizenship, re-registration and corrections and delivering both statutory and non-statutory ceremonies.

The Senior Registration Officer will hold the statutory position of Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths and be responsible for the secure stock and stationery issued to them. They will monitor the allocation and use of the stationery by all Deputy Registrars ensuring appropriate record keeping and accounting of statutory fees. The Senior Registrar will provide an account of all stationery used to the General Register Office and ensure a timely and appropriate stock order on an annual basis. Carry out other statutory functions of Registrar Births, Death, Stillbirths and Marriages in accordance with the Registration Acts and the General Register Office Handbook(s).

The Senior Registration Officer will demonstrate technical excellence, leading training and mentoring activities to ensure the development of staff with the Registration Service. They will create and maintain training plans, develop procedural guidance and ensure continuous learning and improvement and that there is resilience within the service, ensuring business continuity. They will undertake monitoring activities to ensure consistency in staff approach to service delivery, provide regular feedback to both staff and managers highlighting good practice and identifying and co-ordinating corrective actions.

The Senior Registration Officer will take part in activities that increase the profile and accessibility of the service whilst ensuring that the service is accessible and developed to meet the needs of customers and stakeholders. This includes supporting service delivery at community-based locations ensuring the consistency of service delivery and the management and accounting of secure stationery when stored outside of the Register Office.

The Senior Registration Officer will contribute to the planning and achievement of the service’s performance targets as required by General Register Office Statutory and Operational Delivery Standards and the Proper Officer Public Protection and Counter Fraud Framework.

This Senior Registration Officer will complete registrations and manage a diary of appointments, taking ownership or registrations and queries of a complex nature or non-routine nature. The Senior Registrar will provide technical support to the Registration Service Team Leader supporting them in managing staff probation, appraisals and performance and deputising for them in their absence.

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• To promote and safeguard the welfare of children, young people and/or vulnerable adults.
• Statutory Obligations - Undertake the statutory responsibility of a Registrar of births marriages and deaths including the ownership of all secure stationery issued to the postholder. This involves having responsibility for all current registers and certificate stock, maintaining regular stock audits and submit an annual stock return and stock order to the General Register Office. Ensure accurate and consistent accounting for and recording use of secure stationery and receipting of statutory and non-statutory fees by deputy registrars. Ensure that all registrations are audited and carried out with full regard to current legislation, procedural guidance and the public protection and counter fraud framework.
• To provide technical excellence and support staff to provide a responsive registration service to customers. Providing assistance and guidance on more complex queries, intervening to take responsibility as necessary, in particular taking ownership of those registrations and enquiries of a more complex, non-routine or sensitive nature.
• Develop and lead on the training of all staff, demonstrating mentoring and motivational skills, encouraging teamwork, developing communications appropriate to the audience, and remaining visible and accessible to staff.
• Plan and instigate training activity which ensures staff are skilled to meet demands for service, are prepared and can understand and respond to changes in legislation and new service delivery, ensuring service resilience to meet the needs of business continuity. Promote and support development activity.
• Ensure the appropriate timely completion of additional administration duties in the absence of the Registration Service Team Leader, this includes planning service delivery and work allocation. Systems administration tasks to ensure availability of appointments to meet both current and future demand and service targets whilst considering the availability of staff.
• Quality assures the work of Registration Officers, highlighting any variances or errors and offering solutions to resolve issues identified. Work closely with the Registration Service Team Leader providing information required to manage performance, staff appraisals and manage probationary periods of new staff.
• To be responsible for updating and improving the quality and variety of information available to customers ensuring timely and accurate content is available to customers and those supporting customers to access the service, making best use of technology for this purpose. This involves maximising opportunities for self-service. Ensure service content and outgoing communications are reflective of current procedures. Examine the nature of queries and enquiries coming into the service and identify content which could be available on the website or through other means to support service delivery and prevent unnecessary contact.
• This post involves interacting with the public in what can be emotionally fuelled situations and confrontational situations. This can mean communicating difficult decisions for example explaining how incorrect information on a birth or death certificate can never be removed. Making and communicating a decision that a planned appointment or wedding ceremony cannot go ahead.
• To contribute towards the delivery of a flexible and responsive service, working at different locations and licensed premises as appropriate. This may involve conducting ceremonies and delivering promotions with other organisation and partners both on and off site. This also includes supporting service delivery at community-based locations ensuring the consistency of service delivery and the management and accounting of secure stationery stored outside of the Register Office.
• The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and associated legislation places responsibilities for health and safety on Hull City Council, as your employer and you as an employee of the council. In addition to the Councils overall duties, the post holder has personal responsibility for their own health, safety and wellbeing and that of other employees; additional and more specific responsibilities are identified in the Council’s Corporate H&S policy.

Compensation Grades: GRADES 7.

Pay Ranges: £32,597.00 - £35,412.00

Job Classifications: 2- Basic with BPSS - (Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS))

Benefits of Working of Hull City Council:

• A competitive salary
• An excellent pension through the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
• Initially 23 days annual leave depending on length of service. You will also get eight public holidays per year, and three additional days off, one in May/August and one during the Christmas/New year period
• Career development and learning experiences from a range of training courses and learning methods
• Supportive and forward-thinking culture
• Great career development opportunities

Please ensure that you complete and submit your application by midnight prior to the closing date. Please ensure that your application demonstrates how you meet the essential criteria against the person specification as listed in the job description. We are committed to increasing the diversity, equality, and inclusion within our workforce to represent the people we serve and build an environment in which everyone can feel like they belong. We encourage people from all backgrounds to apply. We adopt a ‘name blind’ approach to shortlisting. Recruiting managers will not have access to personal information, including your name and contact details, until a shortlisting decision has been made. Equality monitoring information is not accessible by recruiting managers at any stage.

We reserve the right to amend the dates associated with this advert, which may include closing the advert early where required. The Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment. Online searches, including social media, may be carried out as part of the recruitment process.