Quality Assurance and Performance Officer

Sutton Council
Sutton
Permanent
Full Time
8
36
£39,264 - £47,040 (£49,083 unconsolidated maximum)
Per annum
27 days

31/01/2023, 12:00

13 February 2023

In Sutton, there is much for us to be proud of both as a council and as a borough. This includes high levels of resident satisfaction, the quality of our services, our success in addressing our financial challenges to date, the way that we involve and engage with residents on key issues facing the borough, and the enthusiastic and motivated staff that we employ. 

Looking ahead, there are plans for the delivery of new homes and new schools and the London Cancer Hub is being developed, while the Council is also seen as a driving force within the South London Partnership of five outer south west London boroughs focused on strategic growth, regeneration and investment.

All of this demonstrates a good track record and an authority that is ambitious and set to deliver more improvements for the borough. We've set out our vision for the future of Sutton in our corporate plan - Ambitious for Sutton. This strategic plan will shape the outcomes we achieve, the services we provide, and the impact we have on residents, to make Sutton a great place to live, work and raise a family.

Quality Assurance and Performance Officer

Grade 8 £37,038 - £44,814 (unconsolidated maximum £46,857)

This role allows hybrid working, part office/part home based. However, during inspections, the postholder is expected to be on site at the Civic Offices, Sutton, everyday unless advised otherwise.

Reporting to the Quality Assurance Manager, the Quality Assurance and Performance Officers are a core function of the People Directorate Quality Assurance, Practice & Performance service. You will support the delivery of the Quality Assurance Framework across People Directorate with a focus on Children’s Social Care and SEND. You will play a central role in collaborative working across services within the council and with partners locally, contributing towards the delivery of promoting good practice and outcomes, effective coordination of a range of audit outcomes and performance intelligence and deliver high level reporting to inform decision making.

QA Officers are responsible for (not limited to):

  • Leading on the delivery and development of the People Directorate Quality Assurance Framework, and all associated areas of practice and performance 
  • Co-ordinating regular and thematic audits
  • Reviewing and updating our local policies for Children’s and Adults Social care
  • Getting the service ready for inspections
  • Coordination of council-wide learning weeks and observations
  • Co-ordinating and reporting on learning from compliments and complaints.
  • Sharing best practice and promoting  service improvements across the services

Our vision encapsulates the community-based approach and commitment to improving the quality of life and well-being for Children Social Care.

PRIDE - the acronym that illustrates our five core values which reinforce the vision and provide the underlying context to the ways in which we work:

  • Working in PARTNERSHIP with the people who live and work in the borough 
  • Making our services open and accessible so that everyone is listened to and treated with RESPECT 
  • Seeking INNOVATIVE approaches in order to provide better, more cost-effective services 
  • Promoting DIVERSITY and ensuring that we recognise and celebrate difference within the context of fairness and equality 
  • EMPOWERING everyone so that we can all 'take part and take pride' as active citizens and staff.

The Quality and Performance team provide a key function across all of our social care services with people in Sutton. Our main purpose is to help continuous practice improvement and social care system change by being able to reflect back to the service the areas of strength and weakness. We aim to engage and empower people in practice change and improvement.

We are pivotal in keeping the focus on what is working, reflecting the voice of children and families in our service, and providing high support and high challenge.

The successful candidates would be expected to demonstrate the following competencies (not limited to):

  • Experienced in working with detail and handling complex tasks 
  • Highly competent in coordination of activity that involves a wide range of colleagues.
  • Strong analytical skills
  • Excellent report writing skills
  • Highly motivated, with the ability to work under own initiative in a fast paced environment
  • Some understanding of social care
  • Able to deliver audit findings to the business in a clear and concise manner and be able to respond to challenges
  • Experience in working on Quality and Performance activity
  • Able to evidence working well with colleagues to bring about change
  • Effective partnership working with stakeholders across the People directorate
  • Social Work qualifications desired but not required
  • Experience with OFSTED inspections desired but not required

As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across - however big or small - will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.

In addition, we offer a modern and flexible working environment for our staff, supported by our IT infrastructure, including Google Chromebooks and Google Apps.

Employees have access to a wide range of benefits, some of which include:

  • Generous annual leave entitlement plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply)
  • Flexi-time (Please note, this applies to roles at grades 1-9 only)
  • Comprehensive learning and development programme
  • Local and national discounts for shopping, eating out and leisure activities
  • Interest free season ticket loans
  • Local Government Pension Scheme
  • Car parking scheme
  • Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
  • Zip car scheme
  • Free eye tests and contribution towards glasses
  • Confidential wellbeing and counselling support
  • Subsidised gym membership

Please apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please ensure you refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application.

To support our diversity agenda and reduce the risk of bias in our recruitment activities, our short listing process completely anonymises personal information that can identify job applicants e.g. name, title etc. Our hiring managers review and short list applications based on the information provided as part of your application as to how well you meet the requirements and criteria for the role, as outlined in the job profile.

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

We pride ourselves on being a diverse, inclusive and welcoming Borough and we aim to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve. We are respectful of difference and realise the positive value of diversity in our workforce. We welcome and encourage job applications from people of all backgrounds and particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates and disabled candidates, as these groups are currently under-represented in our workforce. As part of our Disability Confident Committed status, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum/essential criteria for the role.

We offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums, and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.

The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance.

Important Information - Criminal Records
This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory result to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) helps employers make safer recruitment decisions and prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups, including children. It replaces the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA).

This opportunity is closed to applications.