Grade VIII - Regulatory Compliance Manager

Job Summary

The Child and Family Agency was established on 1st January 2014 and is responsible for a range of statutory functions including provision of child protection, alternative care, specified regulatory services and a range of family support services. The Agency has commenced a major improvement programme with significant focus on Practice, Culture and Structure.

The Agency currently has responsibility for a budget in excess of €800m and delivers its services through circa 5,000 people in 350 locations across the Country.

The Child and Family Agency has responsibility for the following range of services:
•Child Protection and Welfare
•Family Support
•Alternative Care
•Adoption

•Tusla Education Support Services (TESS)
•Domestic Sexual and Gender Based Violence (DSGBV)
•
Children’s Service Regulation
•Counselling and Therapeutic Supports
Further information is available on www.tusla.ie

About Tusla’s Quality Assurance Directorate
Tusla’s Quality Assurance Directorate is concerned with promoting continuous improvement and effective risk management in services for children and families. It delivers its functions though the following teams:

Children’s Services Regulation
Early Years’ Inspectorate
The Early Years’ Inspectorate is the independent statutory regulator of Early Years’ Services and is responsible for registering and inspecting pre-schools, playgroups, crèches, day care and similar services. Its role is to promote the quality, safety and appropriate care of children by robust regulation of the sector.

Alternative Education
Children who are educated at home or who attend a non-recognised school (i.e. a school that is not funded by the Department of Educational and Skills) must be registered with Tusla by their parents/guardians. The registration process requires that an assessment or assessments be carried out to determine whether the child is receiving a certain minimum education and therefore can be placed on the statutory register of children educated outside of a recognised school.

Alternative Care and Commissioned Services
The team monitors and reports on alternative care settings for children who cannot live with their families. It aims to deliver purposeful intelligence-led regulation with a view to service improvement in commissioned services.

Child Safeguarding Statement Compliance Unit
The CSSCU has a national centralised function for the receipt and processing of referrals and notifications of failure to furnish Tusla with a copy of a relevant agency’s safeguarding statement made under Article 12(1) of the Children First Act 2015. The office is also responsible for appropriately supporting relevant agencies to achieve compliance under Articles 12 (1) – (5) of the legislation.

School Aged Childcare
On the 18th February 2019, the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) (Registration of School Age Services) Regulations 2018 came into effect. Services who cater for school age children must now register with Tusla. School-age childcare services have not, to date, been subject to registration, so this is a significant step forward in ensuring quality school-age childcare. The School Age Childcare Inspection Team in Tusla is responsible for promoting the quality, safety and appropriate care of the children by assisting in the registration of services within the sector.

Other functions within Tusla’s Quality Assurance Directorate:
Risk and Incident Management
The team is responsible for the corporate risk register, and all aspects of risk and incident management systems within the Agency. The team aims to ensure Tusla is aware of the nature of its risks, their status and how they are being managed.

Performance Reporting and Information
The Performance Reporting and Information team collates analyses and reports on quality and risk data relevant to the child and services. It identifies trends and performance data to support accountability and transparency, inform policy development and legislative reform, to demonstrate where standards and targets are being met, and identify risk and support decision-making at all levels of the organisation.

Quality Assurance and Monitoring
The team monitors and reports on service delivery against standards, regulations and legislative requirements, and seeks to ensure that service improvement activity takes place in response to reviews.

Service Experience and Feedback
Part 9 of the Child and Family Agency Act 2013 governs complaints procedures and reviews, complainants’ rights, referral to the Ombudsman, and annual report requirements. “Tell Us” is Tusla’s policy governing feedback and complaints. The team is responsible for managing Tell Us, including training other Tusla staff nationwide, collecting metrics, channelling complaints and feedback, and dealing with individual complaints. The team is also involved in encouraging participation of children and listening to the voice of the child in Tusla and Tusla-funded services.

Job Objectives

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Professional Knowledge
•Has a working knowledge of the legislation as relevant to Children’s Services Regulatory functions.
•Has a working knowledge of the principals that underpin administration of a feedback and concerns function including data collation and analysis.
•Can demonstrate best practice in the oversight of administrative systems.
•Have a working knowledge of inspections in a regulated sector.

Managing & Delivering Results (Operational Excellence)
•Support the National Escalation & Enforcement Manager to develop and implement an effective system for the receipt, processing and collaborative actioning of feedback and concerns, and related data management.
•
Ensuring efficient and effective coordination and management of strategic programmes and projects undertaken by the feedback and concerns unit.
•Coordinating, tracking, and engaging with inspection managers and other key stakeholders in the response to received concerns.
•Directly managing and supporting the work of the feedback and concerns team.
•Working collaboratively with inspectorate and enforcement colleagues to progress actions, resolve issues, and consolidate information from various sources into actionable summaries to support informed decision making, and escalate issues appropriately as required.
•Support the strategic development of the feedback and concerns function.
•Maintain collaborative working relationships with all stakeholders.
•Develop, design and deliver quality assurance reporting processes to provide meaningful information relevant to managers and inspection teams to support decision-making.
•Ensure that policies and procedures are aligned with best practice, are well documented, communicated to others, and followed.

Implementing innovative ways to deliver service improvements within resource limitations.
•Develop appropriate project methodologies and establish working practices that promote cross-functional team working.
•Ensure implementation of clear communications pathways, internal to Tusla and with external stakeholders in respect of patterns of risk.

Teamwork, Leadership & Building and Maintaining Relations
•Provide the necessary management, leadership and direction to ensure that the overall objectives of the unit under CSR business plans and business as usual is achieved.
•Build strong relationships with key staff in Tusla and externally.
•Be accountable for own work and that of others as appropriate.
•Work on own initiative as well as part of a wider team.
•Lead by example, motivate and encourage others, build team commitment.
•Deal with under performance in a timely and constructive manner.
Commitment to providing a quality service
•Be flexible and adaptable in his / her approach to work, embrace change and adapt work practices accordingly.
•Promote and maintain a quality customer-focused environment.
•Ensure that the best interests of children are at the centre of the service.
•Monitor efficiency within own area of responsibility and take remedial action or notify supervisor as appropriate.
•Continuously seek to improve systems / processes.
•Accept and act on feedback appropriately.
•Establish and maintain strong and positive communication with other Tusla directorates and stakeholders.
•Promote participation in the implementation of any change management projects.

Critical Analysis & Decision Making
•Rapidly prepare, assimilate and analyse complex information, inclusive of an annual report of function.
•Anticipates problems and considers the impact of decisions before taking action.
•Support the gathering, analysis and reporting of data and information to support risk-based decision making and judgements through dashboards and bespoke reports.

Health & Safety
•Comply with and contribute to the development of policies, procedures, guidelines and safe professional practice and adhere to relevant legislation, regulations and standards.
•Have a working knowledge of the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) Standards as they apply to the service for example National Standards for Child Protection and Care and comply with associated Tusla – Child and Family Agency protocols for implementing and maintaining these standards as appropriate to the role.
•To support, promote and actively participate in sustainable energy, water and waste initiatives to create a more sustainable, low carbon and efficient health service.

The above Job Description is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all duties involved and consequently, the post holder may be required to perform other duties as appropriate to the post which may be assigned to him/her from time to time and to contribute to the development of the post while in office.

 

Skills Requirement

Applicants must by the closing date of application have the following:

Required
•Third level qualification in a related field, including business or public administration, education, childcare, social care, healthcare and project management.
•At least 3 years’ experience working in a relevant organisation, as relevant to this role.
•Experience in project management and the delivery of new initiatives to benefit an organisation.
•Experience in data management and analysis as appropriate to the role.
•Experience managing and working collaboratively with multiple internal and external stakeholders to achieve results.
•Experience of people and team management.

Desirable
•Experience working in a regulatory or oversight body, or system.

Health
A candidate for and any person holding the office must be fully competent and capable of undertaking the duties attached to the office and be in a state of health such as would indicate a reasonable prospect of ability to render regular and efficient service.

Character
Each candidate for and any person holding the office must be of good character.

Attachment(s):  

Grade VIII – Regulatory Compliance Manager Candidate Information Pack May 2024.pdf