Job summary
The Medicine and Urgent Care Division has an opportunity for a Personal Assistant to join its existing team.
The role will be to provide comprehensive secretarial support primarily to Senior Managers within Medicine.
The post holder will be expected to work with the minimum of supervision, using their own initiative, and will carry out duties of the post in such a way as to make a direct and positive contribution to the organisation by enabling the Medicine Senior Team to utilise their time in an efficient and effective manner.
The successful candidate will be expected to demonstrate a flexible approach to meet the needs of the service and provide high quality PA support including diary management, scheduling and attending meetings, minute taking and the screening of emails, production of reports and presenting/disseminating key information/statistics. You will need to be an effective gatekeeper, using your judgement to resolve difficult situations, whilst making decisions regarding appropriateness and priorities along with excellent interpersonal skills and knowledge of all the relevant administrative and PA procedures applicable to the role.
The role will also involve contact on a daily basis with a wide range of stakeholders, both internal and external to the organisation, and therefore requires a confident approach to create and maintain effective working relationships.
Interview Date - To Be Confirmed
Main duties of the job
Provide comprehensive confidential administrative/ secretarial service to the Care Group Management Team inclusive (but not limited to) Divisional Director, Directorate Managers Associate / Assistant Directorate Managers, Head of Quality, Governance Team and Matrons: necessitating contact with external bodies, clinical, nursing, management, executive and clerical staff. Supporting the full governance agenda across the Care Group for all staff within the Management Team. Cross cover is required when secretarial colleagues are on annual/study or sick leave.
About us
Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 10,500 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.
We strongly believe that the communities we serve should all have access to Five Star Patient Care.
Our services:
Acute Care
Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.
Primary Care
Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.
Community Services
Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.
Specialist Regional Services
We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.
Achievements:
- Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
- Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
- National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme
Job description
Job responsibilities
- Provide comprehensive PA and administrative support to the Executive Director(s) in delivering their various roles within the Trust, which includes providing, and receiving complex and sensitive information.
- Manage the Directors offices and ensure that the Director(s) is appropriately briefed in advance of scheduled meetings. Responsibilities include:
- Initiating, commissioning and coordinating briefings from senior staff
- Gathering and extracting information from a range of sources
- Topping and tailing documents and providing first draft briefings as appropriate
- Facilitating and servicing Directors meetings
- Provide assistance to the Director(s) in relation to their chairperson/membership of local, regional and national committees, including the organisation of venues, co-ordinating diaries and minute taking.
- Provide support to committees within the Trust at Board level. Also supporting departmental and other ad hoc meetings as required.
- Manage all incoming mail/email, including prioritisation, commissioning briefings, directing others to act and ensuring timely responses from them, disseminating information and ensuring that deadlines are met.
- Provide a link to the Department of Health, NHS England and NHS Improvement, and other local and national agencies at the highest level on a range of issues managed by the Director(s).
- Maintain an up-to-date confidential list of all appropriate contacts for the Director(s).
- Undertake specific projects, as dictated, for example Trust Board or Committee administration.
- In the event of planned (or unplanned) absence, ensure there is appropriate administrative support for the Directors offices, and work with a designated buddy or other Personal Assistants to enable cover to be maintained for other Directors, the Chief Executive and Chair.
- Manage all incoming mail/email, including prioritisation, commissioning briefings, directing others to act and ensuring timely responses from them, disseminating information and ensuring that deadlines are met.
- Establish systems and processes, which ensure compliance with the Trusts policies for the procurement of goods and services necessary to the effective running of the department. Review and advise on any budgetary variations.
- Maintain the high profile, standards and quality of governance in all departmental business both internally and externally.
- Manage processes appropriately when co-ordinating visits to the Trust. Ensuring effective communications with other relevant parties including Department of Health, NHSE and NHSI, Ministers, local and national government offices and own Executive team colleagues.
- Draft and commission responses to letters and queries addressed to the Director(s).
- Source and gather information for the Director(s) to support their business (locally and the wider NHS e.g. policy areas).
- Prioritise the Directors workload effectively to ensure that meetings and reports are provided in a timely fashion ensuring the Director also has thinking time.
- Maintain and manage an accurate and efficient diary system. Manage a forward planning system to ensure that deadlines are met with other team members and colleagues in other directorates or teams.
- Develop and maintain understanding and knowledge of the broad spectrum of work areas that each Director is responsible for in order to maximise the support given to the Director(s) and to support decision making. Within planning processes, it is essential to be able to accommodate proactive and reactive situations
- Manage the review, development and implementation of post specific operating procedures which comply with governance arrangements, and which support effective working practices.
- Initiate, manage and administrate conferences and events for which the Director(s) has lead responsibility.
- Manage/lead ad-hoc delegated projects as required.
- Attend and report back from meetings as required.
- Undertake any other reasonable duties required.
Job description
Job responsibilities
- Provide comprehensive PA and administrative support to the Executive Director(s) in delivering their various roles within the Trust, which includes providing, and receiving complex and sensitive information.
- Manage the Directors offices and ensure that the Director(s) is appropriately briefed in advance of scheduled meetings. Responsibilities include:
- Initiating, commissioning and coordinating briefings from senior staff
- Gathering and extracting information from a range of sources
- Topping and tailing documents and providing first draft briefings as appropriate
- Facilitating and servicing Directors meetings
- Provide assistance to the Director(s) in relation to their chairperson/membership of local, regional and national committees, including the organisation of venues, co-ordinating diaries and minute taking.
- Provide support to committees within the Trust at Board level. Also supporting departmental and other ad hoc meetings as required.
- Manage all incoming mail/email, including prioritisation, commissioning briefings, directing others to act and ensuring timely responses from them, disseminating information and ensuring that deadlines are met.
- Provide a link to the Department of Health, NHS England and NHS Improvement, and other local and national agencies at the highest level on a range of issues managed by the Director(s).
- Maintain an up-to-date confidential list of all appropriate contacts for the Director(s).
- Undertake specific projects, as dictated, for example Trust Board or Committee administration.
- In the event of planned (or unplanned) absence, ensure there is appropriate administrative support for the Directors offices, and work with a designated buddy or other Personal Assistants to enable cover to be maintained for other Directors, the Chief Executive and Chair.
- Manage all incoming mail/email, including prioritisation, commissioning briefings, directing others to act and ensuring timely responses from them, disseminating information and ensuring that deadlines are met.
- Establish systems and processes, which ensure compliance with the Trusts policies for the procurement of goods and services necessary to the effective running of the department. Review and advise on any budgetary variations.
- Maintain the high profile, standards and quality of governance in all departmental business both internally and externally.
- Manage processes appropriately when co-ordinating visits to the Trust. Ensuring effective communications with other relevant parties including Department of Health, NHSE and NHSI, Ministers, local and national government offices and own Executive team colleagues.
- Draft and commission responses to letters and queries addressed to the Director(s).
- Source and gather information for the Director(s) to support their business (locally and the wider NHS e.g. policy areas).
- Prioritise the Directors workload effectively to ensure that meetings and reports are provided in a timely fashion ensuring the Director also has thinking time.
- Maintain and manage an accurate and efficient diary system. Manage a forward planning system to ensure that deadlines are met with other team members and colleagues in other directorates or teams.
- Develop and maintain understanding and knowledge of the broad spectrum of work areas that each Director is responsible for in order to maximise the support given to the Director(s) and to support decision making. Within planning processes, it is essential to be able to accommodate proactive and reactive situations
- Manage the review, development and implementation of post specific operating procedures which comply with governance arrangements, and which support effective working practices.
- Initiate, manage and administrate conferences and events for which the Director(s) has lead responsibility.
- Manage/lead ad-hoc delegated projects as required.
- Attend and report back from meetings as required.
- Undertake any other reasonable duties required.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- GCSE or equivalent: Grades A - C including Mathematics and English
- BTEC/NVQ Level 3 in Business Studies/or equivalent qualification, or graduate seeking rapid development
- Excellent typing/word processing skills, minimum RSA III or equivalent
Knowledge & Experience
Essential
- Experience of working as a PA/Secretary to a Senior Director or equivalent
- Experience of working in a busy, complex enterprise
- Experience of using Microsoft Office: Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access
- Experience of supporting committees and organising meetings
- Experience of Board administration
- Experience of working in the Civil Service or a Healthcare organisation
Desirable
- Knowledge of medical terminology
Skills
Essential
- Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
- Excellent organisational and administrative skills
- Excellent time management skills
- Ability to work under pressure and to meet deadlines
- Ability to work without supervision and use own initiative
- Ability to deal with all difficult situations that may arise
- Ability to work flexibly and manage competing priorities
- Consistently high standards of attention to detail and quality of work
- Ability to work as a member of a team
- Ability to establish and maintain good working relationships with people from a wide range of personal and professional backgrounds
Desirable
- Shorthand/Audio skills or equivalent
- HPA Loggist trained
Other
Essential
- Light physical effort
- Concentration for creating reports, transcribing minutes/there may be interruptions to deal with unforeseen events.
- Staff performance issues, to satisfy colleagues and key stakeholders
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- GCSE or equivalent: Grades A - C including Mathematics and English
- BTEC/NVQ Level 3 in Business Studies/or equivalent qualification, or graduate seeking rapid development
- Excellent typing/word processing skills, minimum RSA III or equivalent
Knowledge & Experience
Essential
- Experience of working as a PA/Secretary to a Senior Director or equivalent
- Experience of working in a busy, complex enterprise
- Experience of using Microsoft Office: Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access
- Experience of supporting committees and organising meetings
- Experience of Board administration
- Experience of working in the Civil Service or a Healthcare organisation
Desirable
- Knowledge of medical terminology
Skills
Essential
- Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
- Excellent organisational and administrative skills
- Excellent time management skills
- Ability to work under pressure and to meet deadlines
- Ability to work without supervision and use own initiative
- Ability to deal with all difficult situations that may arise
- Ability to work flexibly and manage competing priorities
- Consistently high standards of attention to detail and quality of work
- Ability to work as a member of a team
- Ability to establish and maintain good working relationships with people from a wide range of personal and professional backgrounds
Desirable
- Shorthand/Audio skills or equivalent
- HPA Loggist trained
Other
Essential
- Light physical effort
- Concentration for creating reports, transcribing minutes/there may be interruptions to deal with unforeseen events.
- Staff performance issues, to satisfy colleagues and key stakeholders
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.
