13746 - Senior Investigator / Manager

Overview

The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) is responsible for registering lasting powers of attorney (LPA) and enduring powers of attorney (EPA) and supervising deputies who are appointed by the Court of Protection. The Public Guardian has a statutory duty to investigate complaints or allegations of abuse made against deputies or attorneys.  

The role of a Senior Investigator/Manager is to fully investigate complex concerns against deputies and attorneys, through to conclusion. The investigations will involve making enquiries with deputies and attorneys, and gathering evidence regarding finance, property and welfare. This will include covering how an attorney carries out their duties and ensuring deputies are compliant with the terms of their court order.

The investigations will be of a complex nature with multi-stranded concerns covering a wide range of issues. The investigations may also involve the briefing of senior management, and the involvement of the Court of Protection, the police, local authorities, banks and financial organisations.

As you develop, you will lead a team of investigators, being responsible for the performance and development of the team. Within, you will address your own personal and staff member’s training needs and be actively involved in mentoring, training and coaching your staff.

Within this role, you will have regular interaction and build key working relationships with heads of department, operational delivery managers, and our legal team. The relationships will extend to the other OPG sites in Nottingham and London.

Key contacts include colleagues in the safeguarding and supervision areas of OPG. You will be expected to regularly share information, offer advice, and hold discussions about investigations.

In time, you will be expected to develop knowledge and an understanding of the work of all other departments in the OPG. Within, you will develop working relationships to ensure continued performance delivery and improved customer service.

Job Description

Key Duties:

Conducting investigations and case management

• Conduct investigations into concerns raised about the way in which attorneys and deputies are exercising their powers
• Prepare and implement action plans for each investigation, organising work to meet performance impact indicators and customer service standards
• Liaise with attorneys, deputies, agencies and third parties to gather information and evidence in order to prove or disprove allegations
• Produce accurate and thorough investigation reports for the Public Guardian and for the Court of Protection, with clear and justifiable recommendations
• Refer matters to the police, local authorities or other agencies where evidence is held to suggest criminal activity or a safeguarding concern
• Produce witness statements for the Court of Protection and criminal courts, and attend court hearings in person to give evidence when required.
• Identify trends in investigation cases, and share with colleagues and senior management
• Respond to formal complaints in writing, and carry out formal reviews of investigations to ensure best practice is maintained.

Line Management of a team

• Manage a team of investigators, being responsible for the allocation of work and performance management of the team
• Uphold all MoJ HR policies, including the attendance and performance management of your team members
• Review and support staff with their investigations, providing technical support and ensuring quality standards are maintained
• Take necessary managerial decisions in accordance with financial delegation principles and systems
• Lead and contribute to regular case reviews and case conferences to allow investigators to share expertise and experience.
• Identify own and team member’s training needs and ensure these are addressed through the relevant channels.

Mentoring and coaching

• Mentor colleagues and investigators, by being an inspirational leader and acting as a role model
• Provide support, coaching and guidance when needed for your team members and colleagues
• Share best practice and provide opportunities to develop team member’s skills via sharing opportunities

Team working

• Work with colleagues across OPG to analyse performance and ensure a professional approach to investigations is maintained
• Use management information to inform decision making, resolve problems and contribute towards decisions to improve systems
• Contribute and participate at management meetings across OPG
• Lead and participate in relevant working groups and committees both on immediate team and widely across OPG
• Encourage a culture of team working and unified contribution to the aims and objectives of OPG.

Stakeholder and colleague engagement

• Engage with internal and external stakeholders to develop good working relationships and raise the profile of OPG
• Develop effective and collaborative working relationships with immediate colleagues, and wider OPG teams
• Represent OPG by working with external bodies to promote the safeguard of vulnerable adults.

Policy and management

• Maintain an awareness of any updates to key policies including MoJ policies and internal OPG policies including the OPG Safeguarding Policy
• Have an awareness of any key legislative change including the Mental Capacity Act or The Care Act
• Contribute to strategic decisions relating to workforce planning, ensuring there is adequate capacity to deliver and meet business needs.

Customer service and continuous improvement

• Continually develop and maintain knowledge of Public Guardian functions and responsibilities, encouraging your colleagues and team members to do the same
• Embed continuous improvement behaviours through the application of tools and techniques, promoting and demonstrating a leadership culture within OPG.

Equality and Diversity

• Positively promote and implement diversity and quality of opportunity in all areas of work.

Health and Safety

• Take reasonable care for own Health and Safety and for the safety of others and abide by MoJ and OPG Health & Safety policies and procedures.

Skills & Qualifications

Key Skills

• Proficient in the use of IT, including Microsoft Windows, and Office applications including Outlook, Word and Excel
• Strong telephone, written and oral communication skills
• Ability to understand, interpret and analyse complex financial data
• Ability to produce high quality written reports, containing analysis, recommendations and conclusions
• Ability to draft and prepare all forms of written correspondence, accurately and professionally
• Effectiveness in time management and organising large workloads to meet conflicting deadlines
• Knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act and counterpart Code of Practice

Assessment

The recruitment process will consist of two stages:

Stage 1 – Application form

You will be required to provide evidence of the four competencies listed below in your application form. We will sift on the lead competency "Making Effective Decisions”.

The word limit for each competency is 250 words. If your response exceeds this limit then any excess wording will not be considered.

Competencies

You will be required to provide evidence of the following Competencies:

Making Effective Decisions

• Make decisions when they are needed, even if they prove difficult or unpopular
• Recognise patterns and trends in a wide range of evidence/data and draw key conclusions
• Invite challenge and where appropriate involve others in decision making to help build engagement and present robust recommendations

Leading and Communicating

• Take opportunities to regularly communicate and interact with staff, helping to clarify goals and activities and the links between these and Departmental strategy
• Communicate in a succinct, engaging manner and stand ground when needed
• Convey enthusiasm and energy about their work and encourage others to do the same

Building Capability for All

• Identify and address team or individual capability requirements and gaps to deliver current and future work
• Value and respond to different personal needs in the team using these to develop others and promote inclusiveness
• Proactively manage own career and identify own learning needs with line manager, plan and carry out work-place learning opportunities

Delivering at Pace

• Successfully manage, support and stretch self and team to deliver agreed goals and objectives
• Take responsibility for delivering expected outcomes on time and to standard, giving credit to teams and individuals as appropriate
• Plan ahead but reassess workloads and priorities if situations change or people are facing conflicting demands

Stage 2

If you pass stage 1 you will be invited to an interview which will be split into two parts.

The first part will be a competency based interview, where you will be questioned on all of the competencies listed above.

The second part will be a 30 minute written assessment based on Making Effective Decisions. You will be asked to analyse a written report, indentify any errors within, provide a summary of your findings and identify if the recommendations were appropriate.

Closing Date: 23rd October 2017 at 23:55 hours

If you require any assistance please call 0845 241 5359 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@sscl.gse.gov.uk Please quote the job reference.