Directorate: Corporate Management Team (CMT)
Location: Trust Headquarters, MDEC Building, Altnagelvin Hospital Site
Contract and Hours: Permanent / Full-time
Job summary
The post holder will have responsibility for the management of all administrative activities for the efficient, effective and high quality operation of the Office of the Director and will act as a conduit between the Director’s office, the office of the Chief Executive / Directors within the Corporate Management Team, and the Directorate Senior Management Team.
The post holder is required to act on their own initiative, working proactively with a high degree of autonomy, independently managing and prioritising their workload effectively and use their experience to problem solve issues in line with established procedures during the course of their working day.
The post holder will be expected to meet and work to tight deadlines and produce a high standard of work to inform decision-making processes and enable the Director to work productively and effectively, and in line with deadlines, which are set for them.
The post holder will handle highly confidential, complex and sensitive information including patient, client and workforce related information and be required to observe and comply with the Trust’s policies and procedures on confidentially and record management and to understand and comply with Information Governance requirements.
The post holder will be required to establish and maintain effective relationships with senior staff both internal and external to the organisation. This will include issuing correspondence, organising meetings and responding to requests for information on behalf of the Director.
The post holder will contribute as an effective member of the Directorate and attend and contribute to the Senior Management Team meetings.
The post holder is required to demonstrate a high level of discretion and confidentiality throughout the course of their role in the handling of information and progress of tasks and activities in support of the Director.
Main responsibilities
- Lead on the organisation and provision of effective, efficient, proactive and comprehensive administrative Personal Assistant duties and support to the Director to manage their workload in the performance of their duties. This includes robust diary management (making appointments and arranging meetings etc.), word-processing, mail / email management, file maintenance, formal minute taking and the preparation of papers, reports, briefings etc. as required by the Director.
- The post holder will lead on the effective and efficient administrative management of the Director’s office and contribute to the administration of wider Directorate business. Leading on the establishment and maintenance of systems, processes and procedures, which assist with the management and operation of tasks, associated with the Director’s office. The post holder will be aware of the Directorates current priorities and challenges in order to support the Director with these.
- Establish and maintain effective working relationships to communicate, as required, on behalf of the Director with a diverse range of stakeholders, including, on occasion, communicating sensitive and/or complex information in a way that is appropriate for the chosen audience whilst maintaining the meaning and overall direction of the particular message / communication and presenting a professional image appropriate to the Office of the Director.
- Ensure the provision of high quality communication between the Director’s office and the office of counterparts in the Department of Health, SPPG, RQIA and other external agencies including the voluntary and community sector on behalf of the Director.
- To ensure timely and efficient turnaround of approvals by the Director, in line with Trust procedures, processes and systems, to ensure seamless administration of same, e.g. Invoices, eproc, contracts, Investment Proposal Templates, etc.
- To act as a central co-ordinator for the collation of Directorate-wide information, with responsibility for liaising with senior staff to co-ordinate and collate responses to queries and issues received into the Director’s office, which includes processing communications on complex and sensitive issues, ensuring preparation of draft responses and submission by required deadlines and to required standards i.e. Assembly Questions, general queries, MLA / MP queries and complaints.
- Responsible for collating and sharing a wide range of non-clinical, sensitive information from a range of sources, which may relate to individual staff, patient / clients (in respect of handling complaints) or matters of commercial confidence.
- Control and maintain the diary of the Director, make appointments and arrange meetings. This requires exercising appropriate judgement and discretion in making appointments and commitments of the Director’s time, protecting time to ensure the Director has appropriate office time and maximising the Director’s time by ensuring meetings are co-ordinated on the same site etc.
- Contribute to the organisation of conferences and lead on the organisation of events within the Directorate, such as workshops, and development days, supporting the Director with administration and bookings associated with venue selection, hospitality, organising the arrangements for speakers - both internal and external to the organisation, preparation of event schedule, adherence to budgetary constraints etc. Supporting the Director in preparation of event / presentation slides.
- Lead on prioritising and taking appropriate action in relation to mail, emails, telephone and other enquiries to the Director, ensuring effective messaging and ‘bring forward’ systems are in place and the necessary follow up action is undertaken. Using initiative to determine importance of work and levels of urgency for the Director, requiring highly developed decision making abilities and an awareness of the impact of issues on the Director
- Establish, maintain and review office procedures and filing systems, which comply with Trust Naming Convention Policy, Data Protection, and confidentiality and are in line with DoH Good Management Good Records requirements in terms of disposal schedules etc.
- Responsible for leading on the organisation and planning of meetings chaired by the Director / Trust Board sub-committees including consideration and prioritisation of agenda items with the Director, holding members to account on behalf of the Director, by robustly following up with them to ensure for timely submission of papers and ensuring papers are issued within required deadlines in accordance with the Terms of Reference, escalating any issues to the Director as required.
- Support the Director in adhering to planned timescales associated with review and maintenance of corporate documentation e.g. Terms of Reference and policies owned by the Directorate, and Trust Board Sub-Committees including maintaining appropriate record keeping to support robust processes and satisfy Internal Audit requirements.
- To provide secretarial support to relevant Trust Board Committees, Corporate, Directorate, and regional groups led by the Director and adhoc meetings including the presentation and timely issue of agenda and papers, production of formal minutes and follow up on all actions and progression of meeting business.
- Responsible for initiating follow up actions arising from Committees and other meetings including both those arranged by or attended by the Director. This includes regional meetings, Trust Board and Corporate Management Team (CMT) among others.
- Lead in drafting correspondence, letters, briefing notes, reports, presentations, spreadsheets and databases for approval by the Director and submission in line with required timelines.
- The post holder is responsible for the co-ordination and submission of papers required from the Directorate for CMT, Trust Board, Trust Board Sub-Committees and other corporate meetings and, once approved by the Director, ensuring timely submission within predetermined deadlines.
- Review of queries and issues received by the Director’s office, the post holder will assess the urgency and initial actions required for issues to be addressed appropriately within required timescales. In doing so they will act on behalf of the Director’s Office and in the Director’s absence to ensure urgent or important matters / correspondence are drawn to the attention of the Director’s deputy or other senior manager so they can be addressed by appropriate colleagues within the Trust in order to meet deadlines, provide solutions and avoid disruption.
For complete details view the full job description in the Additional Information section below
