Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, (LGT), is a community-focused provider of local and acute care, delivering high-quality services to over one million people living across the London boroughs of Lewisham, Greenwich, and Bexley. We provide whole-life care and are here to support our communities to live healthier lives as well as taking care of them when they need us the most.
Employing almost 7,500 colleagues, affectionately known as Team LGT, we provide services at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich, University Hospital Lewisham, and at over a dozen community settings in Lewisham. We also provide some services at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup.
We have recently launched our new vision and values to mark the LGT10 – the tenth anniversary of our Trust forming in 2013. Our trust vision is to be exceptional. In the quality of our patient care; our support for colleagues; and in the difference we make through our partnerships and in our communities.
To achieve this we value Respect, Compassion, and Inclusion; Being accountable over staying comfortable; Listening over always knowing best; and Succeeding together over achieving alone.
Our hospitals and community sites provide a wide range of inpatient and outpatient services, as well as emergency and planned care. The Trust is rated as “good” or “outstanding” in over three-quarters of the services inspected by the Care Quality Commission.
Every year our work includes performing 10,000 procedures in our theatres; bringing seven and a half thousand new lives into the world; carrying out 570,000 visits to patients in their homes or communities and providing emergency care for more than 300,000 patients arriving in our busy Urgent and Emergency Departments.
LGT is a centre for the education and training of medical students enrolled with King’s College London’s GKT School of Medical Education. We are a training centre for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals. We are pioneering new roles that will support the changing needs of our patients and are one of the largest employers of physician associates in the country.
We are committed to working with our partners to deliver the best outcomes for our local communities. This means playing an active role in the South East London Integrated Care System (ICS), and in formal partnerships including the South East London Acute Provider Collaborative, provider partnerships with our local mental health trusts and borough-based boards of the ICS in Bexley, Greenwich and Lewisham.
Exciting Opportunity: Six-Month Maternity Cover – Business Support Lead (Finance Directorate)
Are you a highly organised, proactive professional looking for a meaningful short-term role? We’re offering a six-month maternity cover position that places you at the heart of strategic financial operations within our Trust’s Finance Directorate.
This is a unique opportunity to step into a pivotal role supporting Trust-wide initiatives. You’ll provide high-level business support and senior administrative expertise to ensure the smooth running of processes that underpin our capital plan, business case progression, and strategic financial goals.
This six-month maternity cover is ideal for someone seeking a dynamic, impactful position with variety and visibility. You’ll gain valuable experience in strategic finance and governance while contributing to high-priority initiatives across the Trust.
Main duties of the job
We are looking for a candidate who is flexible, confident with excellent judgement and organisational skills. You’ll thrive in a fast-paced environment and be ready to take ownership of key administrative and coordination functions.
1. Coordinate documentation, maintain accurate records, and produce insightful reports
2. Provide secretariat support for key governance groups including Capital Monitoring and Planning
3. Act as the main point of contact for business case processes and capital planning
4. Organise meetings, workshops, and events that drive collaboration
5. Monitor progress and support risk mitigation across business and capital activities
6. Support the Strategic Business Manager and wider team with delegated responsibilities
7. Build effective partnerships with internal stakeholders
Working for our organisation
Our people are our greatest asset. When we feel supported and happy at work, this positivity reaches those very people we are here for, the patients. Engaged employees perform at their best and our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) initiatives contribute to cultivate a culture of engagement. We have four staff networks, a corporate EDI Team and a suite of programmes and events which aim to insert the 5 aspirations:
8. Improving representation at senior levels of staff with disabilities, from black, Asian, and ethnic minorities background, identify as LGBTQ+ and women, through improved recruitment and leadership development
9. Widening access (anchor institution) and employability
10. Improving the experience of staff with disability
11. Improving the EDI literacy and confidence of trust staff through training and development
12. Making equalities mainstream
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Business Support Function Lead administrative support for key committees including the Capital Monitoring Group, Capital Planning Group, and Business Case Review Panel.
Business Case Process Collaborate with Divisional Teams, Finance Business Partners and the Strategic Business Manager (SBM) to ensure timely submission of robust business cases. Support clinical and corporate teams in meeting internal approval requirements. Maintain tracking systems for business cases from submission to approval, ensuring visibility, progress monitoring, and audit trail. Support Post Project Evaluation (PPE) and Post Project Implementation Review (PPIR) processes, ensuring reporting milestones are met. Communicate deadlines and manage reporting processes effectively.
Capital Plan Ensure key documents are formatted, version-controlled, and centrally accessible. Monitor progress against actions and maintain accurate data, timetables, and milestones. Develop tools and databases to support delivery and performance reporting. Undertake ad hoc projects aligned with financial strategy and Trust priorities.
Information Resources Develop and maintain secure systems for accessible team information. Produce complex spreadsheets and reports. Update Trust intranet content and support guideline revisions with version control. Create communications materials tailored to target audiences.
Meeting Planning Provide full logistical and administrative support for meetings and workshops. Prepare agendas, take minutes, circulate papers, and follow up on actions. Manage room bookings and ensure appropriate setup. Track deadlines and ensure timely resolution.
Communications & Relationships Work under pressure and manage conflicting demands. Handle sensitive, complex information and present it confidently to senior stakeholders. Provide cross cover diary management support as required.
Person specification
Essential criteria
13. Educated to degree level or equivalent experience
14. Demonstrable commitment to ongoing Personal Development
Experience
Essential criteria
15. Experience in an administrative and project management role, including experience of creating and maintaining databases and spreadsheets
16. Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office including Word, Excel and PowerPoint and emerging AI
17. Experience of maintaining activity to deadlines so project progress remains on track
18. Excellent verbal and written communication skills, to include strong secretariat skills
19. Good data analysis and interpretation skills; able to convert data into presentable material
20. Experienced and effective team worker skilled at networking and establishing positive relationships and rapport with all stakeholders, including senior managers
Desirable criteria
21. Previously used Business development tools and techniques
22. Experience of working in the NHS
Knowledge and Skills
Essential criteria
23. Ability to work effectively on multiple tasks and projects simultaneously and to competing deadlines
24. Ability to plan and organise a broad range of complex activities and adjust plans where necessary
25. Skilled communicator, able to effectively communicate orally and in writing
We reserve the right to close the post before the stated closing date, please apply early. We do not contact applicants with the outcome of the shortlisting. If you have been shortlisted, you will receive an invite to an assessment day or interview.
As a local employer and anchor institution we work closely with our community to recruit locally and we welcome applications from the widest variety of people to ensure our workforce are reflective of the local communities which we serve. We encourage all suitable candidates to apply including if you are Black, Asian or other ethnic minorities, live with a disability (visible or not) or are LGBT+. We have a number of active staff networks including Disability, LGBT+, Multicultural Inclusion and Women’s staff networks to bring staff together and celebrate diversity across our whole workforce.
Please note that sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route is subject to Trust allocation and UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) approval.
Application numbers
To ensure fairness and manageable shortlisting processes, some vacancies may have an application cap. This means the vacancy will close once a set number of applications have been received even if this happens before the advertised closing date.
We recommend applying as early as possible to avoid missing out. All applications received before the cap is reached will be considered equally and assessed against the person specification.