Hearing Case Manager

The Role

The role of the hearings case manager is to deliver our pre-hearing case management and scheduling functions to ensure that all hearing events are fairly and efficiently arranged. You will work to targets for scheduling fitness to practise final hearing cases, referred from the case examiners as well as meeting our key performance indicators and statutory deadlines for interim order cases, final order cases and registration appeals and restoration applications.

You will manage the use of hearings resources, including the delivery of our remote hearing protocols and allocate work to partners (adjudicators and legal advisers). You will work closely with our hearing operations managers and legal services provider to ensure cases progress smoothly to hearings and allocate work to team members and provide line management to hearings officers and hearings support officers.

What you will do

• Manage a varied and complex caseload and ensure the timely progression of cases through our case management processes by prioritising work independently, managing your own workload and using initiative and problem-solving skills to manage competing demands.

• Ensure all meetings and hearings are listed in a timely and efficient manner, within statutory time frames and agreed operational standards and performance measures while maximising the use of resources available.

• Ensure that the listing processes are carried out fairly and transparently, and that systems are in place to monitor these.

• Make robust, well-reasoned case management decisions in accordance with our statutory framework and case law, ensuring they are proportionate, transparent and fair. The decisions should support our public protection objective and be capable of withstanding challenge by the courts, the Professional Standards Authority, social worker and their representative, defence, our adjudicators and internal audits.

• Manage high profile and complex cases, seeking appropriate support from senior team members and ensuring special requirements and/or reasonable adjustments are arranged, where applicable. 

• Line manage a team of hearings officers and hearings support officers, providing regular supervision to support the team to manage the smooth running of all hearings and meetings, ensuring team members are fully trained and able to carry out their roles.

• Provide support and advice to the hearings team on difficult or complex listings and issues, acting as a point of escalation for the team on matters relating to scheduled hearings and meetings, case management and during hearings themselves.

• Manage case meetings between various internal and external hearing participants.

• Manage workload allocation to ensure fair distribution of work to partners and team members.

• Build relationships with internal and external stakeholders to achieve efficient, case progression, scheduling and resolution of issues, including working with our legal services provider.

• Work with the hearing operations managers and wider fitness to practise management to implement and embed change initiatives and continuous process improvement.

• Deputise for the hearing operations managers as necessary.

Your skills, knowledge and experience

• Experience of working in a hearing, tribunal, event planning or case scheduling environment, ideally for a regulator or other legal setting.
• Ability to work under pressure, managing a high and diverse workload and deliver work to tight deadlines.
• Demonstrable ability of leading and managing others as part of a team.
• Excellent interpersonal and customer service skills with the ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships with colleagues, legal services providers, service suppliers, adjudicators and other stakeholders. 
• The ability to exercise sound judgement and confidently justify any actions taken both in written form and verbally.
• The ability to work independently as well as part of a team and take initiative to drive personal work forward whilst supporting the delivery of team objectives. 
• Confident communicator orally and in writing with the ability to articulate complex issues to a broad spectrum of people.
• Ability to identify, develop and promote innovative approaches to service delivery.
• Excellent IT skills including Microsoft Office suite (experience of using case management software is desirable).
• Ability to problem solve effectively and assess new information to make sound operational decisions.
• Ability to encourage participation and understanding of quality improvements in all areas.
• Able to show sensitivity and tact when identifying and working with customer needs and confidential information.
• A proven role model for respectful, open and honest behaviour including a demonstrable commitment to equality and diversity in service delivery.