Participation and Equalities Manager

Participation & Equalities Manager

Are you an experienced -looking for a new opportunity?

Do you have experience of working in a fast-paced environment within a large organisation?

Are you passionate about engaging with others, stretching for improvement and making a real difference for our workforce and people needing to access NHS 24 services?

Who We Are

As NHS Scotland's unique provider of a national tele-health and tele-care service, we are responsible for the delivery of health advice and information by telephone and online services to the population of Scotland 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. NHS 24 is a patient-focused service providing the people of Scotland with triage, advice, guidance, referral and information on health and healthcare services.

We have six regional centres – Aberdeen, Dundee, South Queensferry, Hillington, Cardonald and Clydebank. NHS 24 supports hybrid working, and this post can be based within any NHS 24 regional centres. The successful candidate must be within commuting distance to a regional centre to attend if required and must also be able to travel to other regional centres when requested to attend meetings, undertake training and any other activities.

The Role

The Participation & Equalities Manager leads on and is responsible for the delivery of a person-centred portfolio of engagement and participation, as well as equality, diversity and human rights activity in the organisation, and is responsible for the work associated with the implementation of national guidance and statutory requirements.

The post-holder will act as a subject matter expert, leading the interpretation and compliance with the Equality Act 2010, the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012, and all related equality and human rights legislation and policy. They will ensure reporting obligations are met and that responsibilities outlined in the Planning with People guidance are fulfilled. Working closely with senior leadership, the post-holder will mainstream NHS 24's approach to participation, equality, diversity and human rights across strategic, operational and workforce programmes. Their work will impact all NHS 24 employees and involve extensive external engagement with communities, public sector bodies, and third-sector organisations across Scotland.

Key Responsibilities

• Advise and report to the Executive Team, the Director of TSPP and the Head of Stakeholder Engagement & Insights to inform corporate decision making on current and emerging participation, person-centred, equality, diversity and human rights legislation, regulations, policy and guidance, and how NHS 24 should involve patients and the public in service development and change.
• Design and deliver action plans, ensuring NHS 24 compliance with all the requirements of the Equality Act 2010, the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012 and all associated equality and human rights legislation and policy.
• Leading the development of an in-house capacity, including the training of staff, and delivering improvements in NHS 24's community engagement and consultation practice, all in line with legislative, policy and guidance requirements.
• Identifying and co-ordinating information and data to provide an ongoing evidence base for meeting national equalities and participation related requirements and measurable actions.

Successful Applicant will:

• Be educated to degree level or equivalent with extensive further experience within stakeholder, participation and qualities arena, gained through continuous professional development, experience in roles performed which are focussed on participation, equalities and co-production and equivalent to master's level.
• Demonstrate an extensive knowledge of participation and equalities legislation, culture and practice with evidence of this being used to inform and deliver organisation-wide change.
• Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the key responsibilities and decision-making processes across the organisation, and possess the necessary knowledge, training and experience to ensure that participation and equalities is embedded within these processes.
• Be experienced in working collaboratively internally, cross-organisationally and with external organisations in developing and maintaining partnership working at all levels
• Be experienced in project planning and management, including budgeting, objective setting, leading teams, monitoring progress, and delivering measurable outcomes.

Benefits

NHS 24 offers a complete benefits package, with a permanent contract on Band 8A £62,681 - £67,665 Per Annum (pro rata if applicable). Placement on salary scale is dependent on confirmation of previous relevant NHS service.

We also offer you many supportive policies to enhance your employee journey and have a comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme Provider, Cycle to Work Scheme, bursary scheme and a range of learning and development. As an NHS Scotland employee you will be entitled to:

• 35 days annual leave (rising to 41) pro-rata
• Development opportunities including study bursaries, e-learning and classroom-based courses
• Enhanced pay for working public holidays
• Enrolment into the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) pension scheme
• NHS discounts on goods and services
• HELP, employee support and assistance

This is an excellent opportunity for a motivated and experienced individual who is looking for a challenging and rewarding role that will contribute to the success of a public organisation.

Interested?

For an informal chat, please contact Arlene Campbell, Head of Stakeholder Engagement and Insights on

Please download the Job Pack and Person Specification for full details of NHS 24 and this opportunity as well as the Candidate Application Guide which will support you in your application.

We recommend that prior to application candidates read all the information provided in the Job Pack as it contains much of the information about NHS 24 and this vacancy to support a successful application.

Our mission at NHS 24 is to create a workplace where everyone feels welcome, valued and part of the team. As an organisation that promotes inclusion, we celebrate difference, and we encourage everyone who joins us to be themselves at work.

We are progressing an Anti-Racism Action Plan, which builds on our existing equalities work, and this will help us to measure our progress towards becoming an anti-racist organisation.

NHS 24 is an equal opportunities employer committed to advancing equality and particularly welcomes applications from groups of people currently underrepresented within the workforce. We are a committed participant in the Disability Confident Leader Scheme and guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum essential criteria for our vacancies.

To work in the United Kingdom, there is a legal requirement for an individual to demonstrate that they have the relevant permission to work in the country. This permission is, without exception, granted by the UK Visa and Immigrations Service.

As part of the pre-employment checks for a preferred candidate, NHS Scotland Boards will check your entitlement to work in the UK. It can be evidenced through a number of routes including specific types of visas as well as EU settled and pre-settled status. To find out more about these routes of permission, please refer to the GOV.UK website here.

Please note that NHS 24 is NOT licensed to issue certificates of sponsorship under current UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) regulations. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK without requiring sponsorship to work with us.

It is ESSENTIAL that you have checked that you either already have an appropriate right to work in the UK or that the post would be eligible to be sponsored BEFORE submitting your application form.