Job summary
Are you a highly organised, proactive professional with a passion for supporting senior leadership and driving HR excellence? West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is seeking a HR Support Manager to provide high-level support to our Chief People Officer (CPO).
Main duties of the job
About the Role
This pivotal role offers the opportunity to work at the heart of our HR Directorate, ensuring the smooth running of the CPO's office and contributing to strategic HR projects. You'll be responsible for:
- Complex diary and inbox management, ensuring the CPO remains on track with priorities and commitments.
- Project coordination across HR workstreams, including electronic rostering systems and service improvement initiatives.
- Acting as a key liaison, building and maintaining effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
- Providing high-quality administrative and secretarial support, including minute-taking, report drafting, and meeting governance.
- Supporting budget oversight, HR team coordination, and national returns.
What We're Looking For
We're seeking someone who is:
- Exceptionally organised, with the ability to manage competing priorities and tight deadlines.
- Skilled in electronic rostering systems and confident in using Microsoft Office tools.
- A natural communicator and relationship-builder, able to work with discretion and professionalism.
- Experienced in project management, ideally with a background in HR or NHS settings.
- Able to work independently, using initiative and sound judgement.
About us
With a new hospital planned for Watford and work underway to update theatres at St Albans City Hospital, this is an exciting time to join us. We are building on the success of our award-winning virtual hospital and re-imagining models of care, working ever more closely with partners and making the most of advances in digital healthcare. Staff wellbeing and development are a priority at our Trust, as is the role of innovation in improving clinical care, outcomes and patient experience. Our vision is Excellent patient care, together and our values are to be empowered, compassionate, professional and inclusive. They capture an important balance across what we must all do as individuals and to support others. We offer a variety of flexible working options as we recognise the importance of a good work life balance. www.westhertshospitals.nhs.uk/flexibleworking If you have a disability or long-term health condition and should you require support or guidance please contact westherts.recruitment@nhs.net If you are a Service Leaver, Veteran, Military Reserve, Cadet Force Adult Volunteer, or partner/spouse of those serving please tick "Member of the Armed Forces Community" on the application form. We reserve the right to close this advert early due to the volume of applicants. Please apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. If you do not hear back within 3 weeks of your application, please assume you have been unsuccessful on this occasion.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Essential Qualifications & Experience
- Degree in secretarial, management, administration or business studies (or equivalent experience).
- CIPD Level 5 or equivalent HR qualification.
- Experience supporting senior leaders, ideally within the NHS.
- Strong understanding of HR processes and electronic rostering systems.
Please see attached job description and person specification for a full list of duties and requirements.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Essential Qualifications & Experience
- Degree in secretarial, management, administration or business studies (or equivalent experience).
- CIPD Level 5 or equivalent HR qualification.
- Experience supporting senior leaders, ideally within the NHS.
- Strong understanding of HR processes and electronic rostering systems.
Please see attached job description and person specification for a full list of duties and requirements.
Person Specification
Education and Qualifications
Essential
- Degree in secretarial, management, administration or business studies or equivalent knowledge gained through experience.
- Post graduate qualification in related field.
- CIPD Level 5.
Desirable
- Prince 2 or equivalent qualification.
Knowledge
Essential
- Understanding of information governance and confidentiality.
- In-depth knowledge of Microsoft Office packages, including Excel and Power-point, internet, e-mail etc.
- Knowledge and understanding of using the web and web-based information products (including the Intranet).
- Understanding of HR and its role in an organisation.
- Knowledge of rostering systems within in complex organisations.
Desirable
- Knowledge of current NHS Policies.
- Understanding of equality and diversity issues and how this affects patients, visitors, and staff.
- Understanding of what the NHS Constitution means to you, and your responsibilities to the public, patients, and colleagues.
Experience
Essential
- Experience in the NHS as a personal/executive assistant to a senior director or Board level officer.
- Experience of the HR cycle across multi-level organisations.
- Significant experience of servicing, taking and transcribing formal minutes at high level/senior meetings.
- Communicating complex, sensitive information with a range of staff internally and externally across the organisation.
- Working effectively as part of a team in a busy office.
- Experience of using Microsoft Office products.
- Experience using technical rostering systems.
- Experience of producing detailed written reports and presentations.
- Experience of managing own workload and dealing with conflicting priorities.
Skills and ability
Essential
- Ability to work without direct supervision.
- Strong IT skills.
- Excellent keyboard skills.
- Ability to deal with complex enquiries having the skills for investigating a variety of issues and proposing solutions.
- Established written and oral presentation skills.
- Ability to communicate in English both verbally and in writing at a high level.
- Proven organisational skills.
- Ability to take accurate minutes and prepare reports.
- Ability to work on own initiative whilst under pressure, including working to tight deadlines and prioritising work effectively.
- Ability to deal with sensitive/confidential issues on a daily basis.
- Professional telephone manner.
- Attention to detail.
- Must have the ability to lead, motivate appraise & develop staff; Developed persuasive, facilitative and influencing skills.
- Excellent organisation and time management skills with the ability to work unsupervised, prioritise workload, plan set and meet deadlines.
Person Specification
Education and Qualifications
Essential
- Degree in secretarial, management, administration or business studies or equivalent knowledge gained through experience.
- Post graduate qualification in related field.
- CIPD Level 5.
Desirable
- Prince 2 or equivalent qualification.
Knowledge
Essential
- Understanding of information governance and confidentiality.
- In-depth knowledge of Microsoft Office packages, including Excel and Power-point, internet, e-mail etc.
- Knowledge and understanding of using the web and web-based information products (including the Intranet).
- Understanding of HR and its role in an organisation.
- Knowledge of rostering systems within in complex organisations.
Desirable
- Knowledge of current NHS Policies.
- Understanding of equality and diversity issues and how this affects patients, visitors, and staff.
- Understanding of what the NHS Constitution means to you, and your responsibilities to the public, patients, and colleagues.
Experience
Essential
- Experience in the NHS as a personal/executive assistant to a senior director or Board level officer.
- Experience of the HR cycle across multi-level organisations.
- Significant experience of servicing, taking and transcribing formal minutes at high level/senior meetings.
- Communicating complex, sensitive information with a range of staff internally and externally across the organisation.
- Working effectively as part of a team in a busy office.
- Experience of using Microsoft Office products.
- Experience using technical rostering systems.
- Experience of producing detailed written reports and presentations.
- Experience of managing own workload and dealing with conflicting priorities.
Skills and ability
Essential
- Ability to work without direct supervision.
- Strong IT skills.
- Excellent keyboard skills.
- Ability to deal with complex enquiries having the skills for investigating a variety of issues and proposing solutions.
- Established written and oral presentation skills.
- Ability to communicate in English both verbally and in writing at a high level.
- Proven organisational skills.
- Ability to take accurate minutes and prepare reports.
- Ability to work on own initiative whilst under pressure, including working to tight deadlines and prioritising work effectively.
- Ability to deal with sensitive/confidential issues on a daily basis.
- Professional telephone manner.
- Attention to detail.
- Must have the ability to lead, motivate appraise & develop staff; Developed persuasive, facilitative and influencing skills.
- Excellent organisation and time management skills with the ability to work unsupervised, prioritise workload, plan set and meet deadlines.
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.
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.
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).
