East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust

Office Manager/Senior Secretary

The closing date is 08 February 2026

Job summary

The Child Health admin team are looking for an enthusiastic and experienced individual to work as an Office Manager/Senior Secretary.

We require someone with a high standard of organisational skills in order to provide an efficient administrative service to the team. This role will keep you both busy and challenged. You must be highly motivated with excellent communication skills, the ability to use your own initiative and work well under pressure.

You will need to be adaptable, reliable and a team player with good qualifications and/or management experience.

Knowledge of working in a hospital environment is desirable as is knowledge of the hospital systems and an understanding of the RTT pathways.

PLEASE NOTE - WE CANNOT OFFER VISA SPONSORSHIP FOR THIS ROLE. If you hold a Graduate/Post Study work visa, you will only be able to work this role fixed term until the expiry date of your visa.

Main duties of the job

o To provide comprehensive line management of the Acute Child Health admin team.

o To co-ordinate the patient journey by ensuring a proactive, comprehensive, streamlined administrative process which revolves around the patient and their individual needs.

o Ensure a smooth process and compliance to National Cancer waiting time standards, National RTT compliance standard, diagnostic standards and any internal targets.

o Ensure correct data capture and quality to support the care group in maximising the potential target and financial performance.

o Work in a team based administrative service providing support for each other and ensuring continuity of the service.

About us

We are one of the largest hospital trusts in England, with fivehospitals and community clinics serving a local population of around 800,000 people. Our vision is 'great healthcare from great people'. Everything we do is guided by our values: 'People feel cared for, safe, respected and confident that we are making a difference'. We have a new way of working at East Kent Hospitals, called 'We care'. It's about empowering frontline staff to lead improvements day-to-day. We're looking for compassionate people to be part of our improvement journey for the patients, families and carers we care for every day.

Applications for this role should be written by the applicant. If artificial intelligence (AI) programmes are used then the application may be rejected due to this document being an important part of the assessment process. This does not prevent applicants seeking appropriate support with applications should they need to for the purposes of any declared disability.

Details

Date posted

02 February 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 4

Salary

£27,485 to £30,162 a year per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Flexible working

Reference number

344-5277WCY-B

Job locations

William Harvey Hospital

Kennington Road

Ashford, Kent

TN20 0LZ


Job description

Job responsibilities

Please scroll down to access the full Job Description and Person Specification located in Documents to download.

If you have further queries please dont hesitate to contact the line manager using the contact details below.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please scroll down to access the full Job Description and Person Specification located in Documents to download.

If you have further queries please dont hesitate to contact the line manager using the contact details below.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

  • Previous experience of managing and supervising staff, including allocation of work, identification of training and development needs, performance management.
  • Minimum 2 years secretarial experience
  • Experience of working for and within a team

Desirable

  • Previous experience of NHS
  • Experience of recruitment, appraisal and performance management

Skills

Essential

  • Able to prioritise workload and meet deadlines and use own initiative
  • Able to remain calm in a busy environment whilst working under pressure
  • Ability to organise a number of complex activities including formulation and adjustment of plans
  • Ability to implement policies and procedures for own team and propose changes
  • Excellent organisational skills
  • Ability to motivate staff and achieve optimum performance.

Desirable

  • Knowledge of NHS systems, including All Scripts
  • Knowledge of NHS performance standards

Knowledge

Essential

  • Knowledge of a range of office work procedures and practice the majority of which is non-routine
  • Knowledge of working for and within a team and managing the work of a team

Desirable

  • Previous PAS experience
  • Knowledge of medical terminology
  • Knowledge of 18wk pathways

Qualifications

Essential

  • Educated to GCSE level with A-C grades in English and Maths or equivalent qualifications
  • Computer literate including Word and Excel

Desirable

  • Relevant management qualification or equivalent level of experience
Person Specification

Experience

Essential

  • Previous experience of managing and supervising staff, including allocation of work, identification of training and development needs, performance management.
  • Minimum 2 years secretarial experience
  • Experience of working for and within a team

Desirable

  • Previous experience of NHS
  • Experience of recruitment, appraisal and performance management

Skills

Essential

  • Able to prioritise workload and meet deadlines and use own initiative
  • Able to remain calm in a busy environment whilst working under pressure
  • Ability to organise a number of complex activities including formulation and adjustment of plans
  • Ability to implement policies and procedures for own team and propose changes
  • Excellent organisational skills
  • Ability to motivate staff and achieve optimum performance.

Desirable

  • Knowledge of NHS systems, including All Scripts
  • Knowledge of NHS performance standards

Knowledge

Essential

  • Knowledge of a range of office work procedures and practice the majority of which is non-routine
  • Knowledge of working for and within a team and managing the work of a team

Desirable

  • Previous PAS experience
  • Knowledge of medical terminology
  • Knowledge of 18wk pathways

Qualifications

Essential

  • Educated to GCSE level with A-C grades in English and Maths or equivalent qualifications
  • Computer literate including Word and Excel

Desirable

  • Relevant management qualification or equivalent level of experience

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer details

Employer name

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust

Address

William Harvey Hospital

Kennington Road

Ashford, Kent

TN20 0LZ


Employer's website

https://www.ekhuft.nhs.uk/patients-and-visitors/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust

Address

William Harvey Hospital

Kennington Road

Ashford, Kent

TN20 0LZ


Employer's website

https://www.ekhuft.nhs.uk/patients-and-visitors/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Operations Manager

Sara Sutton

sara.sutton1@nhs.net

07917586621

Details

Date posted

02 February 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 4

Salary

£27,485 to £30,162 a year per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Flexible working

Reference number

344-5277WCY-B

Job locations

William Harvey Hospital

Kennington Road

Ashford, Kent

TN20 0LZ


Supporting documents

Privacy notice

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust's privacy notice (opens in a new tab)