Personal Assistant to: Director of Strategy & Director of Innovation
NHS AfC: Band 5
Main area Corporate Grade NHS AfC: Band 5 Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week Job ref 309-UCLH-7937-A
Site UCLH Town London Salary £38,488 - £46,852 per annum inclusive of HCAS Salary period Yearly Closing 07/06/2026 23:59
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Job overview
Are you a confident, proactive personal assistant ready to support senior leaders at the heart of a busy NHS Trust? This full-time permanent post offers a unique opportunity to work within Trust Headquarters, supporting both an Executive Board level Director and a Corporate Director in a fast-paced environment. You’ll need excellent judgement, strong diary and inbox management skills, and the ability to handle sensitive information with professionalism and discretion. In return, you’ll be part of a dynamic team shaping strategic decisions across UCLH, with exposure to senior stakeholders and the chance to contribute meaningfully to projects that impact patient care and organisational performance. If you thrive on variety, responsibility, and making things run smoothly behind the scenes, we’d love to hear from you.
Main duties of the job
As Personal Assistant to the Director of Strategy and the Director of Innovation, you will play a key role in ensuring the smooth and effective running of their work. You will manage complex diaries and inboxes, coordinate meetings and projects, and act as a professional first point of contact for a wide range of stakeholders. The role requires strong judgement, discretion, and communication skills, along with the ability to juggle competing priorities and keep work moving across a diverse portfolio. You will need to work confidently on your own initiative, anticipate requirements, and handle sensitive information with care. If you enjoy a fast paced environment and take pride in keeping things running efficiently behind the scenes, this role offers variety, challenge, and a central position within the organisation.
Working for our organisation
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) is one of the most complex NHS trusts in the UK, serving a large and diverse population. We provide academically led acute and specialist services, to people from the local area, from throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. Our vision is to deliver top-quality patient care, excellent education, and world-class research.
We provide first-class acute and specialist services across eight sites:
University College Hospital (incorporating the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Wing)
National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery
Royal National ENT and Eastman Dental Hospitals
University College Hospital Grafton Way Building
Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine
University College Hospital Macmillan Cancer Centre
The Hospital for Tropical Diseases
University College Hospital at Westmoreland Street
We are dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of many complex illnesses. UCLH specialises in women’s health and the treatment of cancer, infection, neurological, gastrointestinal and oral disease. It has world class support services including critical care, imaging, nuclear medicine and pathology.
We are committed to sustainability and have pledged to become a carbon net zero health service, embedding sustainable practice throughout UCLH. We have set an ambitious target of net zero for our direct emissions by 2031 and indirect emissions by 2040.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
For the full Person Specification and more information regarding the main responsibilities of this role, please refer to the attached Job Description.
This is an opportunity to join Trust Headquarters as Personal Assistant to the Director of Strategy and the Director of Innovation. The postholder will provide high-quality administrative and personal assistant support, enabling senior leaders to operate effectively and maintain strategic oversight across the organisation.
Key responsibilities include managing complex diaries and inboxes, coordinating meetings and delegated projects, and acting as a trusted first point of contact for senior internal and external stakeholders. The role requires excellent judgement, discretion, and communication skills, with the ability to prioritise competing demands and maintain momentum across a varied portfolio.
The postholder will handle confidential matters with professionalism, liaise with national and local bodies including the Department of Health and NHS England, and support the smooth running of Trust HQ. They will contribute to project delivery, governance support, and cross-cover planning, ensuring continuity of service during periods of absence.
Additional duties include preparing agendas and minutes for meetings, managing travel arrangements, supporting recruitment and induction processes, and maintaining accurate records and databases. The role also involves supporting staff experience initiatives, coordinating events, and acting as a local lead for fire safety and environmental matters.
This is a varied and visible role at the heart of the organisation, ideal for someone who thrives in a fast-paced, high-trust environment and enjoys making things run smoothly behind the scenes.
Come and be a part of the best NHS trust in England to work for, according to our staff
UCLH recognises the benefits of flexible working for staff – To find out more, visit: Flexible working.
To discover more about what makes UCLH a great place to work, visit: Why Choose UCLH?
Person specification
Knowledge, Qualifications & Experience
* Minimum 3 years’ experience as a Personal Assistant to an Executive Director
* Ability to manage complex diaries.
* Knowledge of a wide range of NHS procedures and practices including NHS governance.
* Experience of working in a large organisation.
* Minute taking and meeting secretariat experience.
* Secretarial / PA qualification (i.e. RSA level 3 / NVQ level 4 BSMSA/AMSPAR) or equivalent experience
* Experience of working in a healthcare environment.
Skills and Abilities
* The ability to receive and deal effectively with confidential and sensitive information, which requires empathy and reassurance skills.
* Skills in motivating and influencing others.
* The ability to deal with and respond to various external agencies particularly, Department of Health, Integrated care system, solicitors and other NHS Trusts.
* To act in such a manner as to maintain and protect patient and staff confidentiality at all times.
* To work with a positive attitude and keen interest in making positive contributions to the smooth function of Trust headquarters.
* Ability to accept responsibility.
* Ability to make sensible judgements involving facts / situations which may require analysis and interpretations.
* Experience in prioritising your own workload and supporting the directors and their deputies to ensure their priorities are achieved.
* The ability to plan and organise a broad range of activities.
Values
* Demonstrate ability to meet Trust Values of safety, kindness, teamwork and improving
Personal and People Development
* Ability to prioritise workload based on urgency and importance.
* To set a high-quality standard and work in a positive and mature manner.
* Ability to adopt an objective view and be a good team player.
* Ability to use own judgement to resolve issues.
Quality and service improvement
* Advanced Microsoft office and keyboard skills, ability to type a minimum of 55 words per minute
* Ability to obtain information from external sources (e.g.: web- based or library sources)
Personal Qualities
* Ability to be flexible and adaptable and cope with frequent and unpredictable interruptions.
* Ability to work within a team environment and display initiative when necessary.
* Ability to work unsupervised.
At UCLH, we have a real ‘One Team’ ethos, and our values – safety, kindness, teamwork and improving, are central to the way we work. This is supported by our staff, who voted us as the #1 NHS Acute Trust to work for in the whole of England.
At UCLH we take equality of opportunity seriously and are committed to being a diverse and inclusive employer, with a culture that creates a real sense of belonging and trust. It is our fundamental aim, to recruit, retain and promote a diverse mix of people who are representative of our local communities. Applications are encouraged from candidates of all backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives to support our world class research, innovation and creativity.
UCLH recognises the benefits of flexible working for staff and has a dedicated policy which allows staff to apply for flexible working right from the beginning of employment. For more information please go to: https://www.uclh.nhs.uk/work-with-us/why-choose-uclh/flexible-working.
We offer our permanent staff an interest free season ticket loan for travel, all our staff have access to free independent and confidential support, large retail discounts, a staff discount platform, cycle to work scheme and on-site accommodation to name a few.
Additionally, UCLH Arts and Heritage’s staff wellbeing programme, Creative Comfort, offers a variety of ways to engage with the arts as a member of UCLH staff. You can try out the weekly choir, weekly art club and join the Culture Club for exclusive access to free and discounted tickets for opera, exhibitions, theatre and more.
We recognise, reward and thank colleagues by nominating them for our annual Celebrating Excellence Awards, which are funded by UCLH Charity.
We are also members of www.mytrustbenefits.co.uk/ which offers discounts on high street retail stores, offers on travel deals, and also to take advantage of cash back schemes.
You must be eligible to work in the United Kingdom or meet the criteria for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker visa route. We welcome applications from candidates who require visa sponsorship, and these will be considered alongside all other applications. Before applying, please ensure that both you and the role meet the eligibility requirements under the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) points-based system to avoid disappointment. You can view this here
This vacancy may close before the current listed closing date. You are advised not to delay submitting your completed application.
Please note that all correspondence regarding your application will be via email. The emails will be sent to you via TRAC.jobs and not via NHS Jobs, we encourage you to check your inbox regularly.
Please note that if you have not heard from us within 3 weeks of the closing date of the advert to assume that you have not been shortlisted on this occasion.
The Trust uses electronic new starter forms on Trac to collect personal details. Information collected is securely stored and used to set up the employee record on the ESR HR system.
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