Complaints Investigating Officer

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust; East Midlands; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Development opportunities

On-going recruitment and team support

Employee benefits (assistance, gym, on

Job summary

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Complaints Investigating Officer to lead formal complaint investigations within the Patient Experience and Insight team. You will manage scales of cases from start to completion, ensuring compassionate, timely communication and robust findings to support service improvement.

The role requires NHS complaints knowledge, strong writing and analytical skills, and the ability to collaborate with senior clinical and operational

Qualifications

• Experience investigating complex complaints, incidents, grievances or similar casework.
• Experience managing multiple complex cases and delivering high-quality written outcomes on time.
• Experience interviewing people about sensitive, distressing or disputed matters.
• Experience working with senior clinical, professional and operational stakeholders and influencing without authority.
• Knowledge of NHS complaints legislation and standards (CQC Regulation 16 and NHS Complaint Standards).
• Understanding NHS structures, governance, patient safety, safeguarding, equality and learning.
• Experience in an acute NHS Trust or similar regulated organistion.
• Experience developing action plans translating findings into service improvement.
• Experience with Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman or cross-organisational complaints.

Responsibilities

• Lead a portfolio of formal complaint investigations from review to draft response, defining scope, outcomes, communications, evidence and milestones.
• Gather and assess records, statements, policies and advice to determine what happened and what should have happened.
• Maintain compassionate, timely communication with complainants, providing updates and managing expectations.
• Analyse evidence, resolve inconsistencies and provide balanced findings with expert advice when needed.
• Identify safety, safeguarding, legal, information governance or reputational concerns and escalate appropriately.
• Develop proportionate action plans and ensure learning is recorded and shared.

Skills

Advanced analytical and judgement

Excellent report-writing

Planning and prioritising

Influence and negotiation

Analysing themes and trends

Quality improvement knowledge

Education

First degree or equivalent experience

Complaints handling / investigation training

Leadership / coaching development

Job description

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust

Complaints Investigating Officer

The closing date is 25 November 2026

Are you an experienced and compassionate leader with a passion for patient advocacy and service improvement? We are seeking dynamic Complaints Investigators to join our wider Patient Experience and Insight team to lead and manage responding to formal complaints received into the organisation. The post holder will be supported as a senior leader in the Patient Experience, Advice and Support Services (PE-ASS) and their expertise will ensure the voice of our service users is at the heart of positive change and service transformation within the Trust.

The post holder will work collaboratively with the Divisions to ensure compassionate and transparent complaint investigations are completed, identifying learning at all opportunities. The post holder will assure compliance with the national requirements and standards for complaints set by the Care Quality Commission, NHSLA and other regulators. Therefore, acting as an expert resource, the post holder will provide senior leadership for Complaint investigation and reporting across the organisation.

Main duties of the job

Lead a portfolio of allocated formal complaint investigations from initial review to completed draft response, agreeing scope, outcomes sought, communication arrangements, evidence requirements and realistic milestones.

Establish what happened and what should have happened by obtaining, organising and critically appraising relevant records, statements, policies, correspondence and specialist advice.

Maintain compassionate, transparent and timely communication with complainants and representatives, providing progress updates, managing expectations and arranging reasonable adjustments.

Analyse complex evidence, reconcile inconsistencies and formulate balanced findings and recommendations, seeking independent clinical or professional advice where required.

Identify safety, safeguarding, legal, conduct, information-governance or reputational concerns and elevate promptly through the appropriate pathway without duplicating parallel investigations.

Develop proportionate action plans for upheld and partially upheld complaints, agreeing ownership and timescales with Divisional teams and ensuring learning is recorded and shared.

Maintain complete, contemporaneous and auditable electronic case records; monitor deadlines, escale barriers and provide accurate workload, timeliness, quality and outcome information.

Closing date of applications: 25 November 2026

Interview date: 09 December 2026

About us

As a trusted organisation at the heart of our communities, we recognise the important role we can play in supporting the public, patients, our own people and local partners in achieving the best of health for the local population and the communities in which they live by providing Exceptional Care Together

Our fundamental Values of Compassion, Openness and Excellence underpin how we intend to work as a Trust and the associated behaviours are becoming embedded in all aspects of how we work.

In return we will offer:

• Development opportunities, both professional and leadership development
• On-going support from recruitment to when you join our team and beyond.
• Staff benefits including employee assistance programme, discounted gym membership, onsite fitness classes, car schemes

Key Facts:

• We see on average 4810 OP appointments a day.
• We are the 4th busiest Trauma & Orthopaedic outpatients department in England - an average of 2077 per week.
• An average of 1115 patients are seen in A&Es across our network every day - 3rd largest in the country.
• Our hospitals admit an average of 195 emergency patients daily.
• Last year we undertook almost 33,700 planned surgical operations in our 57 operating theatres.
• We are one of only 7 Trusts nationally with more than 50 operating theatres.
• We carry out more than 140 elective procedures each working day.
• UHDB is a research active University Hospital with a large and varied portfolio of clinical trials and research opportunities for all staff.

Job responsibilities

UHDB is committed to fair and transparent recruitment. We welcome authentic applications that reflect your own skills, experience and motivations for the role. While we understand that candidates may use AI tools for grammar, formatting or accessibility purposes, applications that appear to be substantially AIgenerated may be subject to additional review. If this applies to your submission, we will let you know and may ask for clarification. Please ensure your application accurately represents your experience and is written in your own words.

Your application (for shortlisting purposes) is assessed based on the Person Specification in the job advert (below).

If you are considering applying for an internal secondment, please ensureyou have discussed this with your line manager and obtained their support priorto submitting your application.

Please be aware that there is no guarantethat you will be released from your substantive post, so you should seek approval before applying as you are applying or a Secondment.

If you have any questions or require further guidance, please contact the Recruitment Team.

Person Specification

Experience and Knowledge

• Experience of independently investigating complex complaints, incidents, grievances or comparable casework
• Experience of managing a concurrent portfolio of complex cases and delivering high-quality written outcomes within agreed timescales
• Experience of interviewing or meeting with people about sensitive, distressing or disputed matters.
• Experience of working effectively with senior clinical, professional and operational stakeholders and influencing without direct authority
• Knowledge of NHS complaints legislation and standards, including CQC Regulation 16 and the NHS Complaint Standards.
• Understanding of NHS structures, clinical governance, patient safety, safeguarding, equality, reasonable adjustment and organisational learning
• Experience within an acute NHS Trust or another complex, regulated organisation
• Experience of developing action plans and translating investigation findings into measurable service improvement
• Experience of Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, multi-agency or cross-organisational complaints

Qualifications

• Educated to first level degree or equivalent experience
• Relevant training in complaints handling, investigation methodology, governance, quality or a related discipline
• Leadership, coaching, facilitation or management development

Skills

• Advanced analytical and judgement skills
• Excellent report-writing and editing skills, with the ability to produce accurate, empathetic and accessible correspondence
• Ability to plan, prioritise and progress multiple complex investigations within an unpredictable workload and to agreed deadlines
• Ability to influence, challenge and negotiate constructively with senior colleagues while maintaining effective working relationships
• Ability to analyse complaint themes, trends and performance information and present assurance to governance forums
• Working knowledge of quality improvement methodology

Communication

• Developed listening, questioning and interviewing skills, with the ability to clarify concerns and desired outcomes
• Ability to communicate complex, sensitive or unwelcome information with empathy, clarity and impartiality, both verbally and in writing
• Ability to de-escalate conflict, manage challenging conversations, build trust and maintain constructive relationships across professional boundaries
• Training in conflict resolution, restorative practice, mediation, trauma-informed communication or a related approach

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.

Employer name

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust