Investigator

For 50 years we’ve been the voice of the public. Our free and impartial service helps people put things right with their local council or adult social care provider. We use what we learn from complaints to improve local public services and independent adult social care provision. We act with impartiality and make fair decisions after listening to both sides of the story and weighing up all the evidence. So, if you want to make a difference and have the perspective we’re looking for, please get in touch.
For more information about us visit our website www.lgo.org.uk, Acting with the delegated authority on behalf of the Ombudsman, Investigators assess and/or investigate complaints made to the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO). This includes complaints relating to failings in services by local authorities and social care providers. Our Investigators look at complaints about most services organisations within our remit offer, with a large proportion of our work involving complaints about children's services and special educational needs.
The role operates in a highly pressurised and collaborative environment where individuals contribute to the team and are involved in group and project work; joint working on investigations, and various outreach activities (for example external training for bodies in jurisdiction). Investigators are personally responsible for their own casework and for maintaining high standards of performance and professional practice, meeting challenging objectives around quantity, quality timeliness and impact. 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.
For more information, please visit our website www.lgo.org.uk/jobs/vacancies, Shortlisting will be based on the CVs and covering statements.
Please note that candidates who have applied to the LGSCO for the post of Investigator within the past twelve months will not be considered.
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to take an online verbal reasoning assessment. Invitations and full instructions will be sent to you by our external consultant, Peregrine, during the period Thursday 5 December 2024 – Thursday 12 December 2024.
If successful, you will then be invited for further assessment which includes an online case study exercise. Invitations and full instructions will be sent to you by our external consultant, Peregrine, during period Friday 13 December 2024 – Monday 23 December 2024.
Interviews will be held over MS Teams week commencing Monday 20 January 2025.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements
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)

At the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman we value our staff and work hard to reward them.
We are an ambitious, focused, inclusive and friendly organisation which is recognised for the important work we do. There are a range of benefits for all our staff enjoy. These include:
Annual leave : There are 25 days annual leave in a full leave year, rising by 1 day with three years’ service and a further 2 days with five years’ service.
Pension : You’ll be entitled to join the Local Government Pension Scheme which is a career average scheme.
Work/life balance : We encourage all employees to have a healthy work/life balance and offer flexible working arrangements, such as agile working and flexi-time, together with a wide range of different working patterns. All are subject to business needs.
Learning and development : We provide our staff with access to a learning and development programme to enable them to succeed in their role. Where membership is relevant to your role in the organisation, we will also pay the annual membership fee for you to be a member of your professional body.
Family-friendly : We offer generous maternity, adoption, paternity and parental leave, and provide for paid and unpaid special leave.
Season ticket loan : We offer our staff the ability to have a loan for their annual travel season ticket.
Wellbeing : We have a programme which includes an Occupational Health Service and access for you to an excellent, confidential Employee Assistance Scheme. This is a free 24-hour counselling service for advice about your work and personal life challenges
You will be able to join the Civil Service Sports Club.
As well as reimbursing the cost of your eye tests, we will subsidise your eye care where a prescription is for VDU usage and we will cover the cost of an annual flu jab.
Bike loan : We run a Cycle to Work Scheme which allows you to pay for the cost of your bike (up to a limit) as a loan which is deducted from your salary.
Reasonable adjustments : We recognise how important it is to make reasonable changes for staff where appropriate.