Job Description
Venesky-Brown’s client, a public sector organisation in Haddington, is currently looking to recruit a Freedom of Information Officer for an initial 6 month contract with option to extend on a rate of £175-£250/day (Inside IR35).. This role will be based in Haddington / working from home.
All applicants must have the right to work in the UK at the time of application and be resident in the UK.
You will manage and respond to Environmental Information and Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, ensuring compliance with relevant legislation and supporting transparency and accountability across the organisation.
Responsibilities:
- Manage and respond to information requests in line with statutory deadlines.
- Locate, retrieve and collate relevant data in response to requests, in cooperation with relevant staff.
- Ensure compliance with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 and related legislation.
- Liaise with internal departments to gather information and provide clear, accurate responses.
- Maintain records of information requests and produce reports for monitoring and performance purposes.
- Provide advice and guidance to staff on FOI/EIR processes and best practice.
- Provide service areas with guidance and support on whether information, held by the organisation, can be disclosed by interpreting exemption criteria together with evidence provided by service areas.
- Compose legally compliant responses to FOI/EIR requests.
- Support wider Information Governance activities, including data protection and records management where required.
- Carry out other duties as required.
Essential Skills:
- Educated to HND or SVQ Level 4 in Business Administration or other relevant discipline and/or able to demonstrate equivalent knowledge, skills and competencies gained through relevant experience.
- Strong understanding of Environmental Information and FOI legislation in Scotland and related regulatory frameworks.
- Excellent organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple requests and deadlines.
- Strong communication skills, both written and verbal, with attention to detail.
- Ability to work collaboratively across teams and build effective relationships.
- Experience of handling information requests through FOI(S) Act 2002, Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.
- Experience of applying legislation and making assessments on whether information can be released.
- Experience of investigating and forming quality responses.
- Ability to produce written responses, which are well structured, accurate and of a high standard.
- Excellent IT skills – including use of Microsoft, CRM, back-office systems
- Excellent organizational skills and ability to multi-task.
- Ability to communicate and work closely with a diverse range of stakeholders including the public, press, and Council staff.
- Ability to work on own initiative.
- Ability to prioritise work and work to targets and deadlines.
- Customer focused.
- Ability to deal with confidential information with tact and diplomacy.
Desirable Skills:
- Experience in an information governance or compliance role.
- Complaint handling training.
- Complaint investigation training.
- Experience of developing processes or procedures to improve team/individual performance.
If you would like to hear more about this opportunity please get in touch.