Public Inquiry and Assurance Officer in Sunderland

The North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board is seeking an organised and experienced Public Inquiry and Assurance Officer. This is a unique opportunity to support high-profile inquiry, investigation and assurance work across an organisation serving 3.1 million people. You will help ensure that sensitive evidence is handled accurately, learning is identified and the organisation meets its legal, regulatory and statutory responsibilities.

Main duties of the job:

• Coordinate a complex portfolio covering public inquiries, statutory investigations, disclosure and associated governance related work.
• Connect teams across corporate governance, complaints, information governance and operational services, helping them work together effectively and avoid duplication.
• Review and organise evidence for inquiries, investigations and disclosure.
• Analyse complaints, concerns and patient feedback related to public inquiries to identify risks, themes and learning.
• Maintain chronologies, evidence trackers, records and clear audit trails.
• Produce reports, briefings and assurance updates for senior leaders.
• Monitor risks, issues, actions and deadlines across multiple workstreams.
• Develop reporting arrangements and dashboards.
• Communicate sensitively with colleagues, inquiry teams, legal representatives, patients and families.
• Support improvements to policies, processes and organisational preparedness.

About us:

Our Integrated Care Board (ICB) is the largest in the country. The ICB is responsible for ensuring that high quality and safe health services are accessible to all of our communities. It has a wide range of functions, including promoting integration of health and care services, improving people's health and well-being, and reducing health inequalities. With a £6.6 billion budget and a workforce of 170,000 people across the North East and North Cumbria, ICB staff also work at place level with local health and wellbeing boards in each of our 14 local authority areas.

Job responsibilities:

• Educated to postgraduate level or have equivalent experience.
• Coordinated complex projects, casework or assurance activity involving multiple stakeholders.
• Experience of working in governance, compliance, investigations, complaints, legal services, risk or another public-sector environment is essential.
• Confident handling sensitive information and analysing large volumes of evidence.
• Identify key themes, exercise sound judgement and produce accurate reports for senior review.
• Build trusted relationships, manage competing priorities and remain professional when working with challenging or potentially distressing subject matter.
• Some travel, plus occasional work outside core hours, may be required.

Person Specification:

• Essential: Educated to postgraduate level or equivalent experience.
• Experience of coordinating complex projects, programmes, casework or assurance workstreams across multiple stakeholders.
• Experience of handling highly sensitive or confidential information.
• Experience of working within governance, compliance, investigations, complaints, legal, risk or public sector environments.
• Knowledge of records management and information governance requirements.
• Experience of producing high-quality reports, briefings, formal responses and assurance documentation for senior review or governance forums.
• Experience of stakeholder engagement and relationship management.
• Experience of managing complaints, concerns or patient experience/customer care cases within a healthcare, public sector or regulated environment.
• Experience of identifying themes, trends and learning from complaints, incidents or investigations.

• Desirable: Understanding of the NHS Complaints Regulations and principles of complaint handling.
• Experience supporting public inquiries, inquests, investigations or statutory reviews.
• Knowledge of disclosure processes and evidence management.
• Understanding of NHS governance structures and statutory duties.
• Experience of managing or supporting disclosure exercises relating to complaints, incidents or inquiries.

Physical Skills:

• Advanced keyboard and IT skills.
• Competence in Microsoft Office applications.

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 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.