Job overview
University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust is recruiting for its busy General Surgery Service. This role will be part of the friendly and dynamic General Surgery administration team within the Royal Sussex County Hospital. The post is for a Rota Coordinator to oversee that all clinical duties are covered including ensuring delivery of the clinical services, with an equitable mix of skill mix and banding escalating any uncovered sessions with the General Surgery Operational Manager. Set up systems as early warning signals where cover not provided and to ensure monitoring of fair internal cover in times of absence and offer advice and support to the management on the production of the rota.
Main duties of the job
Responsible for working with the General Surgery Operational Manager and other administration staff as determined by the needs of the service including production and co-ordination of the General Surgery and support staff rota for all clinical areas and co- ordinating cover for short- and long-term absence and annual leave. In liaison with management, HR and education team ensure the co-ordination and administration of orientation programmes for new General Surgery staff and facilitation of the achievement of attendance at required training for staff.
Working for our organisation
At UHSussex (UHSx), diversity is our strength, & we want you to feel included to help us always put the Patient First. Your uniqueness & experiences will be part of our creative and innovative community where everyone is encouraged to succeed. We have a range of Staff Networks to help break down barriers, & can offer a buddy to help new members settle in. We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Employer (Level 2) & a Veteran Aware Trust.
We treat our patients & staff with the same compassion & empathy we expect for ourselves. We’re here for them when they need us, and we go above & beyond to meet their needs. This can be seen in our candidate information pack & wellbeing programme, for staff which is extensive & designed to support you when you need it, including where possible, flexible working to support work life balance - because we know that to look after others we must first look after ourselves.
As a university trust and a leader in healthcare research, we value learning, teaching & training so that we can be the best that we can be. From the moment you start with us & throughout your career we will help you to grow & develop. We hope that in choosing UHSx you are choosing a long & happy career where you will be able to see the difference you make & feel valued for all that you do.
We look forward to receiving your application & the start of your journey with UHSx.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Communications
·To communicate complex information (e.g. communicating a change to hospital policy, or staff numbers etc.) to other departments within the hospital, overcoming significant barriers using a high level of interpersonal and persuasive skills.
·To act as rota and absence management administrator and to attend relevant meetings and courses to discuss current and future issues. To implement changes to policies, procedures, upgrades and functionality in area of responsibility.
·To train administration staff on relevant system to ensure accurate capture of absence and clinical duties and ensure correct data input on the system, as defined by local protocols.
·To attend meetings relevant to the role of Divisional Administrator for General Surgery and support Staffing.
·To attend if required the monthly General Surgery meetings and where necessary present a summary report on the absence management for the services.
·To take action to resolve problems occurring within the General Surgery staffing in regard to template and skill mix.
Responsibilities
·To work in collaboration with the Operational Managers in the annual capacity/demand planning for clinical services.
·To provide monthly statistical reports on absence to the Operational Manager.
·To ensure HR and UHSussex Policies are adhered to in terms of absence management.
·Constantly review working practices in the rota management and absence management and liaise with HR to identify where operational improvements can be made.
·To act as a contact point and advisor for rolling out the absence management and rotas of midwifery staff across the Trust.
·To work closely with the Operational Managers and HR in matters relating to rota management.
·Responsibility for producing an efficient and effective rota management and absence management system for the General Surgery staff within the Division in conjunction with wider Trust developments.
·To work with the Operational General Surgery Manager to review bank spend across the Division.
·To manage the rota management and absence management systems.
·Responsible for the appropriate and equitable distribution of nights and weekends cover across the staff within the services.
·To set up a system for the management of annual leave for Doctors and support staff to provide consistent clinical provision to the hospital.
·To provide weekly duty rotas detailing appropriate levels of staffing for the clinical services within General Surgery.
·To collect, analyse and interpret statistical performance information relevant to activity within clinical services.
·To advise the Operational General Surgery Managers of any issues relating to clinical provision for the clinical services in General Surgery when necessary.
Rota Management
·To have responsibility for the maintenance and input to the development of high- quality, effective and flexible centralised electronic rota management system for General Surgery staff in the Division.
·To have prime responsibility for the production and dissemination of Consultants / Registrars to support the department.
·To ensure the effective implementation of the centralised and electronic rota management system covering all General Surgery for services working across professional groups to ensure the service complies with hospital strategies in an efficient and effective way.
·To continuously monitor cover for all clinical duties for General Surgery ensuring no clinical shift is left un-covered and to work proactively overcoming complex barriers across disciplines to ensure issues arising are resolved.
·To liaise with the General Surgery Managers where clinical shifts are not covered.
·To work closely with the bank office to inform of General Surgery requirements.
·To set up systems as early warning signals where clinical shifts are not provided.
·To work in collaboration with the General Surgery staff and managers to ensure that absence records are accurately maintained.
·To ensure a single 8 week rolling cross site rota for General Surgery staff is up to date, accurate and disseminated electronically.
·To establish and implement systems for electronically accessing the rota.
·To analyse, investigate and resolve complex queries relating to rota management.
·To have prime responsibility for the validation of rota and absence management data and to attend meetings as appropriate and pertinent to the role in this regard.
·To implement processes and procedures for the management of all General Surgery and support staff absence in the General Surgery department.
·To monitor all clinical shifts on a daily basis to ensure that all shifts are covered in the eventuality of sickness/careers leave/compassionate leave.
·To ensure all annual leave is used in a considerate and appropriate way.
·To ensure all new/returning staff have appropriate orientation or phased return programmes.
People Management and Development
·Point of contact for HR relating to sickness and absence,
·Work closely with HR and the management team around informing of absence periods.
·Ensure all requests for leave comply with the relevant policy and that sufficient cover exists within the department.
·Escalate any requests breaching the relevant policy.
·Integral role on management of absence impacting on the Trust wide efficiency programmes around activity / cancellations of clinical activity etc.
·Audit of all absence data and feedback concerns or anomalies to General Surgery Manager and HR.
Learning and Development
·Attend mandatory training updates as required.
·Undertake training as necessary in line with the development of the post and as agreed with the line manager as part of the personal development process.
·Achieve and demonstrate agreed standards of personal and professional development within agreed timescales.
·Identify own learning needs and jointly plan training requirements with your line manager
·Participate in the Trust’s appraisal process to discuss how your role will help deliver the best possible care to our patients and help to deliver any changes in service.
This job description is an outline of the role and responsibilities. From time to time due to the needs of the service, we may ask you to flexibly undertake other duties that are consistent with your role and banding, including project work, internal job rotation and absence cover.
The job description and person specification may be reviewed on an ongoing basis in accordance with the changing needs of the department and the organisation.
Person specification
knowledge of Microsoft Suite's (Excel, Word)
Essential criteria
1. knowledge of Microsoft Suite's (Excel, Word)
2. 5 GCSEs (A-C) or equivalent, including English and Maths.
3. •Educated to at least NVQ Level 3 or equivalent level of competency. Keyboard skills to RSA Level 3 or equivalent
Desirable criteria
4. Experience of working within a team
5. Demonstrated knowledge and awareness of clerical and administrative procedures and systems
6. Knowledge and awareness of confidentiality issues relating to the Data Protection Act and Computer Misuse Act
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion
Essential criteria
7. Evidence of having championed diversity in previous roles (as appropriate to role
8. Evidence of having undertaken own development to improve understanding of equalities issues
Essential
Essential criteria
9. Communication and Excellent written and oral communication skills
10. Interpersonal Excellent interpersonal skills
11. Able to interact with tact and diplomacy with staff at all levels
12. Excellent telephone manner and customer service skills
13. Able to interact with others using tact and diplomacy
14. Able to communicate complex information where there are barriers to understanding, because of cultural, physical or special educational needs
15. Analytical and Judgemental Able to assess facts to make judgements regarding telephone enquiries from the public or other departments
16. Use own judgement to independently assess enquiries as the first point of contact, considering a range of facts and situations
17. Able to analyse and resolve problems with office equipment
Important information for applicants:
A Note on AI Use in Applications
We value the individuality and authenticity that each candidate brings to the application process. While AI tools are increasingly accessible, we strongly discourage their use in completing your application. Your responses should reflect your own voice, experiences, and motivations—elements that are essential to a fair and accurate evaluation.
Applications that rely heavily on AI-generated content may misrepresent your abilities and could result in your application being rejected. We encourage you to take the time to present your genuine self, as this helps us better understand your potential and ensures a transparent selection process.
Closing Adverts Early: In the event of exceptional interest, we may close adverts earlier than specified.
Some of our adverts are capped for a limited number of applications; therefore, the advert will close once the cap has been reached. We therefore encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible if you are interested in the position to prevent you from missing out on applying for the opportunity.
Flexible Working: If you would like to explore potential options regarding flexible working please speak with the appropriate recruiting/line manager.
DBS Checks: As part of our commitment to a safe working environment, we undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service check on all new employees where the role is eligible for a criminal record check. We make offers in line with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1975.
Skilled Worker Visa: Applications for Skilled Worker sponsorship are welcome for the roles that meet the Visa and Immigrations eligibility criteria. For further information please visit the gov.uk website searching for Skilled Worker. It is your responsibility as the applicant to ensure that you meet this criteria.
UHSussex reserves the right to close the role early if we receive a high volume of applications