About this role
- Location: Leeds
- Job Type: Full-time
- Salary: £19.96 per hour PAYE
- Length of role: Initial 3 months
We are seeking an Information Governance Officer to support the delivery and monitoring of the Council’s Information Management and Governance agenda. This role focuses on handling statutory information requests, including Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) requests, Information Rights Requests (IRR), Subject Access Requests (SAR), and Police Schedule 2 requests.
Day-to-day of the role
- Receive, review, log, monitor, and progress statutory information requests in line with Council procedures and statutory timescales.
- Provide advice on information requests, including identifying relevant legislation, assessing request scope, and consulting service areas.
- Apply appropriate exemptions or exceptions and advise Council services on locating, retrieving, reviewing, and preparing information for disclosure.
- Draft clear, accurate, and legally compliant responses, internal advice, and correspondence relating to statutory requests, complaints, and internal reviews.
- Support colleagues and senior officers with the application of information-related legislation, national standards, and Council policies.
- Maintain accurate records of request handling activity, decisions, consultations, exemptions, disclosures, and outcomes using agreed systems and procedures.
Required Skills & Qualifications
- Practical knowledge and understanding of FOI, EIR, data protection, and information rights legislation.
- Ability to advise on and respond to all types of statutory information requests, including request analysis, searches, consultations, redaction, disclosure decisions, and response drafting.
- Proficient in writing clear reports, correspondence, and responses in a business context, adapting style appropriately for different stakeholders.
- Ability to work collaboratively with Council services to obtain relevant information, explain statutory requirements, and support consistent request handling practice.
- No specific qualification required; however, relevant training or practical experience in FOI, EIR, IRR/SAR, data protection, redaction, records management, or information governance request handling is beneficial.
- FOI Practitioner Certificate and/or GDPR Practitioner Certificate would be advantageous.