Staff Partnership Officer

We are seeking an organised Staff Partnership Officer with strong communication skills to empower staff at all levels. In this role, you will gather feedback on what is working well and identify areas for improvement, ensuring that all input is communicated anonymously to senior management.
This is a unique and varied position that requires excellent verbal and written communication, as well as strong organisational abilities. If you thrive in a role that bridges staff and leadership, ensuring voices are heard and improvements are made, we encourage you to apply., The Staff Partnership Team has a key role in;
+ fostering good internal communications with staff and managers across the Trust,
+ developing and implementing two-way communications across the organisation,
+ promoting a culture that encourages staff involvement in decision making, where all staff feel able to contribute and are confident that their views will be listened to and valued,
+ encouraging open sharing of information, gaining insight from diverse perspectives, with an acceptance of mutual accountability for identifying and resolving difficulties.
The Staff Partnership Officer will support the Head of Staff Partnership in securing the delivery of the Trust's Partnership Agreement and its key objectives, set out by the Trust Board., The postholder will be expected to establish and maintain positive interpersonal relationships with other staff members characterised by trust, mutual respect, open and honest communication.
The Staff Partnership Officer will be a key member of the Staff Partnership Team, with responsibility to support and deputise for the Head of Staff Partnership role.
The postholder will play a supporting role in ensuring the principles and practices, detailed in the Trust's People Strategy, Partnership Agreement and Staff Partnership plan, are incorporated into the ways of working in all parts of the organisation.
The postholder will play an active role in managing organisational change, ensuring all staff affected are empowered to contribute to the process, upholding the principles of staff engagement and partnership working.
The postholder will work closely with Senior Managers and Directors on a regular basis to remain informed about their service areas and plans that will affect their staff members.
The postholder will offer support and engage with staff on matters affecting them, such as changes to working conditions and changes to terms and conditions.
The postholder will establish credibility as an expert in engagement with staff at all levels.
The postholder will support the Head of Staff Partnership's role as Staffside Lead for the Agenda for Change Job Evaluation process as well as being actively involved in this workstream.
The post holder is required to analyse and respond to draft consultation papers in the absence of the Head of Staff Partnership and carry out these tasks on specific consultations designated to them. This may include non-clinical risk assessments, management papers and briefings, as required.
Management responsibilities
Line manage the Agenda for Change Administrator ensuring supervision, PDRs and all mandatory training are up to date.
Participate in the recruitment process, induction, training, and mentoring of staff within and joining the Staff Partnership Team.
Project Management
Support the identification, planning, delivery and evaluation of Staff Partnership activity across the Trust working with appropriate Directors/Senior Managers and staff to achieve the required outcomes. This will include being able to contribute to and develop guidelines, policies and protocols across the Trust.
Attend directorate/service meetings, actively contributing the staff partnership perspective to the business agenda eg at Directorate Management Meetings, People Committee, Senior Staff Events.
Contribute to the planning of the Staff Partnership Team's activity regarding staff feedback, holding regular focus groups and sessions across all Directorates. Ensure clear action plans are developed and agreed with local management teams.
In partnership with the Head of Staff Partnership, organise, implement and evaluate these feedback sessions to share with the Executive team.
Contribute to the change management processes, as per Oxleas' policy, providing Staff Partnership representation in the preparation, delivery and evaluation of consultations, to oversee and ensure staff are empowered to fully engage with the process.
Work with Senior Managers/Directors towards resolving highly complex employee relations cases, for example facilitating informal resolution in staff disputes or providing support to staff at formal investigations/hearings.
Contribute to the Trust's policy review process with Head of Employee Relations & Business Partnering and lead on specific delegated policy reviews.
Work with Heads of HR and the People management team to collate and facilitate training programmes for managers and staff side reps.
Invite, consult or liaise with staff side colleagues to, where appropriate, jointly work with the Staff Partnership team to ensure a representative broad information base is obtained.
Jointly develop the role of the Staff Partnership Team to provide a function fit for purpose in the ever-changing Health economy.
Support the Head of Staff Partnership in working with the Chief People Officer and Heads of HR on tender processes.

Leadership
The postholder will be required to assist with the training/mentoring/coaching of staff with regards to change management, staff engagement and Agenda for Change.
Facilitate effective focus groups for all staff groups.

Research
The postholder will be expected to carry out audits and to research information for accuracy and to cascade this to management and/or staff as appropriate.
Communication
The postholder must be able to demonstrate excellent communication, presentation and engagement skills to be able to communicate with all staff constituting the Oxleas' workforce to facilitate constructive and productive working relationships.
Produce reports from focus groups and present to Senior Managers/Directors in a timely fashion at pre-planned monthly or bi-monthly meetings. Escalate any matters of urgency using appropriate communication. Monitor, review and evaluate action plans arising from focus group feedback.
Jointly, with the Head of Staff Partnership, produce the half-yearly Staff Partnership Board Report. Support the Head of Staff Partnership to present the Board Report to the Trust Executive, People Committee and other appropriate senior management meetings, deputising for the Head of Staff Partnership as required.
Impart highly distressing/unwelcome news to either individuals or groups of staff where the situation can be highly contentious eg organisational change process or when staff are receiving information that is not easily understood.
Ensure communication is appropriate for target audience.
Use motivational skills to encourage staff engagement to improve services / performance where there might be resistance to change.
Planning and Organisational Skills
The postholder will be expected to plan and organise staff engagement activities across the Trust, making adjustments to suit staff working in a variety of locations and in a variety of rotas across South East London, Kent and the South West. These plans will be both long term, ie yearly, and will have several short-term plans on-going at any one time.
Prioritise workload while dealing with constant interruptions from both internal and external sources.
Demonstrate project management (planning and delivery) skills and competencies.
We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace that welcomes and supports individuals of all abilities. Remember, if you meet the minimum criteria for this role and you have a disability, you can be guaranteed an interview under the Disability Confident Scheme - Please ensure you select this on your application form. We would encourage you to be open about your needs so we can work with you to design a comfortable and accessible interview experience. Any information you provide regarding a disability or a need for adjustments will be treated in confidence and will only be shared with colleagues who are supporting this request.
If you require any adjustments to participate fully in the interview process, please let us know by adding the relevant details when scheduling your preferred interview date and time. Please feel free to contact the appointing manager to discuss your needs.

Working for our organisation
Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children's centres, schools and people's homes.
We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London. We are proud of the care we provide and our people.
Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:
+ We're Kind
+ We're Fair
+ We Listen
+ We Care