Employer University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust Employer type NHS Site Derriford Hospital Town Plymouth Salary £31,049 - £37,796 £31,049 - £37,796 Per Annum Salary period Yearly Closing 23/03/2026 23:59
Pathology Directorate Administrator / PA to Pathology Leadership Team
NHS AfC: Band 5
Job overview
We are seeking a highly organised, proactive and confident Personal Assistant / Administrative Supervisor (Band 5) to provide comprehensive business support to the Pathology Directorate leadership team at University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust.
This is a key role supporting senior leaders within a large, complex diagnostic service. You will manage the day-to-day running of the Directorate leadership office, provide high-quality PA support, and line manage a small administrative team to ensure effective, timely and professional administrative services across Pathology.
The post is primarily based at Derriford Hospital, with an expectation that the postholder may also be required to work periodically from the Lighthouse Laboratory, Estover, to support Directorate and service needs.
***Preference will be given to internal Trust staff, as well as ‘Priority’ and 'At Risk' status including NHS At Risk staff throughout Devon who are able to display recent relevant experience as dictated by the Person Specification.***
Main duties of the job
Provide comprehensive, confidential PA and administrative support to the Pathology Directorate leadership team.
Manage complex diaries, correspondence and inboxes, ensuring priorities are identified and progressed appropriately.
Organise and support high-level internal and external meetings, including agenda preparation, minute taking and action tracking.
Act as a key point of contact for internal and external stakeholders, maintaining professional and effective working relationships.
Line manage and support a team of Band 3 administrators, including workload allocation, appraisals, attendance management and development.
Coordinate administrative processes to support leadership meetings, workforce processes and Directorate activity.
Ensure administrative systems, records and processes are accurate, timely and compliant with Trust requirements.
Support effective communication and information flow across the Pathology Directorate.
Provide cover and resilience across the administrative function, including cross-cover arrangements where required.
Contribute to service improvement by promoting efficient, right-first-time administrative practices.
Working for our organisation
We are a people business – where every member of staff matters and can make a difference. Patients are at the heart of everything we do. Joining University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust means becoming part of a team of dedicated staff, who are committed to leading the way through innovation, clinical excellence and great customer care. The Trust has great opportunities for career development in a highly progressive working environment. We offer all of this in a vibrant, modern city with a historic reputation for adventure. PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL COMMUNICATION WILL BE ELECTRONIC, PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNT REGULARLY. If you have any issues with applying online and need additional support including reasonable adjustments with the application process please contact the recruitment manager for this post who will put you in touch with the recruitment team. We recognise that work life balance is important for our colleagues and so we invite requests from applicants around less than full time/flexible working for our advertised roles. Please contact the recruiting manager to discuss this prior to your application submission. We commit to giving this full consideration in each case. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds to apply for our roles, as diversity strengthens our teams. It is sometimes necessary to close vacancies before the closing date. If you have not heard from us within 4 weeks of the closing date, please assume that you have not been shortlisted.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
1. Personal Assistant & Business Support
* Provide a full range of high-quality PA and administrative support to the Pathology Directorate leadership team, including preparation of correspondence, reports and presentations.
* Manage complex diaries and inboxes, prioritising requests, resolving clashes and ensuring leaders are appropriately briefed for meetings and engagements.
* Act as the first point of contact for internal and external enquiries, dealing with matters professionally and escalating urgent or sensitive issues appropriately.
* Organise and coordinate meetings, including room bookings, virtual arrangements, agenda preparation, collation of papers and follow-up actions.
* Take accurate and timely minutes at formal meetings and ensure actions are tracked and followed up.
* Prepare forward work programmes and meeting schedules to support effective Directorate planning and governance cycles.
* Draft emails, letters and communications on behalf of senior leaders, using judgement and discretion, and seeking approval where required.
* Maintain effective and confidential filing and record-keeping systems to ensure information is accessible and secure.
* Support recruitment processes for Directorate leadership and administrative posts, including TRAC coordination, interview scheduling and associated documentation.
* Provide administrative support to senior leaders in managing annual leave, appraisals, meetings and correspondence relating to their direct reports.
For further details please see the attached JD & PS
Person specification
Knowledge and Experience
* • Demonstrable experience in a PA, senior administrative or business support role
* • Demonstrable experience of supporting senior managers or leadership teams
* • Demonstrable experience of line managing or supervising administrative staff
* • Demonstrable experience working within the NHS or a large healthcare organisation
* • Proven knowledge of Pathology or diagnostic services
Qualifications
* • Educated to degree level or equivalent, including NVQ Level 4/5, or equivalent demonstrable experience in a senior administrative or personal assistant role.
* • GCSE English and Maths (or equivalent).
* Relevant business administration, management or leadership qualification.
* Excellent organisational and time management skills
* Strong written and verbal communication skills
* Ability to prioritise workload and work autonomously
PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL COMMUNICATION WILL BE ELECTRONIC, PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNT REGULARLY INCLUDING YOUR JUNK FOLDER.
If you need support with the online application process or require reasonable adjustments with the application and/or interview process please contact the Recruiting Manager for this post.
We recognise that work life balance is important for our colleagues and so we invite requests from applicants about less than full time/flexible working for our advertised roles. We recommend contacting the manager of the role prior to applying and we commit to giving requests full consideration.
We welcome and encourage applicants who identify with all protected characteristics to apply for our roles. We believe that diversity strengthens our teams and improves our patients' experience. At UHP we aim to create an inclusive workplace and hospital where everyone feels they belong and included .
It is sometimes necessary to close vacancies before the closing date. If you have not heard from us within 4 weeks of the closing date, please assume that you have not been shortlisted.
Providing false information is an offence & could result in the application being rejected or summary dismissal/police action if an applicant is successful.
Please note that if you are successful in your application & accept the position you agree that the Staff Health and Wellbeing Department can access your health records from your current/previous employer in order to check the status of your inoculations & screening tests. This is an automated process & the information will only be used for these purposes prior to your taking up the position with us.
\For Doctors Roles:
Unsolicited CVs and Candidate Profiles/Details
University Hospitals Plymouth has a commitment to sourcing candidates directly and as such we do not accept speculative CVs from agencies.
We do, however, work with a defined list of preferred HTE Framework suppliers who may be invited to support us in sourcing candidates for particular roles.
In line with our preferred supplier list, we only pay agency fees where we have a signed agreement in place and an agency has been instructed by a member of the Trust’s Medical Workforce team.
We do not pay agency fees where speculative and unsolicited CVs are submitted to the Trust or Trust employees by any other means than the official route above. Where this is not observed the Trust reserves the right to contact these candidates directly and initiate discussions without payment of any agency fee.
Any candidate details (whether written or spoken) or CVs that are referred directly will not constitute an introduction. The Trust will under no circumstances be responsible for any recruitment fees in relation to these contacts.
Submission of any unsolicited CVs, candidate’s details and/or proposals to the Trust will not be considered further and will be deemed evidence of full and unlimited acceptance of this Agency Protocol.
In order to establish and maintain good working relationships with the Trust’s agency suppliers, we ask that this Protocol is adhered to and thank you for your co-operation.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
This post will require a submission for Disclosure to be made to check for any unspent criminal convictions.
Name Dan Stevens Job title Deputy Divisional Director of Operations Email address dan.stevens@nhs.net Telephone number 01752 437853
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