Investigator

We are currently recruiting Investigators to work in our Assessment function, where Investigators assess complaints made to the LGSCO, making early decisions on cases and looking for opportunities to resolve them without the need for a full investigation.

Investigators will deal with complaints about a wide range of different topics covering the span of local authority services and private adult social care. No two cases are the same, and no two days are the same in terms of the complaints you will consider. The role provides real challenge, requiring you to get up to speed quickly on a diverse range of subjects, from children's social care to rights of way, and homelessness to waste collections.

Investigators operate in a highly pressurised and collaborative environment where individuals contribute to the work of the team and the wider organisation. They are

also personally responsible for their own case work and for maintaining high standards of performance and professional practice, meeting challenging objectives

around quantity, quality, timeliness and impact. Once inducted and fully trained, Investigators are expected to operate with minimal guidance and supervision, demonstrating a high degree of resilience and confidence in their work. As we receive high volumes of complaints, Investigators are expected to demonstrate effective workload management skills and proportionate decision making at all times. Both skilled judgment and confident decision making are essential aspects of the role.

There is an opportunity to get involved in subject-specific forums, where you will have a chance to share your knowledge and discuss cases, as well as inform the Ombudsman's policy positions on key issues. These forums play a key role in our external communications work, and have supported recent focus reports and practitioner guides on subjects such as end-of-life care, council tax appeal rights and planning enforcement.

There is also the opportunity to get involved in other projects. Recently, Investigators have worked alongside colleagues in other parts of the organisation to look at developing our use of artificial intelligence.

Click the link to apply for more details.

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Shortlisted applicants will be invited to take an online verbal reasoning assessment. Invites will be sent on or around Friday 23 October and applicants will have roughly a week to complete it.

If successful, you will be invited to complete an online case study exercise taking place around 30 October and again applicants will have roughly a week to complete it.

Following this, interviews are planned to be held online via MS Teams, between Tuesday 8 December and Tuesday 15 December.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.