To think that this behaviour is about my boss trying to take me down?

[ItscoldinAlaska]

I am at my wits end. My job is at a massive public organisation, but I sit within a smaller organisation attached to it IYSWIM. We are publicly funded and carrying out a specific piece of work for a 3rd party stakeholder who is overseeing lots of public funded projects.

Part of my job is to write reports on how these projects are performing and to advise on improving performance and monitoring these projects, for the 3rd party stakeholder who pays for them. These reports, the data monitoring and the recommendations are all documented and my line manager has to sign them off and check them, before contracts are issued. I work fast, I come from social care and meeting deadlines was drilled into me because of risk (safeguarding). I pass my pieces of work over to be signed off and...get ignored. I have worked there just under 9 months and have 159 emails that have been left unanswered. I have resorted to trying to give my line manager deadlines to get her to sign off - to very little success. Have asked for regular supervision that she cancels. Bring it up at weekly team meetings.

She promised my sign off on one project this week, said she had put time aside to look at it, heard nothing today and she is on leave next week, I am on leave the week after. I started this work on 12th April! Contracts need issuing now...AIBU to feel like I am being stitched up and she may well turn round and performance review me for missed contract deadlines that I have ZERO control over. She is lovely to my face. Passed my probation no issues, they have phased x3 people out since I started there for under performance, I haven't had any negative feedback apart from I work too fast and it sets up unreasonable expectations for the team (yes, I guess that is a stealth brag, this is public funded money that taxpayers pay, we need me to be on it and I am paid very well for it!). I can see no other reason for her failing to check my work! AIBU and paranoid? WWYD? Anyone any experience?

9 months and she hasn't signed off anything??

Seriously, go over her head and also speak to HR.

Why have you left it so long? I’d have moved on to her manager and HR 3 months ago.

Sorry, in my absolute frustration, I wasn't very clear. She has signed things off in the 9 months but I'd say that roughly 60% of my work doesn't get signed off in time, so I just have to plough ahead and circulate/present it and hope it's okay as otherwise contracts don't get done and staff don't get paid! About 50% of my queries do not get any answer. This can range from little things like 'Is it okay if I log off for an hour this afternoon, I have a hospital appointment?' to massive things such as 'Which dates are we looking at for this contract and is this annual ready to be sent off?'

Her direct boss is her friend and the one who headhunted me. I feel really hesitant about going over her head as it's quite cliquey there, people get promoted based on longevity of service it seems, rather than skill set. I would prefer to somehow 'manage' her into signing my stuff off if that makes sense? I was wondering how I could word it in my one year appraisal so that I can get hold of her diary and put deadlines in to get her to sign off maybe?

You need to flag it to HR & her superior. For whatever reason she's not doing her job in a timely manner , on time critical issues.

I would prefer to somehow 'manage' her into signing my stuff off if that makes sense? I was wondering how I could word it in my one year appraisal so that I can get hold of her diary and put deadlines in to get her to sign off maybe?

This is lost cause IMO.
She needs to be held to account and if that isn't going to happen then you need to dust off your CV...

Seriously, go to HR and start looking for another job. You should also definitely lodge a complaint as part of your exit interview (if you have one).

You have evidence of when you sent the work to her, plus chases. You have emails. These all have dates on them.

You have your evidence. Quit worrying. If she doesn't want to sign them off, that's her problem. If she tries to say you messed up, you have proof that you didn't. She then needs to prove she signed it off and told you. She doesn't have that.

Leave her to it.

There is a perfect sentence for this:-

“Let me know by 25th June if any problems or I will assume fine to send out.”

With something important then that day you can send a reminder. “Just to confirm I am sending the report out tonight. Let me know if you have any queries before I do so.”

But with the hospital appointment you can just go!

OP, really struggling to give advice here as public bodies tend to be very political in their culture. All I can say is you sound like you are wasted in the public sector. There is a reason why public sector is generally inefficient because it’s filled with incompetent people like your boss and her boss. Perhaps look for a role in the private sector.

She knows what she’s doing. You sound highly paid and therefore she will be more so.

She knows what’s required but is not doing it for who knows what reason.

Managing up is unlikely to work imo.

As @Mumoftwoinprimary approval by exception is probably your best option.

I have said explicitly:

'This needs to be approved by close of play Friday 28th May' I was very reticent to say 'If I don't hear from you, I will assume it's approved' because it has her name on the report saying 'Approved by Xxxx' and the date. I will do that though now but leave the date blank. The thing that worries me is that these aren't small amount of money. The project I needed signing off today is a 324k project, that will be audited by the public body that has granted the contract. I have written the report saying they are meeting their targets as I have analysed the data. But it hasn't been sense checked by anyone! If there are no dates with approved by: could I get in trouble?

I love the content of my work and I am good at it, but it's just this issue with my (exceptionally well paid) manager. It's like she thinks she is above the actual management but of her job and just places emphasis on the strategic, organisational stuff! She is a whizz with system change, setting up trackers, spreadsheets etc. You can tell it's what she loves but the nitty gritty day to day managing just isn't getting done. Thanks for the suggestions, I will implement changing the language from requests to approval by exception

I sent a follow up email at 15.04 today saying 'This needs signing off, checking in so I can send it off on Tuesday as I know you are on Leave from 5pm'. NO RESPONSE I am out of here, like a PP said, I think I need to just cut my losses and work somewhere else.