Executive Assistant Role, supporting Trust Site Directors at Epsom and St Helier
Job Title: Executive Assistant
Band: Band 5
Hours of Work (p/w): 37.5 hours, Monday to Friday
Service Centre/Directorate: Corporate Affairs Directorate
Base: Epsom and St Helier Hospitals
Accountable to: Group Chief Corporate Affairs Officer
Reports to: Day-to-Day reporting to Site Directors.Line Management reporting to Executive Assistant to the Managing Director of the Site.
Responsible for: Providing high quality, proactive administrative and business management support to two Site Directors. Supporting them to undertake their functions efficiently and effectively. This will include the provision of first class diary management, arranging and ensuring effective preparation for meetings and managing expenses.
Key Working Relationships: Chief Executive and Executive Directors, Chair and Non-Executive Directors, Divisional Management teams, Executive Assistants, Corporate Governance team, Communications team, Complaints team, Patient Advice and Liaison Service, Divisional managers and service leads, regulators, commissioners, other NHS Trusts and NHS Foundation Trusts, local authorities.
Job Summary
The role of Executive Assistant to a Director is a critical role within the organisation. Directors are responsible for leading and managing the Trust, and their Executive Assistants are vital in supporting the Directors to lead and manage effectively.
The role is responsible for providing high quality, proactive and efficient administrative and business management support to at least two Directors. The role includes being responsible for managing the diary of the Directors. In doing so, you will exercise extensive autonomy, taking a proactive approach to organising meetings, working closely with a range of internal and external stakeholders. This will frequently demand juggling multiple commitments, prioritising, making informed judgements and understanding the needs and priorities of your Directors in order to make the most effective use of their time.
The role involves making sure that the Directors have everything they need to be well prepared for their meetings, where necessary commissioning briefing, papers or other materials. You will deal with incoming correspondence, including assisting in the management of emails, maintain an effective electronic and, where necessary, hard copy filing system for your Directors, and manage their electronic reading room applications. The role involves high levels of responsibility. You will need to be able to maintain confidentiality at all times and act with appropriate discretion.
St George s, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals and Health Group
St George’s, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals and Health Group is a new hospital group, comprising St George s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (SGUH) and Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, which includes Epsom Health and Care and Surrey Downs Health and Care. Sharing a single Chairman, Chief Executive and Executive team, the GESH Group is one of the largest healthcare providers in the country, with a combined annual turnover of around £1.5 billion, 16,000 staff, and serving a population of approximately 3.5 million people across South West London, Surrey, Sussex and beyond. The GESH Group provides a full range of local hospital services across its sites at St George s Hospital in Tooting, Queen Mary Hospital in Roehampton, Epsom Hospital and St Helier Hospital, and provides a range of specialist services from St George s.
Main Duties
The following list of duties and responsibilities represents the broad range of tasks which an Executive Assistant may be required to undertake either routinely or periodically but does not represent an exhaustive list. Other duties and responsibilities may be reasonably expected in line with the grade and seniority of the role and may include responsibilities not normally covered on a day to day basis. Details and emphasis of duties and responsibilities may change in line with service needs after consultation with the post holder.
Professional
Provide a comprehensive personal administrative service to the Site Directors and as required to other members of the Site Leadership Team including, as required, the coordination of diaries, meetings, minute taking and preparation of meeting papers, filing, correspondence and maintenance of shared electronic records.
Work closely with their Directors to support the prioritisation and planning of their workloads and ensuring they receive appropriate and thorough information in a timely fashion.
Ensure competent and accurate preparation of letters, reports, documents and presentations.
Ensure effective systems are in place to manage and prioritise correspondence to and from the office, including timely responses and acknowledgments.
Arrange meetings, drafting agendas, preparing and circulating papers, taking minutes and maintaining reporting schedules.
Provide accurate analysis and produce appropriate documentation for any project work undertaken, operating to an agreed timescale.
Communicate courteously and sensitively with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.
Maintain an awareness of developments and new NHS initiatives which impact upon responsibilities.
Deal with diverse and complex issues, acting on own initiative in problem solving and crisis resolution, ensuring that problems are resolved diplomatically. Proactively review workload and flag where conflict may arise.
Work under minimum supervision, and at pace, assisting other members of the Executive Support Team, sharing workload and providing cover for leave or other absences where necessary. Provide supervision of and guidance to junior and temporary support staff.
Maintain the highest standards of confidentiality when dealing with sensitive information including information relating to patients or staff.
Prioritise own workload, resolving conflicting diary appointments. Exercise judgement when dealing with senior management or external contacts.
Carry out other reasonable duties that may be requested by the Executive Officer/Director or Non-Executive Directors, Group Chief Corporate Affairs Officer (Company Secretary), or Senior Business Manager to the Group Chief Executive and Chairman leader to ensure an efficient and effective service.
Other duties
To have responsibility for the Health, Safety and Welfare of self and others and to comply at all times with the requirement of the Health and Safety Regulations.
To ensure confidentiality at all times, only releasing confidential information obtained during the course of employment to those acting in an official capacity in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act and its amendments.
To work in accordance with Equality and Diversity policies to eliminate unlawful discrimination in relation to employment and service delivery.
To promote at all times equal opportunities for staff and patients in accordance with the policies to ensure that no person receives less favourable treatment than another on the grounds of: age; disability; marriage and civil partnership; pregnancy and maternity; race (ethnicity); religion or belief; sex (gender); gender reassignment or sexual orientation.
To ensure skills are up-to-date and relevant to the role, to follow relevant Trust policies and professional codes and to maintain registration where this is a requirement of the role.
To undertake such duties as may be required from time to time as are consistent with the responsibilities of the grade and the needs of the service.
This job description is not an exhaustive document but is a reflection of the current position. Details and emphasis may change in line with service needs after consultation with the postholder.
This advert closes on Tuesday 2 Jan 2024
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