Complaint Investigations Manager

University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust; Brighton; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working options

Job summary

University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust is seeking an experienced Band 6 complaints professional to manage a caseload and oversee complex investigations within the Patient Experience team. You will coordinate responses across divisions, facilitate local resolution meetings, and ensure compliant, compassionate, timely replies in line with NHS standards.

The role requires mediation skills, strong written communication and a clear commitment to learning from complaints to improve care.

Qualifications

• Experience of managing a large caseload of complaints or similar investigations requiring a formal written response.

Responsibilities

• Receive patient complaints and ensure they are investigated in line with national guidelines and the Trust's complaints procedure.
• Oversee divisions to produce high quality investigation reports and draft responses.
• Coordinate responses for complex complaints spanning multiple divisions.
• Facilitate local resolution meetings between clinicians, staff, patients and relatives.
• Support the implementation of the Complaints Management policy and monitor compliance.

Skills

Caseload management

Mediation

Job description

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Main area Patient Experience Grade Band 6 Contract 3 years (Three year fixed term) Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Three year fixed term) Job ref 279-8234485-AUG26

Employer University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Royal Sussex County Hospital Town Brighton Salary £39,959 - £48,117 per annum pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 31/08/2026 23:59

At UHSussex we’re proud to be at the heart of the NHS. As one of the UK’s largest acute trusts, we’re a leading example of the excellence, the ambition and the values that have embodied the NHS for over 70 years.

Our hard-working, talented and dedicated people work together towards a common goal – to deliver Excellent Care Everywhere for our patients, our people and our communities. Whatever your role here at UHSussex you will play a part in driving us forwards and in improving the lives of patients across Sussex.

At UHSussex, diversity is our strength, and we want you to feel included to help us deliver Excellent Care Everywhere. Your uniqueness and experiences will be part of our creative and innovative community where everyone is encouraged to succeed. We have a range of staff networks to help break down barriers, and can offer a buddy to help new members settle in. We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Employer (Level 3) and a Veteran Aware Trust.

We value compassion, inclusion and respect as our core values . We treat our patients and staff with the same compassion and empathy we expect for ourselves. We’re here for them when they need us, and we go above and beyond to meet their needs. This can be seen in our wellbeing programme for staff which is extensive and designed to support you when you need it, including where possible, flexible working to support work life balance - because we know that to look after others we must first look after ourselves.

As a university trust and a leader in healthcare research , we value learning, teaching and training so that we can be the best that we can be. From the moment you start with us and throughout your career we will help you to grow and develop. We hope that in choosing UHSussex you are choosing a long and happy career where you will be able to see the difference you make and feel valued for all that you do.

As part of our commitment to access for all, please see the different ways you can access the application form: https://apps.trac.jobs/accessibility?_ts=1

We look forward to receiving your application and the start of your journey with UHSussex.

Job overview

University Hospitals Sussex delivers four maternity and four neonatal units, at our hospitals in Brighton, Worthing, Haywards Heath and Chichester.

In recent years, we have undertaken a considerable programme of improvement to our maternity and neonatal services. We remain committed to strengthening our improvement efforts, and continuing to improve outcomes for our patients.

In August 2025 Baroness Valerie Amos was appointed to lead the independent investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal services nationally and it was announced on 15 September 2025 that University Hospital Sussex NHS Foundation Trust is one of 14 trusts nationally that are included in the investigation.

In April 2026, the Secretary of State for Health and Care announced that Donna Ockenden would chair a review of maternity services in Sussex.

This review will involve large numbers of families, including those who have experienced harm, loss and bereavement.

The post holder will be responsible for supporting the programme and the complaints team to meet both internal and external requirements for complaints functions aligned to the Independent Review of Maternity Services (IMR).

The postholder will prioritise and manage their own caseload of complaints and family meetings and will carry out these responsibilities in line with the Trust’s values, with high levels of sensitivity and compassion, with a focus on trauma-informed restoration.

Main duties of the job

• To work as part of the complaints team, and
• the IMR programme team, and with the Trust’s divisions to
• receive patient complaints and ensure, in collaboration with
• relevant staff, that they are investigated in accordance with
• national guidelines and the Trust’s own complaints
• procedure.
• To oversee and support the divisions to produce high quality
• complaint investigation reports and draft responses.
• To co-ordinate the responses for complex complaints that
• span more than one division
• To support the effective implementation of the Trust’s
• Complaints Management policy and processes and ensure
• that compliance is monitored and reported, gaps in
• compliance identified and appropriate actions and
• mitigations are developed
• To facilitate local resolution meetings between clinicians,
• hospital staff, patients and their relatives.
• Ensuring complaints are responding to efficiently,
• appropriately, compassionately and collaboratively with a
• focus on learning and meeting the Trust’s standards for
• complaints responsiveness and quality

Working for our organisation

Working for our organisation

At UHSussex, diversity is our strength, and we want you to feel included to help us always deliver Excellent Care Everywhere, as shown in our Outstanding for Caring CQC rating. Your uniqueness and experiences will be part of our creative and innovative community where everyone is encouraged to succeed. We have a range of staff networks to help break down barriers, and can offer a buddy to help new members settle in. We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Employer (Level 3) and a Veteran Aware Trust.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Internal applicants should note that this opportunity will be offered on a secondment basis. Before applying, internal colleagues must discuss the opportunity with their current line manager to confirm whether they can be released from their substantive role if successful.

Release to undertake a secondment is not automatic and must be agreed between the colleague, their current line manager, and the recruiting line manager.

Please note: This role does not meet the minimum criteria for visa sponsorship under the current UK immigration rules, which set specific salary and skill thresholds. As such, we are unable to provide sponsorship for this post. Applicants will therefore need to already have the right to work in the UK to be considered. We include this information at the outset to provide clarity and avoid unnecessary inconvenience for applicants.

If you do not meet the sponsorship requirements, and you are applying using a Graduate visa as your right to work, you must have a minimum of 18 months remaining on your visa at time of application.

Liaising with leads from the clinical divisions to coordinate the undertaking of thorough, impartial investigations and drafting complex response letters to a high standard of written English, ensuring the principles of being open and duty of candour are applied and recommendations or actions are included

Communicating professionally and empathetically under pressure, remaining calm and avoiding conflict, dealing with people who may be in a highly emotional state or recently bereaved. These difficult conversations may be planned or unplanned.

Recognising and respecting the views of complainants and those complained about and to ensure this is reflected in written responses.

To ensure complex clinical information is interpreted correctly and communicated to complainants in understandable language.

To organise and facilitate local resolution meetings between complainants, clinicians, senior Trust managers and executives.

Prepare information and documentation as and when requested by the PHSO within the timescales agreed and as requested by the Complaints Manager

Compilation and presentation of reports to groups and sub-committees including collecting and analysing confidential and sensitive data from systems, stratified to include a focus on those in groups or demographics for whom there is a risk of poorer health outcomes

Taking responsibility for receipt of complaints by telephone, email, in person or in writing.

Supporting the divisions to undertake root cause investigation and thematic analyses and to compile complaints responses

Managing, monitoring and ensuring the accurate and contemporaneous records on the Trust’s DATIX system and are managed efficiently working with the Head of Patient Services and Experience and other members of the patient experience team

Holding a case load of complaints, ensuring the Trust’s complaints standards are met, including for response and closure of complaints, and that these are accurately tracked in accordance with the complaint’s standards.

Developing and maintaining expertise in complaints management, maintaining up to date knowledge about best practice in NHS complaints and NHS complaints regulations as required in the Trust policy.

Ensuring all complaints concerns are managed in a proportionate and customer focussed manner in line with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) Principles of Good Complaint Handling, Remedy and Good Administration

Understanding and responsiveness to issues of inequality, recognising and acting on reducing health inequalities by ensuring the complaints approach taken is inclusive and overcomes barriers to engagement including through reasonable adjustments

Facilitating local resolution meetings and other meetings as required

Ensuring that the Complaints practice adheres to data protection, confidentiality, Caldicott and GDPR requirements

To assume a central role in problem solving and supporting the delivery of the complaints team’s function in an agile way and as a team player

To support with skills development of clinical teams in responding to complaints

To participate in and delivering training

To build trusted and collaborative relationships with clinical and operational leaders from across the clinical divisions, and with patients and their carers, to support effective responses to complaints and to support continuous improvements in the quality of care

To provide a range of non-clinical advice and information to patients, relatives and clients including the complaints procedure and other trust services.

To deal with all enquiries in an empathetic and effective manner and able to listen to worried/bereaved patients/relatives, using third parties as appropriate to communicate.

To involve patient and carer representatives as part of the developmental and roll out of patient and carer experience improvement activities

Person specification

Experience of managing a caseload of complex investigations

• At least two years experience of managing a large caseload of complaints or similar investigations requiring a formal written response
• Training in mediation and facilitation skills

Skills

• Experience of managing challenging situations and relationships
• Organised and able to meet timescales whilst managing competing priorities

Equality Diversity and Inclusion

• Evidence of having undertaken own development to improve understanding of equalities issues
• Evidence of having championed diversity in previous roles (as appropriate to role).

Important information for applicants:

A Note on AI Use in Applications
We value the individuality and authenticity that each candidate brings to the application process. While AI tools are increasingly accessible, we strongly discourage their use in completing your application. Your responses should reflect your own voice, experiences, and motivations—elements that are essential to a fair and accurate evaluation.
Applications that rely heavily on AI-generated content may misrepresent your abilities and could result in your application being rejected. We encourage you to take the time to present your genuine self, as this helps us better understand your potential and ensures a transparent selection process.

Closing Adverts Early: In the event of exceptional interest, we may close adverts earlier than specified.

Some of our adverts are capped for a limited number of applications; therefore, the advert will close once the cap has been reached. We therefore encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible if you are interested in the position to prevent you from missing out on applying for the opportunity.

Flexible Working: If you would like to explore potential options regarding flexible working please speak with the appropriate recruiting/line manager.

DBS Checks: As part of our commitment to a safe working environment, we undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service check on all new employees where the role is eligible for a criminal record check . We make offers in line with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1975.

Skilled Worker Visa: Applications for Skilled Worker sponsorship are welcome for the roles that meet the Visa and Immigrations eligibility criteria. For further information please visit the gov.uk website searching for Skilled Worker. It is your responsibility as the applicant to ensure that you meet this criteria.

UHSussex reserves the right to close the role early if we receive a high volume of applications

Further Information

For help with the application process for Nursing vacancies, please email [e-mail].

For help with the application process for Non-Nursing vacancies, please email [e-mail].

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.

Name [e-mail] Job title Head of Patient Services and Experience Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 01273 664678 Additional information

Please contact by email in the first instance to then arrange a mutually convenient time to speak.