Overview
Do you have significant experience in committee work and/or drafting, especially in a regulatory body or similar field? Are you seeking a chance to enhance your skills and knowledge within an organisation that offers diverse, engaging, and challenging work? If so, join us and make a meaningful contribution - supporting the Hearings Service in this high profile and public forum. As part of our commitment to safeguarding patient safety and upholding public trust in dental services, we conduct formal public hearings to address cases involving dental professionals. In the role of Committee Secretary/Senior Hearings Officer, you will play a crucial role in both drafting decisions and providing support for the coordination and management of hearings, related to fitness to practise allegations against dentists and dental care professionals.
Responsibilities
* Sitting as Committee Secretary in hearings, providing support, procedural advice and guidance to the Chair, Committee Members, Legal Adviser, parties and witnesses.
* Summarising cases and preparing draft determinations, reflecting the Committee's decisions and its reasons.
* Resolving problems that may arise during a hearing and keeping cases on track.
* Ensuring administrative procedures are carried out in accordance with GDC rules and regulations.
* Deciding on and arranging for payment of all fees due to the Chair and Committee Members for hearings.
* Examining legal information and evaluating case bundles prior to commencement of cases.
* Responding to enquiries and making decisions on behalf of the Head of Hearings or his deputy in their absence.
* Most hearings are conducted virtually, although sometimes hearings are listed in-person at the GDC's Central London office. The successful postholder will be expected to be available in either setting.
Our primary purpose is to protect patient safety and maintain public confidence in dental services. To achieve this, we register qualified dental professionals, set standards for the dental team, investigate complaints about dental professionals' fitness to practise, and work to ensure the quality of dental education.
Qualifications
* You will require in-depth knowledge and understanding of professional regulation, hearings and/or legal or adjudicatory processes.
* Experience of working as a Committee/Panel Secretary who drafts decisions, not simply minutes of meetings.
* Ability to work well in a highly pressured environment of a public hearing.
* Proficiency in determination writing, and the recording of decisions based on the Committee's reasons, within tight time constraints.
* Well-developed interpersonal skills, and the ability to provide a professional presence in a formal and public tribunal setting.
Commitment to Diversity
We are committed to providing a working environment that embraces and values diversity and inclusion by recruiting and strengthening our teams with members from different backgrounds, life experiences and viewpoints. Equality and diversity are not just words; they are what makes our teams strong and able to deliver. We want to be champions of diversity and to have a sense of belonging in the workplace, where everybody has the chance to contribute and to share what is important to them.
The GDC is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace, an environment that reflects our values and culture and allows employees to flourish. To support this, we offer family-friendly, inclusive employment policies, including flexible working arrangements from day one and employee networks that aid growth and development.
Benefits
* 27 days holiday (plus 8 bank holidays) - rising to 30 days (plus 8 bank holidays) after 2 years' service
* Flexi-time scheme
* Employer pension contributions up to 10%
* Buy/Sell annual leave
* Enhanced Maternity, Paternity and Adoption leave from 1 year's service
* Life assurance, income protection plan and enhanced sick leave policy
* Staff discounts including eye care contributions and discounted gym membership
We encourage and support the recruitment, retention, and career development of people from as wide a range as possible of ethnic, cultural and social backgrounds.
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