County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
Service Support Officer/Secretary Support
The closing date is 03 March 2026
To provide administrative support to the General Manager, Matrons and Clinical Director to ensure that clinical services operate in a smooth and efficient manner.
To be successful you will have excellent diary organisational skills and communication skills, have a flexible and professional approach to the work and enjoy the variety of communicating with a wide range of people both internal and external to the Trust.
Main duties of the job
* To provide secretarial support to General Managers, Service Managers, Matrons and Clinical Directors/Leads as required
* To ensure data quality is maintained
* Attending meetings and minute taking as appropriate
* Act as a point of contact for departments and support the management team to deliver patient focused clinical services.
* Effective management of diaries.
* Support with the validation process
About us
We provide hospital services from two acute sites - Darlington Memorial Hospital and University Hospital of North Durham. We have a centre for planned care in Bishop Auckland and provide care from community hospitals in Chester-le-Street, Shotley Bridge, Barnard Castle, Sedgefield and Weardale as well as over 80 other community based settings and providing care in patients' homes.
We particularly welcome applications from disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as BAME and disabled people are currently under-represented.
Full Job Descriptions can be found in the adverts supporting documents.
Job responsibilities
* Toprovide a full range of confidential secretarial/administrative support to the General Managers, Service Managers, Matrons and Clinical Directors/Leads.
* Toreceive and respond to internal and external correspondence, taking appropriate and timely actions as required, in accordance with Trust and/or departmental standards and process
* Record information to support the demand and capacity assessment for clinical services
* Attending care group meetings where necessary and to minute take, type and distribute as necessary also requesting additional papers/reports as required
* Computerliterate ability to use Microsoft Office including spreadsheets to filter and reformat data
* To manage electronic diaries as required including booking appropriate venues and possibly arrange travel and accommodation
* To operate efficient and up-to-date administrative systems and processes for all office tasks
* Tomaintain accurate and timely data entry to databases to meet service requirements
* Ensure the internet and intranet is accurate and regularly updated for the service area
* The postholder will undertake the role of Information Asset Administrator (IAA) and will be required to update asset lists on a regular basis
* Toprioritise own workload to meet the needs of the clinical service and ensure all deadlines are met
* Tosupport new and/or less experienced staff, as directed by line manager
* Toprovide cover as required during absence of colleagues
* To work with Clinical Leads to produce on-call rotas to ensure sufficient consultant ward cover.
* Support the validation process
* Tosupport interview arrangement as required
* The postholder may be required to undertake the role of Registration Authority Agent/Sponsor which includes supporting the NHS Care Records Service applications using smartcards and appropriate access files.
* To order office supplies through Cardea and maintain agreed stock levels
* Tomaintain an up to date filing and archive filing system, disposing of archived records and documentation according to Trust policy
* Tosupport arrangements of on call rotas as required
* To be the point of contact for staff, patients and others within and outside the organisation, responding to external and internal telephone enquiries, taking appropriate and timely action required
Person Specification
Qualifications
* Good standard of Education Minimum of 3 GCSEs (or equivalent) at C Grade or above including English Language
* NVQ Level 3 in Business Administration or equivalent knowledge/experience (or working towards)
* Qualification in secretarial and / or computer skills
Experience
* Experience of an administrative role providing general provision of administrative duties in a challenging and constantly changing environment Demonstrate experience of using Microsoft Word Experience in setting up and maintain office filing systems
* Experience of working within an NHS environment
* Experience in planning and organising meetings and taking notes
* Experience of maintaining and setting up databases
* Experience of providing administrative support to a team
Special Requirements
* Ability to travel independently across the county to fulfill the requirements of the post
Special Skills & Knowledge
* Knowledge of computer packages, e.g Word, Excel, Outlook and Powerpoint IT Skills Ability to use email and maintain and update paper and electronic diaries Knowledge of Data Protections and Caldicott Principles and understanding of the need to maintain strict confidentiality Ability to use discretion and maintain confidentiality Good interpersonal skills Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to deal with and prepare routine verbal and written correspondence and the ability to obtain information and pass on comprehensive and confidential messages Ability to communicate accurately, verbally, courteously and effectively with a wide range of staff, professionals and members of the public Able to use own initiative to resolve routine queries, in line with departmental procedures Able to work with minimal supervision following set procedures Ability to organize and prioritise workload in order to meet deadlines Ability to work as a member of a team Committed to quality customer care/delivering excellent customer service Flexible approach to work and adaptable to change
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.
Employer name
County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
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