Main area Freedom of Information & Information Governance Grade NHS AfC: Band 4 Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week Job ref 418-COR5680-CW
Employer Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Bedford Borough Hall Town Bedford Salary £27,485 - £30,162 pa Salary period Yearly Closing 06/08/2025 23:59
Freedom of Information Officer
NHS AfC: Band 4
Job overview
The Freedom of Information Officer will be a member of the Information Governance (IG) Department which is made up of the Head of Information Governance, IG Manager, Deputy IG Manager, IG Officers and IG Administrators/SAR.
The IG Department is responsible for the management and coordination of the Trusts compliance with the FOI Act, Data Protection Act and Access to Health Records Act, national requirements, legal and statutory obligations.
The primary aim of the role is to provide support to IG Management by coordinating requests received under the FOI Act and ensuring responses are provided in line with the requirements of the Act.
Main duties of the job
* Provide appropriate support to ensure operational processes are followed when requests for information under the Data Protection Act and the FOI Act are received
* Liaise with staff across the Trust to ensure legal deadlines are met.
* Work as part of the IG team to ensure information exempt from disclosure is protected as required by law.
* Provide support to ensure requests for information sharing are processed as required to enable an informed decision to be made.
* Assist the IG Manager in identifying where exemptions may apply and where the Public Interest Test needs to be applied
* Assisting those who are contributing to requests for information to ensure the information that is provided meets the requirements of the Act.
* Build working relations with other NHS Trusts and neighbouring public organisations to ensure a consistent countywide approach to blanket FOI requests and to identify lessons learnt.
* Maintain electronic and paper filing systems in relation to FOI and ensuring disclosure of requests are available for uploading to the Trusts public website.
* To identify trends in information requests and establish whether information requested could be more readily available in the future.
* Compile statistical reports on the numbers of requests received, the time taken to respond to them and their level of complexity.
* Developing and maintaining extensive knowledge of the FOI Act and changes in legislation
* Any other duties as required by the IG Manager
Working for our organisation
Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provides hospital services to a growing population of around 700,000 people living across Bedfordshire and the surrounding areas across two busy hospital sites in Bedford and Luton. Both hospital sites offer key services such as A&E, Obstetrics-led Maternity and Paediatrics. You will be joining a friendly, high performing Trust committed to ensuring the health and wellbeing of staff. As one of the largest NHS Trusts in our region you will have access to a programme of high quality training and development to help you grow your career. The Trust continues to be committed to delivering the best patient care using the best clinical knowledge and technology available.
We not only recruit based on qualifications and experience - we recruit individuals who demonstrate the behaviours which underpin our Trusts core values. We achieve this by using values based recruitment. We are dedicated to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone, we are committed to promoting equality and diversity, and creating a culture that values differences.
Please note that vacancies may close prior to the advertised closing date when sufficient number of applications have been received. All new staff will be subject to a probationary period covering first 6 months in post. Travel between hospital sites may be required. Please review all documents attached to ensure you familiarize yourself with all requirements of the job.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification for a full detailed overview of the duties and responsibilities.
Person specification
QUALIFICATIONS & TRAINING
* GCSE Level of education.
* BCS Foundation cert in Data Protection or equivalent experience
* BCS Freedom Of Information certificate in Data Protection or equivalent experience
EXPERIENCE
* Working and dealing with confidential matters
* Prioritising and using own initiative including Planning and Time management
* Knowledge of NHS systems
* Working knowledge of Information Right Acts
SKILLS & KNOWLEDGE
* Excellent written and verbal Communications skills
* Excellent interpersonal skills/Excellent Customer relations
* Ability to plan and prioritise own workload and meet deadlines
* Ability to understand when issues are arising and escalate them quickly and appropriately
* Ability to receive, understand and communicate complex information
* Good understanding of Microsoft O365 including MS Teams and Sharepoint
* Good understanding of the Data Protection act, General Data protection regulations, Access to health records Act and Freedom of Information Act
* Working in a large and complex organisation
* Demonstrable experience of working with numerous systems
PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS & RELATIONSHIP SKILLS
* Self-motivated with the ability to use own initiative and work without constant supervision
* Communicate at all levels
* Ability to maintain and project a professional approach in all interaction with professional
* Flexible, approachable and diplomatic and a good team player
* Passionate about providing an efficient friendly and confidential service at all times.
PHYSICAL/MENTAL EFFORT
* Handling of highly sensitive & upsetting information will be required.
It is an exciting time to join the newly formed Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. We run two busy hospital sites in Bedford and Luton. Our 7,500 staff provide high quality care for a growing population of around 700,000 across Bedfordshire and the surrounding areas.
You will be joining a friendly, high performing Trust committed to ensuring the health and wellbeing of staff. As one of the largest NHS Trusts in our region you will have access to a programme of high quality training and development to help you grow your career. Travel between hospital sites may be required. We have state-of-the art facilities placing us at the heart of cutting edge health care. The Trust continues to be committed to delivering the best patient care using the best clinical knowledge and technology available.
All new staff will be subject to a probationary period covering their first six months in post.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
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