Head of The Independent Case Examiner's Office

**Details**:
**Reference number**:

- 257852**Salary**:

- £66,860 - £74,392**Job grade**:

- Grade 6**Contract type**:

- Permanent**Business area**:

- DWP - Policy - Independent Case Examiners (ICE) Office**Type of role**:

- Operational Delivery**Working pattern**:

- Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time**Number of jobs available**:

- 1Contents

Location

About the job

**Benefits**:
Things you need to know

Location
- BootleAbout the job

**Job summary**:
**The Independent Case Examiner’s Office**

The Independent Case Examiner’s (ICE) Office provides a free complaint review and investigation service, for customers of DWP; its contracted services; and the Northern Ireland Department for Communities, who have exhausted the relevant complaint process, but remain dissatisfied with the final response to their complaint.

The Independent Case Examiner is an independent office holder, appointed under contract to adjudicate on the most complex and contentious complaints.

The Office that supports the Independent Case Examiner in discharging her contractual responsibilities is independent of the businesses it investigates. It is funded via the Arm’s Length Bodies Partnership Directorate of the Department for Work and Pensions.

The ICE Office has two primary objectives:

- To act as an independent referee if a customer considers that they have not had their complaint dealt with in a satisfactory manner.
- To support service improvements by providing constructive comment and meaningful recommendations.

More detailed information about the Office and the service it provides can be found in the Independent Case Examiner’s Annual Report.

**Job Role and Core Activities**

We are looking to appoint a Head of Office. You will need to be able to demonstrate strong current leadership of a large operational unit; a strong, recent track record in operational delivery, leading large operational teams through transformation to deliver significant performance improvement.

The role is based in the Independent Case Examiner’s office in Redgrave Court, Bootle, Liverpool and this will be your contractual place of work.

While the operational leadership requirements of the role require the post-holder to be on site, there may be scope to work from home or off-site on occasions, where this best serves business needs. Any remote or home working arrangement does not constitute a change to your designated place of work or contractual terms. The role requires regular travel to meet stakeholders.

You will have senior leadership responsibility to:

- Deliver an effective independent complaint review service.
- Advise and support the Independent Case Examiner on all aspects of the Office’s relationship with its stakeholders.
- Make sound, well-reasoned judgements based on evidence.
- Handle the most complex and potentially contentious investigations.

**Job description**:
You will need to demonstrate that you can develop effective and constructive working relationships with a variety of internal and external stakeholders, which preserve the independence of the service and the adjudications reached by the Independent Case Examiner. Where necessary, you will need to defend findings and/or recommendations for redress made by the Independent Case Examiner.

Daily, with a headcount of around 100 FTE, you will be responsible for:

- Leading the transformation of the office to deliver significant performance improvement.
- Identifying service improvements and recommendations for the ICE’s approval.
- Leading on handling disputed ICE findings or recommendations.
- Supporting the Independent Case Examiner - as necessary through the wider office - on handling complex or contentious cases - many of which are or have the potential to become high profile.
- Leading on the Office’s relationship with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s Office.
- Acting as the lead client in the event of a legal challenge; involving ICE or the ICE Office.
- Leading on communications with stakeholders, including sign-off of the Unit’s PQs and Ministerial correspondence.
- Briefing Ministers and senior officials regularly.
- Leading a senior management team of seven.

**Person specification**:
**Essential** Requirements**
- Leadership of a large operational team through transformation to deliver significant performance improvement. **(lead)**:

- Strong current and previous leadership of a large operational team.
- The ability to shape and lead a high-performing, large, operational team.
- Building effective networks and partnerships to deliver outcomes and drive service improvements.
- Developing and maintaining effective working relationships with key stakeholders.
- Maintaining demanding service standards.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
- Innovative problem-solving.
- Strategic and tactical thinking.
- Experience of data analysis and reporting to senior stakeholders.
- Experience of complaints ha