Brent is a tremendously vibrant London borough where the iconic arch of Wembley Stadium dominates the skyline. Spanning both inner and outer London, it is a borough of huge contrasts in terms of its economic, environmental, ethnic and social make up. Brent’s diversity is evident to all who visit our borough and our long history of ethnic and cultural diversity has created a place that is truly unique and valued by those who live and work here.

The council is pursuing a far-reaching transformation agenda that better meets the needs of our community so it is an exciting time to join us.

The Post

We are looking for an enthusiastic and experienced Statutory Complaints Manager (adult’s and children’s social care), to manage, develop and administer the social care statutory complaints process for these services at Brent. You will oversee the investigation of such complaints, and undertake your own independent corporate complaint investigations, playing an active role in facilitating resolution. You will be expected to work closely with both Adults and Children’s Social Care teams to understand why complaints arise, to improve the quality and timeliness of responses and to identify service improvements. The ultimate aim is to help improve our services to our customers and in doing so, to reduce the number of complaints the Council receives.

This is a customer-focussed role that will also involve working closely with the Chief Executive and senior leaders in Adults and Children’s Social Care and managers and staff across the council to improve residents’ experience of the services Brent delivers. You will foster good working relationships with members of the public and councillors, and with key partners such as MPs, and the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. You will also liaise with colleagues at all levels to maintain a focus on complaints, improve complaint handling and provide advice and training when required.

In this varied role, you will manage a small team, ensuring that complaints and member enquiries are handled effectively across the council, and that queries are dealt with efficiently in line with the relevant timescales.

The Person

We are looking for a candidate with knowledge of Adult and Children’s Social Care. This could be an opportunity for an experienced social care officer or manager to use their skills to help make a difference to the lives of adults and children in Brent.

A complaint handling background is desirable but not necessary. However, awareness of the relevant Statutory Complaint legislation for the relevant areas would be an advantage, as would experience in managing a team, preferably in a local government setting.

You will be a keen, hardworking and assertive individual who is passionate about helping our residents. You must be interested in identifying areas for improvement and use this drive to inform improvements across local government.

You will have excellent interpersonal and persuasion skills with the ability to provide clear advice and direction to officers as well as senior management and councillors. You will also have excellent communication and analytical skills and a good standard of spoken and written English to communicate with audiences at different levels.

You will be able to manage and prioritise high workloads and meet strict deadlines with the ability to lead and encourage others to do the same.

Closing Date: 19 October 2021 (23:00)

Additional Information

Brent Council values the diversity of its community and aims to have a workforce that reflects this and therefore encourage applications from all sections of the community. We positively encourage all applicants to self-identify their characteristics in the diversity survey section in the application.

We are committed to safer recruitment and safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Applicants should be aware that posts working with children, young people and vulnerable adults are subject to an Enhanced DBS check as well as other employment clearances.

Brent has a positive approach to flexible working.

As a disability confident employer Brent welcomes applications from people with all disabilities, including hidden disabilities and mental health conditions. We will interview any disabled applicant who meets the essential criteria. If you require reasonable adjustments to be made to any part of the recruitment process due to your disability, please contact us on recruitment@brent.gov.uk. Please note the information you provide will be treated fairly and confidentially.

Please note CVs will not be considered as part of your application for this position.

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