First stage was a test in their offices. I had to write a decision on a case whereby an adjudicator/investigator had already made a decision. Also had a short management task. This was followed by a short discussion with a member of the HR team. I was told what to prepare for the following interview should I pass the task. I did pass the task however the following telephone interview was not what I was told to prepare. I also felt that my current role wasn't fully understood by the interviewer. The questions asked were basic but they did not really go into enough detail in terms of what is expected and how my skills could match. I believe a face to face interview would have been far greater.

First stage interview - competency questions, HR case study (dealing with poor performance from a team member) and a decision making exercise (assessing a complaint). Second stage interview - a presentation on the challenges faced by the ombudsman. Also quizzed on the responses I had given to the written test, challenged on my thinking and reasoning. Was unsuccessful. The feedback I received was not constructive. I was told that my decision making was good, I defended my position well and they could understand my thinking. They said I came across well and I communicated clearly. The reason they gave for not offering the job was that I hadn't demonstrated decision making skills in the presentation. The presentation was on the challenges faced by the ombudsman so I hadn't used it as an opportunity to showcase my decision making skills, as it wasn't obvious that's what they were looking for. And, the case study was there to test my decision making. Given that they couldn't provide a good reason for not offering me the role I concluded that my face just didn't fit for whatever reason. As a side note, whilst I was waiting for my interview in reception, a lady came in to ask if she could collect her stuff. She was explaining to the receptionist that she had left the organisation and hadn't had time to collect her belongings. Assuming she may have been one of the very unhappy members of staff who left without notice. Anyways, reception refused her entry to the building...

Terrible process. Phone interviewer didn't know anything about me and didn't appear to have read my CV prior. Various faceless members of the HR contacted me with different information throughout the interview stage. Assessment was irrelevant and the feed back was a shambles. My advice to anybody thinking of applying for the Ombudsman Manager role would be to avoid like the plague, not worth the £55k on offer.