Band 6 Legal Officer

Job summary

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) is an incredibly rewarding place to work, offering a working environment with an inclusive culture that looks after and values our people and creates a sense of belonging.

The Legal Services Team is responsible for a portfolio of clinical negligence and public/employer liability claims, Inquests and the provision of healthcare advice. The scope of the work is wide and the workload is busy making this a challenging but satisfying and rewarding role.

We are looking for a talented, enthusiastic and experienced claims handler to join our team as a legal officer. You will be knowledgeable in litigation and coronial processes with excellent communication and time management/prioritisation skills working calmly and confidently under pressure. The post holder will also be someone resilient who is able to manage, on occasion, emotionally challenging Inquests and legal claims.

The role involves collaboration with both internal and external stakeholders and requires regular analysis and interpretation of complex information, contributing to a strategy for the resolution of individual claims, including providing feedback on lessons to be learned, making a positive impact to clinical governance and patient safety teams.

For an informal discussion, please contact Kelly Trimble, Head of Legal on 07557758323

Main duties, tasks & skills required

The successful candidate will manage a busy and mixed caseload of clinical negligence/employer/public liability claims in accordance with Civil Procedure Rules and Trust policies which will require frequent prioritisation to meet changing deadlines. Excellent communication skills are required with the ability to review complex information, consider strategy, and share this with a wide range of people including clinical and non-clinical colleagues. There will also be regular communication with external legal advisors, third party solicitors, NHS Resolution, the Coroner's office and on occasion patients representing themselves.

About us

We are recognised as one of the leading NHS Foundation Trusts in the UK. Our vision is to Build Healthier Lives, and we recognise that we need incredible staff to do this.

Our commitment to our staff is to create the best place for them to work, and we are dedicated to:

Investing in the health and wellbeing of our staff, including a commitment of offering flexible working where we can;
Offer our staff a wide variety of training and development opportunities, to support their personal and career development objectives.

UHB is committed to ensuring that our staff are treated fairly and feel that they belong, by creating a kind and inclusive environment. This is about equity of opportunity; removing all barriers, including discrimination and ensuring each individual member of staff reach their true potential, achieve their ambitions and thrive in their work. This is more than words. We are taking action. Our commitment to an inclusive culture is embedded at all levels of the organisation where every voice is heard, driven by our diverse and active staff networks, and at Board level by the Fairness Taskforce led by our CEO. We nurture a culture which empowers staff to challenge discriminatory behaviours and to enable people to bring their 'whole self' to a kinder, more connected and bold place to work.

Job description

*Please Note : For a detailed job description for this vacancy, please see attached Job Description*

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Degree or equivalent qualification

Desirable

• Legal professional qualification at post-graduate level

Experience

Essential

• Previous clinical negligence/employer/public liability claims experience
• Previous Coronial/Inquest management experience
• Proven ability to work to tight deadlines
• Able to demonstrate a clear understanding of CPR, the claims process and HMC Rules & Regulations
• Strong technical knowledge in areas relevant to legal healthcare practice
• Good understanding of the principles of investigation management, root cause analysis techniques and Clinical Governance

Desirable

• Experience of working within or with the NHS in the handling of claims
• Experience of quality management processes and quality improvement mechanisms.

Additional Criteria

Essential

• Strong problem solving ability and capacity to recognise alternative solutions where necessary
• Strong work load management skills
• Ability to interpret national policy and guidance, identify local implications and apply implementation to a local setting
• Critical appraisal of wide ranging documents to facilitate assessment of risk and to ensure appropriate and sensitive communication/management of claims/inquests
• Ability to manage, prioritise and deliver a number of projects and work programmes within timescales
• Ability to work well under pressure
• Good standard of computer literacy including word processing, spreadsheets and databases
• Competent with gathering, collating and analysing data and information from a variety of sources effectively
• Data manipulation including identification, accessing and downloading of data, design set up and development of data entry systems including automation as appropriate
• Makes clear recommendations indicating benefits/consequences and identify risks
• Analyses and uses complex information from a variety of sources and formats and undertakes information analysis
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Good communicator at all levels
• Written - experience of drafting letters and technical reports with clarity and awareness. Excellent writing skills. Ability to prepare written material presenting complex matters in a logical way using the appropriate style, content and language for the audience
• Oral - Communicate clearly with appropriate groups.

Information is clear, concise and accurate and given in a helpful and professional manner.

Express opinions confidently and constructively

• Listening - clear ability to listen and absorb complex information.

Encourage individuals to expand ideas

• Ability to lead and supervise teams and work in a collegiate manner where necessary
• Ability to implement decisions
• Displays a high standard of personal integrity
• Actively seeks ways to improve efficiency and effectiveness of own performance
• Self-motivated and able to work with minimal management
• Flexible and adaptable to changing workloads/priorities

Desirable

• Experience of trends analysis
• Ability to assess and advise on the appropriateness and suitability of investigation techniques and standards

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website.

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants.