Information Officer

The Alliance FOI Team, working across Devon & Cornwall Police and Dorset Police, are currently looking to fill one full time (37 hours) and one part time (28 hours) position to join the team on a 12 month basis.

Openness and transparency are vital to public confidence in policing, and members of the public have a right to know about the policing matters they care about. As an Alliance FOI Officer, you will play a key role in ensuring that we uphold this right and meet our legal requirements relating to information access.

As part of the Alliance Information Management Department, this specialist role is responsible for ensuring that information requests are handled appropriately under the FOI Act 2000. The post holder will make decisions with the support of the FOI team and FOI Manager to balance legal and reputational risk with the information access rights of the public.,

• Process requests regarding Freedom of Information Act and Environment Information Regulations, in compliance with legislation and policy.


• Access Force systems and other sources of information, obtaining information, either electronic or hard copy, so as to enable the decision-making process on whether information should be disclosed.


• Personally determine, on a case by case basis, whether either Force will supply the requested information, based on an evaluation of the information gathered, any legal constraints and permissions.


• Draft detailed correspondence conveying the decision made and the justification for that decision and, where applicable, ensure members of the public can understand fully why information has not been provided.


• Maintain a comprehensive, detailed and fully auditable record of all applications, the decision-making rationale and the result of that decision making, including disclosures made and where appropriate, the reasons for non-disclosure.


• Deliver training and development sessions in respect of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
  
  the ability to extract key points from complex or convoluted pieces of information.


• to be able to work independently and as a team player, asking for and providing support and assistance where required.


• to be able to organise your workload, whilst maintaining the ability to be flexible and take direction when shifting priorities dictate.


• to be competent with the Microsoft Office suite, particularly Outlook, Word and Excel, and able to learn new or bespoke systems as required.


• integrity and professionalism, with the confidence to challenge where appropriate and necessary.


• the drive to do your best, delivering work that you are proud of to agreed standards and timescales., Provide specialist advice and knowledge


• Participate in meetings


• Provide customer service


• Gather information to support action


• Complete administration procedures


• Knowledge of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environment Information Regulations 2004.


• Demonstrable ability to draft well-crafted responses to enquiries


• Proven customer care skills


• Proven research skills


• Ability to organise and manage a challenging workload whilst working under own initiative


• Experience in using MS Office
  
  A competitive salary with yearly increments.


• 25 days a year leave entitlement, with an increase to 30 days after 5 years continuous employment, plus bank holidays (pro-rata for part time workers).


• Access to heavily subsidised gym membership that will provide you access to police site gyms throughout the counties.


• Access to the Blue Light Card Scheme for discounts and services (requires a one off payment of £5).


• Company sick pay.


• Competitive local government pension scheme.


• Job related equipment, as required.


• Free onsite parking at many police sites throughout the counties.