Post: / Fitness to Practise Officer
Post No: / C178
Location: / Cardiff
Pay Band: / A3
Line Manages: / n/a
Reports To: / Fitness to Practise Specialist Lead
Hours: / 36 hours per week;
Applications for flexible working / job share will be considered

Job Purpose:

To assess relevant disclosures made on applications for registration and investigate low level fitness to practise cases. To assist Fitness to Practise Senior Officers with investigations by preparing witness statements.

Main Duties:

  1. Manage cases allocated to the Fitness to Practise Dashboard. This will include initial referrals and cases waiting for information.
  1. Investigate low level fitness to practise cases about registered workers under the Care Council for Wales (Fitness to Practise) Rules 2014 and Social Care Wales (Fitness to Practise) Rules 2017
  1. Risk assess declarations made by Applicants on applications for registration; as well as declarations made by Registered Persons on renewals and Change of Circumstances forms.
  1. Present completed risk assessments on both Applicants and Registered Persons to an internal Social Care Wales case conference.
  1. Assist Fitness to Practise Senior Officers when undertaking investigations by taking notes for witness statements and preparing timely, accurate statements. Also assist with the examination of case records and any other documentation as required.
  1. Prepare reports for Social Care Wales registration case conferences and cases going to a Fitness to Practise Panel.
  1. Assist Fitness to Practise Senior Officers in obtaining case evidence from all parties including employers, Police, GPs e.g. certificates of conviction, medical reports etc.
  1. Act as a Duly Authorised Officer as specified in the Social Care Wales (Fitness to Practise Investigation) Rules 2017 to include the following:
  1. Offer undertakings to registered persons
  2. Offer warnings to registered persons
  3. Attend pre hearing review meetings as required
  4. Attend Fitness to Practise hearings as required.
  1. Plan, prioritise and organise work effectively to achieve objectives and meet changing timescales and the demands on the team.
  1. Provide general advice to Applicants, Registrants and employers on matters relating to professional conduct.
  1. Provide initial general guidance to Complainants about Social Care Wales processes and how to make a complaint.
  1. Provide statistics from case management system for performance reports.
  1. Promote the effective integration of Social Care Wales values, anti-discriminatory practice, equal opportunities and the Welsh Language Scheme throughout all aspects of work, and place service users at the heart of the agenda.
  1. Respond proactively to colleagues, participate in team working, work to corporate policies and procedures and contribute to the running of Social Care Wales.
  1. Undertake relevant training and where required.
  1. Undertake other duties that may reasonably be requested which are appropriate to the level of the post.
  1. This post will require the post holder to complete modules leading to the Advanced Professional Certificate in Investigative Practice (APCIP).

Units to be covered:

•Unit 1 Law, Evidence, Procedure and Best Practice

•Unit 2, Part 1 Advanced Statement/ Report Writing

•Unit 2, Part 2 Courtroom Skills/ Giving Evidence

•Advanced Investigative Interviewing

•Employment Investigations

Notes:

  1. This post requires the post holder to work flexibly and to travel as the role requires. This can incur some out of office hours working and travelling, with the potential for overnight stays
  1. This job description describes the principal purpose and main elements of the job. It is a guide to the nature of the main duties as they currently exist but is not intended as a wholly comprehensive or permanent schedule of tasks. The post holder is expected to work flexibly and respond positively to changing business needs.
  1. Social Care Wales offers excellent terms and conditions of employment, including:
  1. generous annual leave (28 days + 3 privilege days + 8 public holidays)
  2. generous special leave entitlements,
  3. a contributory local government pension scheme
  4. a comprehensive induction, training and development scheme
  5. pleasant working conditions in a modern office environment
  6. family-friendly policies
  7. flexitime
  1. Social Care Wales has been recognised as an Investor in People at Silver level.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Post: / Fitness to Practise Officer

We expect all our staff embrace and demonstrate behaviour that is in line with our organisational values.

Respect Everyone

Seeing people as individuals and treating everyone with dignity and respect.

Professional Approach

Acting responsibly and appropriately, holding each other to account.

Always Learning

Improving ourselves and supporting others to be the best we can be.

Involve People

Encourage and enable everyone to work together.

Essential / Desirable
Experience / Experience of dealing with highly sensitive and confidential information and situations
Experience of assessing complicated, sensitive and comprehensive information, ensuring attention to detail and accuracy. / Experience of dealing with complaints from members of the public
Skills & Attributes / Excellent communications skills both written and oral including experience of handling difficult conversations.
Strong organisational skills
Able to maintain confidentiality and act with discretion and diplomacy.
Acts with integrity, impartiality and independence, and aims to apply sound judgement in every situation.
The ability to work independently and also as part of a team
The ability to prioritise effectively
Ability to carry out duties of role in both English and Welsh
Commitment to working in line with the Values of Social Care Wales and Public Sector / Ability to use IT based case management system

Confidential

Application form

Post applied for:

For HR use only:

Candidate Reference Number

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Application formConfidential

This form will need to be photocopied, please type or write clearly in black ink – Please do not remove any of the perforated pages.

Personal details
Last name - Mr/Mrs/Ms/Miss
First Names(s)
Home Address
Telephone No. / Daytime: / Home:
Mobile: / e-mail:

References

Please give details of two previous employers to whom we may apply for a reference. One of these must be your present or most recent employer - if applicable.

References for all shortlisted candidates will be taken up prior to the interview.

If you do not want us to contact your referees at this stage please tick the box:

1. Name: / 2. Name:
Job Title: / Job Title
Capacity: / Capacity:
Address: / Address:
Postcode: / Postcode:
Telephone: / Telephone:
e-mail: / e-mail:

Relationships

Have you any friends or relatives employed by the Social Care Wales? If so, please provide name(s) and relationships with those named:

Legal status to work in the UK

Do you have the legal right to work in the UK? Yes/No

If ‘YES’ but there are conditions attached, for example start or finish dates, please give details:

If ‘NO’ what type of permit do you require?:

Availability

Are there any dates during the next two months when you cannot attend for interview?

Education/qualifications

Please give name and type of establishment, beginning with Secondary School and list qualifications gained.

Establishment / Qualifications

Membership of professional bodies and professional qualifications

Please give details of your membership of professional bodies and the level of qualification attained.

Date / Professional Organisation / Level of membership attained

Additional training

Please detail any further or specialist training undertaken or continuing professional development.

Employment

If you are a school/college leaver include details of holiday jobs.

Present or last employer

Name, address and nature of business:
Position held and responsibilities:
Dates (Month and Year)From:To:
Salary (now or on leaving):
Notice Period:
Reason for leaving:

Previous employers

Starting with the most recent. Add more rows if necessary.

Name and nature of business / Position held and responsibilities / Duration - months and years

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Person Specification

Please explain how you meet the following criteria by providing examples from previous experience (please note: the boxes will expand as you write in them)

Essential

Experience of dealing with highly sensitive and confidential information and situations
Experience of assessing complicated, sensitive and comprehensive information, ensuring attention to detail and accuracy
Excellent communications skills both written and oral including experience of handling difficult conversations.
Strong organisational skills with the ability to prioritise effectively
Able to maintain confidentiality and act with discretion and diplomacy
Acts with integrity, impartiality and independence, and aims to apply sound judgement in every situation.
The ability to work independently and also as part of a team
Ability to carry out duties of role in both English and Welsh

How did you hear about this position?

Declaration

I confirm that the details of this application and the evidence of competency provided in support of it, are to the best of my knowledge true and accurate; and I consent to Social Care Wales processing, by means of a computer database or otherwise, any information I have provided for the purposes of employment with Social Care Wales.

Signature:______Date:______

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