Head of Policy (Health)

Job description

About

About us

At the Public Service Ombudsman, we make final decisions on complaints that have not been resolved by UK Government departments and the NHS in England. We work closely with people to understand where, how and why public services sometimes fall short and fail to put people first. We share findings from our casework to help Parliament scrutinise public service providers. We also share our findings more widely to help drive improvements in public services and complaint handling.

Our culture is open, friendly and supportive. We listen, we learn, and we treat everyone with dignity and respect. Inclusion and wellbeing are at the heart of how we work, and we strive to create a workplace where every colleague feels valued, supported and able to thrive.

We work in a modern, flexible way built on trust and autonomy. You will split your time between working from home and spending around 40% of your week in our Manchester or London office, where collaboration and connection with your team are an important part of

how we work.

Please note that we were formally known as The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

The role

This role is all about using what we learn from complaints, investigations and casework to help improve health services in England. The focus is on spotting wider issues, turning evidence into clear policy recommendations and influencing positive improvement in services.

Knowledge of the NHS in England and ability to apply that knowledge strategically is central to the role. You will be working to influence change across the health system, using the Ombudsman’s unique data and insight to support system improvements and working collaboratively with stakeholders.

There is also a strong focus on people and relationships. Leading a team of four, building relationships with external organisations and working collaboratively with our communications, data and systemic investigations teams.

There is a real opportunity to influence change across the health system. Our recent work on ADHD and autism services and end of life care shows how insight from complaints can identify wider problems, shape recommendations and help improve services for patients and families.