Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust

Senior Administrator- Medical Secretary

The closing date is 22 October 2025

Job summary

This is the perfect opportunity for a dedicated and experienced Senior Administrator- Medical Secretary to join our friendly team based at Birch Ward, West Park Hospital in Darlington our team provides essential compassionate mental health support and care.

As an essential part of the team, you will be based in the office working with another medical secretary and supported by our existing welcoming team secretary's to work closely with the consultants, junior medical staff and advanced practitioners to support us in delivering our Trust mission of co-creating a great experience for our patients, carers, and families.

You must have the Right to Work in the UK in order to be successfully appointed to this role. Please note, this role does not meet the required eligibility criteria for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker visa and therefore the Trust is unable to offer sponsorship for this particular role.

Main duties of the job

We are first and foremost looking for a colleague with a passion for helping people who believes in delivering excellent customer service, who has a keen interest in learning and working in a health care setting with a 'can do' attitude.

This role is at the heart of the multi-disciplinary team which means you will work closely with nurses, consultants, junior doctors, psychologists, and management to ensure that they have everything admin wise they need to provide the best possible care to our patients. We are looking for someone who is comfortable multitasking in a busy environment, who is confident offering supervisory support to other admin staff. Someone who can communicate confidently, build strong working relationships with a variety of people, who can prioritise their workload and who is genuinely interested in understanding and supporting the challenges that mental health care provides.

Your main duties will be to provide comprehensive admin support to the consultant and medical team, which will include digital dictation or copy typing of patient letters, providing diary management, minute taking and recording confidential and sensitive information on Trust systems accurately and timely. For more details, please read carefully the job description, to be successful at shortlisting please briefly describe how you match this description citing examples to reinforce your experience.

About us

This position has a starting salary of £27, 485 which rises to £30,162 after 3 years pro rota and a generous NHS pension scheme. As a member of our NHS Trust, you will receive a fantastic annual leave package (27 days which increases with service, plus bank holidays) and access to extensive staff benefits which includes:

NHS staff discounts in over 200 branded sites/stores.

A TEWV monthly staff prize draw

Car lease scheme

Access to Trust gyms

Option to purchase additional annual leave

Access to staff wellbeing support.

Staff recognition is very important to us; you may be recognised through the Greatix and Star Award schemes. Our Administrators are professionals and are a valuable asset to our organisation. We understand they have a key role in the support and delivery of our services and that their dedication helps us to provide safe and high-quality care for our patients. The kind of care we would want for our loved ones.

Our organisation is on a 'Journey to Change' and as part of this journey, creating a great experience for our staff is one of three big goals. Ultimately, our aim is to be a proactive, responsible and mindful employer, recruiting, retaining and training our people, for the right roles, at the right time.

Details

Date posted

08 October 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 4

Salary

£27,485 to £30,162 a year pro rata, per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

346-DDA-089-25-C

Job locations

West Park Hospital

Edward Pease Way

Darlington

DL2 2TS


Job description

Job responsibilities

Our Trust is dedicated to supporting our colleagues in providing an excellent working environment and encourages everyone to share their progressive ideas. All staff have regular 1-2-1 supervisions and an annual appraisal, which provides lots of opportunity for celebration of achievements, and discussions around challenges, and your aspirations.

You will work alongside your ward team administrator to deliver admin support. As a valuable member of the team, you will be invited to attend regular meetings to improve your knowledge and understanding of the services, you will also be required to minute meetings and keep accurate records. If successful, you will be supplied with a job plan and a fully supported induction.

A visit to the team would be most welcome, should you wish to ask any specific questions or request a visit please contact the team manager (details below). This is a rewarding role working in a desirable team, if you feel this is the challenge for you then we very much look forward to receiving your application.

Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for further detailed information to ensure that you meet the role criteria before applying, if you do not possess the minimum qualifications, you must be willing to undertake them to be fully compliant.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Our Trust is dedicated to supporting our colleagues in providing an excellent working environment and encourages everyone to share their progressive ideas. All staff have regular 1-2-1 supervisions and an annual appraisal, which provides lots of opportunity for celebration of achievements, and discussions around challenges, and your aspirations.

You will work alongside your ward team administrator to deliver admin support. As a valuable member of the team, you will be invited to attend regular meetings to improve your knowledge and understanding of the services, you will also be required to minute meetings and keep accurate records. If successful, you will be supplied with a job plan and a fully supported induction.

A visit to the team would be most welcome, should you wish to ask any specific questions or request a visit please contact the team manager (details below). This is a rewarding role working in a desirable team, if you feel this is the challenge for you then we very much look forward to receiving your application.

Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for further detailed information to ensure that you meet the role criteria before applying, if you do not possess the minimum qualifications, you must be willing to undertake them to be fully compliant.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • BTEC Diploma/Level 3 Diploma in Team Leader/Supervisor or equivalent (ie NVQ in Business Administration/RSA Level 3) or equivalent knowledge gained through relevant work experience plus a willingness to work towards the Diploma in Team Leader/Supervisor within an agreed timescale
  • ITQ Level 2/ECDL/RSA/CLAIT) or equivalent knowledge gained through relevant work experience
  • Key skills/functional skills in literacy and numeracy Level 2 or O'Level (Grade C or above)/New GCSE in Maths and English (Grade 4 to 9)

Experience

Essential

  • Implementing and maintaining systems and processes within an administration team
  • Leading, supervising and training staff on administrative processes in a positive manner to facilitate delivery of an effective service.
  • Significant experience of working in an administrative environment including digital audio typing, Microsoft Office applications, diary management, filing systems, collating and presenting information
  • Co-ordinating meetings and associated duties
  • Extracting data and report preparation
  • Participation in service and quality improvement initiatives
  • Advanced typing skills and inputting data accurately and efficiency.

Knowledge

Essential

  • Understanding of data protection and service user / staff confidentiality in line with defined procedures and guidelines
  • A sound understanding of quality improvement initiatives
  • Organising and completing demands and workloads meeting deadlines using delegation where necessary
  • Problem solving for an area of work or developing alternative or additional procedures

Knowledge/Skills/Experience

Essential

  • Adaptable approach to communication, professional with all staff, carers and service users
  • Negotiating and influencing skills
  • Accurately transcribe data from a variety of sources, including digital dictation software
  • Flexible approach to working with the ability to use own initiative within role, using discretion when making decisions
  • Ability to work autonomously and proactively and be accessible to team to support workload
  • Human resources policies and procedures
  • To be able to critically analysis, appraise and problem solve
  • Maintain concentration and attention to detail whilst also dealing effectively with interruptions
Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • BTEC Diploma/Level 3 Diploma in Team Leader/Supervisor or equivalent (ie NVQ in Business Administration/RSA Level 3) or equivalent knowledge gained through relevant work experience plus a willingness to work towards the Diploma in Team Leader/Supervisor within an agreed timescale
  • ITQ Level 2/ECDL/RSA/CLAIT) or equivalent knowledge gained through relevant work experience
  • Key skills/functional skills in literacy and numeracy Level 2 or O'Level (Grade C or above)/New GCSE in Maths and English (Grade 4 to 9)

Experience

Essential

  • Implementing and maintaining systems and processes within an administration team
  • Leading, supervising and training staff on administrative processes in a positive manner to facilitate delivery of an effective service.
  • Significant experience of working in an administrative environment including digital audio typing, Microsoft Office applications, diary management, filing systems, collating and presenting information
  • Co-ordinating meetings and associated duties
  • Extracting data and report preparation
  • Participation in service and quality improvement initiatives
  • Advanced typing skills and inputting data accurately and efficiency.

Knowledge

Essential

  • Understanding of data protection and service user / staff confidentiality in line with defined procedures and guidelines
  • A sound understanding of quality improvement initiatives
  • Organising and completing demands and workloads meeting deadlines using delegation where necessary
  • Problem solving for an area of work or developing alternative or additional procedures

Knowledge/Skills/Experience

Essential

  • Adaptable approach to communication, professional with all staff, carers and service users
  • Negotiating and influencing skills
  • Accurately transcribe data from a variety of sources, including digital dictation software
  • Flexible approach to working with the ability to use own initiative within role, using discretion when making decisions
  • Ability to work autonomously and proactively and be accessible to team to support workload
  • Human resources policies and procedures
  • To be able to critically analysis, appraise and problem solve
  • Maintain concentration and attention to detail whilst also dealing effectively with interruptions

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Additional information

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Employer details

Employer name

Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust

Address

West Park Hospital

Edward Pease Way

Darlington

DL2 2TS


Employer's website

https://www.tewv.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust

Address

West Park Hospital

Edward Pease Way

Darlington

DL2 2TS


Employer's website

https://www.tewv.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Locality Admin Manager

Clare Graham

clare.graham8@nhs.net

01642368315

Details

Date posted

08 October 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 4

Salary

£27,485 to £30,162 a year pro rata, per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

346-DDA-089-25-C

Job locations

West Park Hospital

Edward Pease Way

Darlington

DL2 2TS


Supporting documents

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