County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
Corporate Affairs Administrator
The closing date is 08 July 2025
Avaried and exciting opportunity of a Trust-wide role within the CorporateAffairs Team. The successful candidate will support the Trusts corporategovernance arrangements. Support will be provided to enable the successfulcandidate to meet all aspects of the role
Interviews for this role will be held on 17th July 2025.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will be responsible for organising theresponses to all requests for information received under the FOI Act andproviding specialist knowledge on the requirements of the Act. They will alsobe responsible for ensuring compliance within the Trust with the Policy forPolicies and Corporate Records requirements as outlined in the Data, Securityand Protection toolkit.
The post-holder will be responsible forproviding administrative support, including the recording and transcribing ofminutes to the Trust Board, the Council of Governors and their varioussub-committees.
About us
If you are being interviewed you must accept an interview slot in the system to continue, even if you have arranged with the manager
You must be able to produce ALL certificates stated essential in the person specification or you will not be able to complete pre-employment checks
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
Over reliance onAI-generated content is discouraged and may diminish the applicant's chances ofsuccess
For the most up-to-date information on visa requirements and eligibility, please check online to determine whether you can apply.
From April 9th 2025 - Healthcare assistants - You must have a minimum of two yearsof experience working within the NHS as a HCA for the Trust to considersponsorship (we will only consider sponsorship if you meet this criteria andhave a current visa expiring within 3 months)
Job responsibilities
Foundation Trust/Secretariat
To act independently in planning and co-ordinating,attending and servicing a range of meetings within the Trust; being responsiblefor the booking of accommodation and refreshments, preparation of agendas,collation and distribution of timely and high quality documentation toattendees, recording of discussions and decisions taken at meetings, thecompilation and production of accurate minutes, the composition of lettersarising out of meetings and dealing with all follow-up actions. Re-arrangingmeetings as necessary.
Liaise with internal and external meeting attendees andpresenters as part of the process of planning and co-ordinating meetings above.This may include Board members of other organisations and those of equivalentseniority.
Use of highly developed typing skills for the production oftimely and accurate meeting documentation.
To provide routine procedural advice on corporate governanceissues.
To maintain paper-based and electronic statutory registersand the records management system.
To assist with the administration and organisation of elections to the Council ofGovernors working with any third party organisations which the Trust employs torecruit and communicate with members including the preparation and distributionof election communications.
To support training for the Governors in all aspects oftheir responsibilities: identifying and sourcing appropriate training,arranging training dates, organising slots and overseeing / deliveringadministration of all aspects of the training day.
To assist the Governor and Membership Engagement Officer inbuilding the membership and profile of the Trust including the organisation ofpublic events and preparation of mail shots.
To be the first point of contact in relation to queriesregarding committee meetings.
Freedom of Information and Environmental InformationRegulations
Maintain and implement an effective system for recording,controlling and responding to all requests for information received by theTrust under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Manage a caseload of requests received under the FOIA andEIR ensuring the collation and production of quality responses within the timeframe set out by the Act and support colleagues during absence to ensure aconstant provision of service.
To act independently in ensuring that all requests forinformation are registered to the system and managed in a way that enables theTrust to comply with the requirements of the Act as regards disclosure andresponse times.
Act as the point of contact for applicants under the FOIAand EIR, and where appropriate; liaise with the requesting party over thenature of the request, the provision of additional detail about it and the needfor an extension of time for responding.
Provide advice and guidance to managers and teams on therequirements of the FOIA and EIR, and their duties and responsibilities underit.
Support the development and maintenance of the Trustspublication scheme and disclosure log
Escalate issues with FOI and EIR requests and responsetimes, as appropriate to the Corporate Affairs Manager.
Support the delivery of internal training in accordance withthe FOI and EIR Training programme.
Maintain current knowledge of the application of the FOI Act2000 and associated case law.
Corporate Records
Ensure the maintenance and development of up to date,accurate and complete libraries of policies and procedures, including PatientInformation Leaflets and LOCSIPS, in line with the Policy for Policies andCorporate Records Policy, including both electronic and paper libraries in linewith need;
Provide advice, education and communication to Care Groupsand corporate directorates to support the implementation of the Policy forPolicies and corporate records requirements within their areas.
Support the development and publication of templatedocumentation to assist Care Groups and corporate directorates in complyingwith the Policy for Procedural Governance Documents.
Designing, supervising the delivery and reporting of anaudit programme to monitor compliance with the Corporate Records Policy andrequirements in each area of the Trust as appropriate.
Provide support and guidance for the Procedural Documentsfunction of the CDDFT Quality Insights System.
General
Maintain and continuously improve sustainable systems andprocesses for all of the above activities
Providing cover for colleagues across the Trust as necessaryand at the demands of the service.
Propose changes to Policies and Procedures with regard tochanges in national policy and changes in law.Implements Policies and Procedures for own area which impact across theTrust.
Any other duties relevant to the grade.
Person Specification
Experience
* Demonstrable understanding of the principles and application of the FOI Act 2000
* Administrative experience in a role requiring adherence to deadlines and KPIs
* Experience in delivering training, coaching and providing advice and guidance.
* Experience in organising meetings and minute taking
* NHS Experience
* Experience of corporate records management
* Experience of dealing with Freedom of Information Requests
Special Requirements
* Present a professional image at all times
* Ability to travel across Trust sites and to attend meetings outside of normal office hours as required
Qualifications
* Minimum 5 GCSE at grades A to C (English Language Essential) or equivalent qualification, or equivalent knowledge gained through work experience
* NVQ Level 4 or Diploma or equivalent or equivalent knowledge gained through relevant work experience
* Educated to degree level
* Specific qualifications and training related to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or policy and records management.
* HNC or first degree in public administration or membership of (or working towards) ICSA qualifications
Special Skills and Knowledge
* IT skills literate in Microsoft packages, including Outlook, Word, Access, Excel and Power point
* Ability to convey expert knowledge to lay persons.
* Ability to deal confidently and successfully with conflict
* Ability to work in a confidential environment and exercise discretion.
* Able to organise own workload and prioritize competing deadlines and work streams
* Self-motivated and able to work on own initiative and part of a team.
* Proven track record of professionalism and commitment to quality.
* Excellent general secretarial and office administration skills.
* Ability to communicate at all levels, verbally and written with individuals and groups, both internal and external.
* Good organisational skills and ability to meet deadlines
* Knowledge of the NHS environment and legislation and guidance relevant to corporate records management in the NHS and Freedom of Information Act.
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
Full-time,Flexible working,Compressed hours
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