Lead Freedom to Speak Up Guardian | The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust
| Posting date: | 13 May 2024 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | Not specified |
| Additional salary information: | £50,952 - £57,349 per annum |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 12 June 2024 |
| Location: | Wolverhampton, WV10 0QP |
| Company: | Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 6304820/225-CORP-6304820 |
Summary
The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust is one of the largest providers of acute and community health service in the West Midlands. With an enviable and consistent reputation for delivering against key national targets we remain at the frontline of safe, patient focussed services. The Trust's Freedom to Speak Up Guardian will have a key role working with the Board to raise the profile of raising concerns, improve patient care and ensure staff have a voice.
The Lead Freedom to Speak Up (FTSU) Guardian is a key role for the Trust, having a high profile and high influence. The successful post holder will promote the FTSU agenda, playing a pivotal role in addressing barriers to speaking up and providing an accessible service for all staff who wish to Speak to the Guardian Team. The Lead FTSU Guardian will oversee the work of the Deputy FTSU Guardian and a team of Champions who help promote the FTSU agenda.
The Guardian Team operate in an independent capacity and report to the Board. The post holder will be responsible for building a network of contacts across the Trust, ensuring matters are escalated effectively and promptly when required. The Lead FTSU Guardian will be a visible and approachable leader who values diversity, equality, and inclusion and who is dedicated to ensuring that every member of staff has a voice and is listened to, and that improvement and learning takes place.
We are looking for an experienced senior professional to undertake the Lead FTSU Guardian role, and someone who has the confidence to work constructively with the Trust Board and to provide challenge to Senior Leaders if required. The post holder will be skilled in handing sensitive information, maintaining confidentiality and will have a knowledge of legislation, recent NHS recommendations around whistleblowing, freedom to speak up and the relevant policies and processes that support them. Our Lead FTSU Guardian will work confidently in environments that can be challenging or emotionally charged and will excel in being people focussed. We are also looking for someone who is data driven and committed to creating a continuous improvement environment.
The Guardian will be responsible for a FTSU team, including a Deputy FTSU Guardian and a number of Speak Up Champions. The Lead FTSU Guardian will report directly to our Chief Executive and work with senior leadership to support our cultural improvement. We are open to hybrid/ flexible working. The post holder will be required to work across the Trust and will also work across the Walsall Healthcare Trust site to support our collaborative partnership working.
The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust is one of the largest NHS trusts in the West Midlands providing primary, acute and community services and we are incredibly proud of the diversity of both our staff and the communities we serve. We are building a workforce that can help us to fulfil our values, improve the quality of care for patients, and solve the health care problems of tomorrow. We’re passionate about the value that diversity of thinking and lived experience brings in enabling us to become a learning organisation and leader in delivering compassionate care for our patients.
We are delighted that we have been rated as “Good” by CQC. We have achieved numerous awards; The Nursing Times Best Diversity and Inclusion Practice and Best UK Employer of the Year for Nursing Staff in 2020.
The Trust is a supportive working environment committed to creating flexible working arrangements that suit your needs and as such will consider all requests from applicants who wish to work flexibly.
As the Trust’s independent expert, work with the Chief Executive, the designated Non-Executive Director, and the Trust Board to create an open culture which is based on listening and learning.
Develop with the Board, Chief Executive and Non-Executive Director, a strategy to empower and encourage staff to speak up safely, developing local policy and mechanisms allowing for staff to speak up safely and in confidence.
Operate independently of the executive team, providing challenge to senior members of staff, and reporting to the Board or externally as required.
Develop strong and open working relationship with the Trust Board, having direct access to Trust Leaders as required.
Support the designated Non-executive Director in championing Freedom to Speak Up in the Trust and at Board level.
Meet quarterly with the Chief Executive to feedback themes and trends from the concerns raised and share positive and negative experiences and outcomes.
Develop and produce regular reports to monitor the outcomes and impact of Freedom to Speak Up through the Freedom to Speak Up policy. Ensure the Chief Executive, designated Non-Executive Director and the Board are updated regularly, with formal reporting at least every six months to the Board. Produce an independent public annual report.
Work collaboratively with the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian Team at Walsall Healthcare Trust, to support the alignment of Speak Up processes across both organisations.
Work across all Royal Wolverhampton sites to provide an accessible service for all staff.
Gather and analyse external data through the national Guardian network to benchmark the Trust’s performance on Speaking Up and identify and share good practice which will enhance the Trust’s performance.
Develop and deliver specialist training to the Board, managers, and staff, and ensure that speaking up is integrated effectively into the Trust’s wider learning and development programmes to enable all staff to understand how they can raise concerns and enable managers to understand how they should respond to concerns and support staff appropriately.
To lead and develop safe speaking up environments across the Trust and support the organisation in improving staff experience.
Develop and implement policy to support the Freedom to Speak Up agenda.
Ensure the profile of Speaking Up and the Raising Concerns policy is maintained through a Trust wide communication and engagement strategy.
Be highly visible to ‘front line’ staff and managers providing expertise in developing a safe, open, and transparent culture and empowering staff to speak up using the local procedures.
Work with internal partners including HR and trade unions, to ensure that the Freedom to Speak Up Policy works effectively with other policies and mechanisms and reflects best practice.
Work with external partner organisations to ensure that they are aware of, support and promote the FTSU Guardian.
Ensure that all staff with protected characteristics are encouraged to speak out and are not disadvantaged by doing so, working in partnership and maintaining strong links with the EDI lead, employee voice groups of the Trust, sharing and triangulating data, referring employees appropriately.
Ensure that the Speak Up Champions are trained, developed and supported to raise the profile of Speak Up at the Trust and that they act in line with the National Guardian’s Office guidance for champions and ambassadors. Support the Deputy Freedom to Speak Up Guardian in managing the Speak Up Champion volunteers, providing intervention if volunteers are acting outside their agreed remit.
Personally, act in an independent and impartial capacity, listening to staff and supporting them to raise concerns they may have by using Trust structures and policies, or external structures and mechanisms.
Independently review any complaints from members of staff about the way they have been treated as a result of raising a concern and report back to the individual and, with their agreement, to their manager, the chief executive and the director of human resources if staff have been treated in a disadvantageous or demeaning way.
Ensure members of staff who speak up are treated fairly through the investigation, inquiry, or review process and that there is effective and open communication during this time.
Manage a delegated budget to support the development and promotion of Freedom To Speak Up across the Trust.
Ensure that information about those who speak up is always kept confidential, subject to requirements around safeguarding and illegality.
Participate in the national network for the guardians, sharing and helping to develop excellent practice in supporting members of staff who speak up.
This advert closes on Monday 27 May 2024