Operations Manager Hearings

Location: The City, London
Salary: £48,256 - £56,263
Hours: 34.75
Job Type: Full time
Contract Type: Permanent

Role Purpose:

The General Optical Council (GOC) is the statutory regulator for the optical professions in the UK. Our purpose is to protect the public by promoting high standards of education, performance and conduct amongst opticians.

We are on a journey to be a world class regulator and are looking for an Operations Managers for our Hearings team to support that aim.

Central to the role will include the following (non-exhaustive):

• To co-lead, manage, support, and motivate hearings and scheduling officers, ensuring operational objectives and standards of performance and consistency are achieved alongside developing and managing systems to improve processes and procedures operated by the department.
• To manage and ensure the smooth running of all types of hearings to time and in accordance with statutory rules. This will include undertaking appropriate checks, balances, and quality assurance at all stages of the process. To allocate resources across the function so that cases are dealt with efficiently and ensure the efficiency of the process is maximised.
• To ensure consistently high-quality customer service is provided to our range of customers and stakeholders.
• To create a clear sense of purpose for the wider department/function and establish shared ways of working that build a sense of common purpose, encouraging continuous improvement in line with internal/external best practice.
• To lead or support on projects designed to improve efficiency, enhance customer service and ensure we deliver against our statutory remit.

Key Accountabilities:

• Display visible and approachable leadership, managing people in a consistent, inclusive, and fair manner. Maintaining a dynamic, supportive, and positive team working environment, identifying, and addressing training needs and skills development.
• Oversee and manage the team’s delivery of performance objectives and standards for the department, closely monitoring achievement against them.
• Day-to-day management and oversight of a high quality and effective hearings management process - enabling a customer-centric delivery which maximises use of available resources to ensure that cases are determined within KPIs (Key performance Indicators).
• Identify and manage operational and strategic risks that could affect our overarching public protection remit.
• Maintain a high level of knowledge on the broader regulatory framework and providing up-to-date expertise and advice to the Head of Hearing Operations and Director.
• Maintain positive working relationships with the pool of panel members ensuring that they attend Hearings as required - assessing availability, approving travel arrangements, and providing them with information required to perform effectively.
• Support with the procurement and provision of expert services to support Hearings, whether legal or clinical, and ensure that these are delivered in line with Hearings process standards and budget.

Essential Skills/Experience/Qualifications:

• Strong leadership skills demonstrated through effective coaching and performance management, empowering staff to make sound, well-reasoned decisions based on relevant information.
• Experience of working within a regulatory framework demonstrated through an ability to apply and interpret procedures, policy, law, and relevant legislation.
• Relationship management with key stakeholders including the ability to communicate professionally and sensitively with personal from all backgrounds
• High levels of numeracy, literacy, and verbal/written communication skills, with an ability to structure written communication concisely and appropriately to the audience.
• Demonstrable experience of delivering high-quality customer service and proactive involvement in improving procedures
• Ensures decisions are objective, evidence based and open to scrutiny
• Microsoft Office skills: Generic Microsoft suite (Office, Word, Excel SharePoint etc) as well as an ability to pick up new systems quickly and confidently
• Project management experience is desirable

Closing date for this role is 24 May 2024, please note we reserve the right to close this role early dependent on number of applications.

Please note your application will not be accepted without a covering letter exampling how you meet the essential criteria of this role, no more than 2 A4 pages.

REF-213982