Information Governance and Complaints Manager

Health Research Authority

Manchester

Hybrid

GBP 65,000 - 75,000

Full time

7 days ago

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Job summary

Health Research Authority seeks an experienced manager to lead the Information Governance and Complaints team. The role oversees a range of responsibilities, ensuring high-quality delivery, staff development, and strong team performance.

You will manage complaints, Freedom of Information requests, and data protection matters while guiding information governance activities across the organisation. Strong people leadership and process improvement are essential.

Qualifications

Excellent working knowledge of complaints management.
Excellent working knowledge of data protection, information governance and freedom of information management.
Understanding of information governance frameworks and records management.

Responsibilities

Lead, manage and develop the Information Governance and Complaints team to deliver workloads to a high standard within regulatory timeframes.
Manage and investigate complaints related to HRA services, procedures and research activity, ensuring fairness and timely responses.
Oversee FOI responses and Data Subject Rights requests, ensuring statutory compliance.
Support delivery of the information governance framework, including records management and data protection activities.
Monitor governance breaches and provide guidance, escalating issues as required.
Build relationships with colleagues and external stakeholders, providing training and support on complaints and governance matters.
Produce reports and identify service improvements to shape policies and processes across the organisation.

Skills

Complaints management

Data protection

Information governance

Freedom of Information

Stakeholder communication

People management

Regulatory timeframes

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Information governance qualification (Desirable)

Job description

Job summary

We are looking for an experienced manager to lead our Information Governance and Complaints team. This role is responsible for overseeing a team with a range of responsibilities and experience levels, ensuring work is delivered to a high standard, supporting staff development, and managing team performance and priorities. Strong line management experience is essential, as the postholder will play a key role in creating an effective, well-supported team.

Alongside team leadership, the role is responsible for managing complaints, Freedom of Information requests, data protection matters and wider information governance activities. The successful candidate will be comfortable handling complex and sensitive issues, working with colleagues at all levels, and helping to improve processes and services across the organisation.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone who combines strong people management skills with practical experience in complaints handling and information governance.

Main duties of the job

Lead, manage and develop the Information Governance and Complaints team, ensuring workloads are prioritised and delivered to a high standard and to regulatory timeframes.
Manage and investigate complaints relating to HRA services, procedures and research activity, ensuring they are handled fairly and within agreed timescales.
Oversee the organisation's response to Freedom of Information requests and Data Subject Rights Requests, ensuring compliance with statutory requirements.
Support the delivery of the HRA's information governance framework, including records management and data protection activities.
Monitor and manage information governance breaches, providing advice and escalating issues where required.
Build effective relationships with colleagues and external stakeholders, providing guidance, training and support on complaints and information governance matters.
Produce reports, identify opportunities for service improvement, and help shape policies and processes across the organisation.

About us

At the HRA, we are committed to fostering a supportive and inclusive working environment where we actively invest in the development and empowerment of our staff, enabling them to perform at their best. We strive to promote a healthy workplace culture where wellbeing, collaboration, and professional growth are valued and encouraged.

Working at the HRA, we support flexible working, recognising that home based or hybrid arrangements provides us with the most productive environment to work well. Where possible, we'll offer a working pattern that suits you.

The HRA offers home based contracts for all locations. Newcastle, Manchester and Nottingham based staff can be office based and hybrid working arrangements are also possible. We encourage you to speak with us to explore how this could be accommodated.

We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. We know from experience that different ideas, perspectives and backgrounds create a stronger, more creative workplace that helps us to deliver the best services. We welcome applications which represent the rich diversity of our community: age, disability, gender identity and expression, ethnicity, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation and other diverse characteristics, and we have policies in place to ensure that all applicants are treated fairly and consistently at every stage of the recruitment process.

Important information

We are unable to offer employment under any sponsorship arrangement as we do not hold a sponsorship licence. Applications requiring sponsorship will not be considered.

Applications that do not clearly demonstrate how the essential criteria outlined in the person specification are met will not be shortlisted.

Only the information provided in the application form will be considered. CVs will not be reviewed. We do not accept applications via recruitment agencies or other third parties.

The HRA reserves the right to close this vacancy early should it receive a sufficient number of applications.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

Degree qualification or extensive portfolio of evidence or equivalent level of experience or achievement

Desirable

Information governance related qualification
Complaints management related qualification

Knowledge, Skills and Expertise:

Essential

Excellent working knowledge relating to complaints management
Excellent working knowledge relating to data protection, information governance and freedom of information management

Desirable

Good understanding of the research approval, NHS governance and ethical review processes for UK health research

Experience

Essential

Experience of communicating, both verbally and in writing, with a range of stakeholders regarding highly complex complaints / information requests and or sensitive issues
Significant experience of coordinating the operational management of a team and providing effective line management

Desirable

Experience of working within the NHS, higher education, and/or clinical research

Analytical and Judgemental Skills:

Essential

Excellent organisational skills with the ability to prioritise against a background of change and uncertainty

Interpersonal skills

Essential

Excellent interpersonal skills to be able to communicate with a range of external stakeholders including members of the public, patients and research participants concerning sensitive areas

Other

Essential