| Job description | Freedom of Information & Correspondence Officer
Contract type: Permanent
Location: London or Newcastle offices
Salary: c £41,000 (London) a higher base salary may be available for exceptional candidates
Hours: Part time and Full time considered
Civil Service Employer Pension Contribution of c28.97%
About the National Audit Office
The National Audit Office (NAO) is the UK’s main public sector audit body. Independent of government, we have responsibility for auditing the accounts of various public sector bodies, examining the propriety of government spending, assessing risks to financial control and accountability, and reviewing the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of programmes, projects and activities. We report directly to Parliament, through the Committee of Public Accounts of the House of Commons which uses our reports as the basis of its own investigations. We employ some 950 staff, most of whom are qualified accountants, trainees or technicians. They work in one of two main areas, financial audit or value for money (VFM) audit.
The NAO welcomes applications from everyone. We value diversity in all its forms and the difference it makes to our organisation. By removing barriers and creating an inclusive culture all our people have the opportunity to develop and maximise their full potential. As members of the Business Disability Forum and Disability Confident scheme we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria.
The NAO supports flexible working and is happy to discuss this with you at application stage.
Nationality Requirement:
• UK Nationals
• Nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• Nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with (or eligible for) status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
Please note, we are not able to sponsor work visas. Please contact hrservicedesk@nao.org.uk should you have any questions on your nationality eligibility.
We are looking for an experienced individual to join our freedom of information and correspondence team at the National Audit Office.
Main purpose of the role:
The freedom of information (FOI) and correspondence team is responsible for coordinating and assisting with all correspondence between MPs, the public and the NAO. This includes FOI requests, Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) and Subject Access Requests (SAR), general correspondence, complaints and whistleblowing. The NAO handles over 1000 pieces of correspondence and over 100 FOI requests each year.
This function manages one of our direct contact points with key stakeholders. It is one of the main ways in which we uphold our reputation as an independent and transparent organisation, through communicating professionally with MPs and the general public and providing information, where appropriate, that is in the public interest to share. The function also provides a rich and invaluable source of intelligence with a key role to play in informing our audit work.
The role is responsible for handling all forms of correspondence professionally, adhering to high standards and protecting our reputation through responding in a timely and proportionate manner in accordance with our statutory responsibilities and our own business processes.
The role reports to the FOI and correspondence manager and sits within the NAO Communications team. The team also provide support to the Press Office, Private Office and the Parliament Relations team as and when required..
Main responsibilities:
This role includes the following main areas of responsibility:
Correspondence (35%)
• Log and acknowledge all correspondence and assign to the relevant teams for a response.
• Monitor all progress on correspondence cases and follow-up with teams as response deadlines approach.
• Support teams with advice and guidance through the process and escalate issues and higher risk items to management.
• Respond to telephone calls, including the whistle-blower Hotline, ensuring calls are answered promptly and callers are taken seriously and recorded accurately.
• Use own resources and research to respond to straightforward enquiries and hot media topics and current affairs received by email, phone or voicemail.
• Handle sensitive personal cases professionally and compassionately
• Monitor and flag trends in enquiries and whistleblowing to internal stakeholders
• Log and allocate complaints and support those handling them with briefings and guidance as required.
• Manage copyright and reuse enquiries for NAO content and material
FOI/EIR/SAR (35%)
• Log, acknowledge and allocate FOI requests to relevant teams; monitor workload and progress to ensure requests are delivered to deadline and meet high quality standards.
• Work with line teams to identify information, consider use of exemptions and to progress requests; Draft consultation emails for teams to send to external third parties; Draft final response letters.
• Manage communications with requesters, providing good customer service and keeping them informed.
• Collate and prepare information for release in different formats, including redacting documents as required, send out final responses.
• Put together background minutes of FOI case histories for Directors undertaking FOI internal reviews, monitor progress, and draft/send final responses to internal reviews.
• Handle Subject Access Requests made under the Data Protection Act – work with teams to identify information, monitor progress, extract/redact information in scope, secure documents, draft and send out SAR responses and documents.
Business management and improvement (30%)
• Maintain good records management of team information to ensure audit trails, applying suitable security and deleting information in line with retention policies.
• Provide regular updates on Correspondence and FOI for seniors and stakeholders supported by management information and statistics against key performance indicators (KPIs)
• Develop and update guidance materials for staff and keep information up to date on intranet pages and external website.
• Maintain FOI publication scheme, disclosure log and compliance statistics on external website.
• Support the launch and analysis of business improvement projects as required
• Support and assist with internal stakeholder meetings as required.
• Regularly review and update internal information to reflect organisational changes
Individual Learning & Development
• Be responsible for managing and carrying out your own professional learning and development including mandatory training
• Carry out the minimum annual requirement of CPD learning
• Keep up to date with relevant legislations and subject expertise area
Skills & knowledge required
Essential
• Experience in FOI, correspondence, complaints, customer service or similar types of roles
• Strong attention to detail, and an organised, methodical approach.
• Good oral and written communication skills, including the ability to draft clear, accurate correspondence and communicate well on the phone
• Can understand an organisation’s purpose and the current affairs landscape to spot potential issues and reputational risks and use good judgment to flag and escalate them
• Strong inter-personal skills with the confidence to communicate effectively at all levels.
• A flexible, proactive approach to manage their day-to-day work, responding quickly and positively to emerging issues
Desirable
• Awareness of information legislation, such as the Public Records Act and FoI, EIR and SAR and Information Commissioner’s Office guidance.
• Knowledge of Parliament, government or audit sectors
How to Apply
Please apply with a CV and a covering letter outlining your suitability for the role. |
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