Main area Admin and Clerical Grade NHS AfC: Band 4 Contract Fixed term: 7 months (End date: 30/09/2026) Hours Part time - 22.5 hours per week Job ref 361-7449253-A
Site Mount Vernon Cancer Centre Town Northwood Salary £27,485 - £30,162 per rota Salary period Yearly Closing 23/03/2026 23:59
Here at East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust
Our mission is:
Providing high-quality, compassionate care for our communities
Our vision to 2030 is:
To be trusted to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service
Our values - We want our staff to believe in, demonstrate and live our values in everything we do. Our values are:
Include
We value the diversity and experience of our community colleagues and partners, creating relationships and climates that provide an opportunity to share, collaborate and grow together.
Respect
We create a safe environment where we are curious of the lived experience of others, seek out best practice and are open to listening and hearing new ideas.
Improve
We are committed to consistently delivering excellent services and continuously looking to improve through a creative workforce that feels empowered to act in service of our shared purpose.
Job overview
We are recruiting for a Medical Secretary who shares our vision to be trusted to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service to our patients.
The key role of the Medical Secretary is to be responsible for the management of the administration of Consultant Oncologists, also in conjunction with other medical secretaries to assist in managing the work of other Consultant Oncologists and their teams.
You will need to co‑coordinate and arrange treatment for the Cancer Centre's patients, and for ensuring the patients' medical records are properly maintained.
You will also be by dealing with patient queries over the phone and by email, processing and sending out patient letters, managing the patient pathway in line with Cancer Wait Times.
At the heart of everything we do are our core values: Include, Respect, and Improve. We encourage you to embrace these values throughout the recruitment process and in your role with us.
Main duties of the job
To co‑coordinate and arrange treatment for the Cancer Centre's patients, and for ensuring the patients 'medical records are properly maintained.
To provide a central point of reference for the Cancer Centre.
To manage constantly changing priorities and deadlines.
To handle enquiries from staff, patients and relatives.
To provide administrative and secretarial support to the consultants and their teams.
Working for our organisation
At East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, we are proud of the range of general & specialist services we provide & our 6,000 or so dedicated staff ensure our patients get the best care. Our ability to be flexible & innovative in the way in which we work and deliver our services to our catchment has never been more important than it is now.
We run the following hospitals:
* The Lister Hospital, Stevenage
* New Queen Elizabeth II (New QEII), Welwyn Garden City
* Hertford County, Hertford
We have ambitious plans to become an outstanding, patient‑led Trust where dedicated staff provide high‑quality, compassionate care to our patients. We continue to undergo significant transformation; our staff & patients are at the heart of delivering this ambitious agenda.
We understand that finding and starting a new job is an important life decision. If you need reasonable adjustments for a disability, or a life event, such as menopause - so that we can consider your application fairly & to get the best out of you during the selection process, please let us know.
We are committed to a positive work life balance for our employees. Employees are entitled to seek to work flexible working patterns & we are committed to listen and consider all requests. Such requests, of course, have to be made & considered formally, & will need to be balanced against service needs, but our starting point will always be to find ways to support making them happen.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
ENHT is seeking to maintain and expand the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre staff as we move to an exciting new future.
We welcome applications from those who would relish the opportunity to be part of new and developing cancer service, building on the excellent reputation, research and patient experience the Cancer Centre already delivers.
In addition, you will receive a High Cost Area Supplement of 15% of your basic salary, subject to a minimum payment of £4,314 and a maximum payment of £5,436 per annum pro rata.
Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification applicant pack for further detailed information regarding this role.
Person specification
Qualifications / Training
* 5 Grade A-C GCE or equivalent, including English & Maths
* Secretarial e.g. RSA II in typing
* AMSPAR
Previous Experience
* Secretarial and administration work
* Previous experience of delivering high standard work in a fast‑paced, high volume environment
* Experience of working both in a team and autonomously
* Experience of working with difficult customers and challenging situations
* Experience of working in a diverse environment, valuing equality for patients and staff
* Previous oncology experience
* Medical secretarial experience
* Previous experience in a Health or Care setting
Skills
* Ability to work on own initiative
* Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to liaise effectively with a wide range of multi‑disciplinary staff
* Ability to follow complex protocols and feed back to senior staff as appropriate
* Excellent written communication skills, with attention to accuracy and ability to proof read
* Excellent organisational and time management skills to meet deadlines
* Strong customer care skills, treating customers with dignity and respect
* Tact & Diplomacy skills to deal with sensitive issues discreetly
* Ability to work well in a busy environment, under pressure and to deadlines
* Flexible, team player
Knowledge
* Knowledge of workings of clinics / hospital procedures
* Knowledge of and commitment to continuously improving Services through an ability to sustain clear performance focus on achieving demanding goals
* Knowledge of office systems including Microsoft Office, Word, Outlook and Excel
* Knowledge of medical terminology
When you apply...
Please note we do not offer visa sponsorship for roles unless clearly stated in our adverts. This means even if you have the right to work currently but will require a new sponsorship to work for our Trust your application will not be considered.
Vacancies may close earlier than the advertised closing date where a high volume of applications are received. We therefore encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible to avoid missing out on the opportunity to join the Trust or develop your career with us.
While we recognise that AI can support in drafting an application, you are encouraged to clearly demonstrate your personal skills, experience and behaviours that align with the role, and this is usually best done in your own words. We reserve the right to review all applications for the use of AI tools and where this is inconsistent with our values and standards of behaviour your application may be rejected
All correspondence relating to vacancies will be via the e-mail address you have provided on your application form. Some servers automatically send e-mails to your junk mail so please check as well as your inbox.
Secondments/Fixed term
Where a vacancy is advertised as a temporary position, the duration will be specified in the advert. If the vacancy becomes permanent towards the end of the specified duration, the successful applicant may not be required to re‑apply and can be slotted into the role on a permanent basis if appropriate.
If you are an internal applicant applying for a temporary working arrangement, please see the attached notes on secondments.
Committed to our Community
East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion for all job applicants, staff, patients and the wider community. We want to create a workforce which represents the communities we serve. We are on a journey to become a more inclusive organisation and we welcome applications from everyone regardless of their background. In particular we encourage applications from candidates with disabilities, and candidates from Black, Asian and Minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds who are currently under‑represented in various parts of our workforce .
We understand the importance of balancing work and home life. We are committed to support flexible working for our staff wherever possible and all our employees are given the opportunity to discuss potential for flexible working.
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and achieved our status in 2019.
We will remove barriers that prospective candidates might face at any stage of our recruitment process. If you have a disability and would like the advert in an alternative format, or would like to talk about how we can adjust the interview process to best support you, please contact us by emailing resourcing.enh‑tr@nhs.net
We are also proud to support our UK armed forces by supporting Reservists, Cadet Instructors, Veterans and military spouses/partners into employment and offering supportive policies that value their contribution to the community and to our Trust.
We are committed to being a carer‑friendly environment, addressing the complex needs of families with caring responsibilities. In partnership with Carers in Hertfordshire, all our working carers have access to support from recruitment. We are also a member of Carers UK, providing resources to make balancing work and caring easier. Our approach is inclusive, recognizing diverse challenges and creating a supportive environment where carers feel valued.
King's Trust Support
If you’re aged between 16 and 30 years-old, you can get FREE employability support from The King’s Trust. The King’s Trust will help build your CV and cover letter, offer advice and top tips for future interviews and support you with research about working in the NHS. Please contact Enquiries.H&SC@princes-trust.org.uk for support.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
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