Job overview
To provide high quality administrative and secretarial support to a designated Divisional Management Team. Demonstrate highly developed administrative and communication skills in relation to diary management, information management, use of IT software to develop reports and presentations, minute taking, action tracking and delivering project work as required.
Main duties of the job
1. Provide a responsive and efficient administrative and secretarial support to the Divisional Management Team to include typing of correspondence (in various formats), reports, visual presentations, handouts, filing, photocopying etc. whilst maintain confidentiality at all times.
2. Develop and maintain confidential filing systems, manage appointments for the Divisional Management Team, maintain diaries for the Divisional Management Team and implement procedures to improve the efficient and effective operational administration of the office.
3. Ensure robust systems of information management are in place, including filing structures, retention and destruction, in accordance with relevant policies and strategies.
4. Undertake internet research and acquire and disseminate information to others as directed.
5. Manage the Divisional teams e-mail and postal correspondence, responding to routine enquiries appropriately.
6. Act on behalf of the Divisional team in dealing with routine issues to interpret and distribute information to staff, other departments, or other senior managers as appropriate and to collate responses and forward these within the appropriate deadlines.
7. Support the production of Divisional reports to the Trust Board, and other forums and ad hoc reports on behalf of the Division.
8. Validate, code and raise invoices and set up purchase orders where required.
Working for our organisation
At UHSussex, diversity is our strength, and we want you to feel included to help us always put the Patient First. Your uniqueness and 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, and can offer a buddy to help new members settle in. We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Employer (Level 2) and a Veteran Aware Trust.
We treat our patients and staff with the same compassion and empathy we expect for ourselves. We’re here for them when they need us, and we go above and beyond to meet their needs. This can be seen in our Wellbeing Programme for staff which is extensive and 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 and training so that we can be the best that we can be. From the moment you start with us and throughout your career we will help you to grow and develop. We hope that in choosing UHSussex you are choosing a long and happy career where you will be able to see the difference you make and feel valued for all that you do.
We look forward to receiving your application and the start of your journey with UHSussex.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
9. Co-ordinate the Divisional Management Team’s diaries using a bring-forward system to ensure necessary papers are available as required and that deadlines are met while prioritising and juggling other commitments.
10. Maintain the diaries, ensuring that all arrangements for meetings, travel and accommodation are scheduled appropriately.
11. Ensure with colleagues that all meetings are covered adequately and take responsibility for tracking membership of groups and updating distribution lists accordingly.
12. Be responsible for the arrangement, co-ordination of attendance and communication of dates for the Divisional and Directorate meetings, as well as the timely distribution of agendas and appropriate papers for these meetings. Track progress against any agreed actions and update action tracker accordingly.
13. In conjunction with the Divisional Management Team or delegated officers, assist with project work as directed and where required, lead and be responsible for specific projects as delegated by the Divisional Director of Operations.
14. Design and maintain both simple and complex databases for use by administrative colleagues and management. Manage the expansion of existing, complex databases while they remain in frequent use.
15. Assist the Management Team in co-ordinating the Divisional objectives & work-plan via the monthly meetings whilst ensuring deadlines are met including collation of information and development of visual presentations.
16. Create systems and processes that will ensure that the Divisional Management Team conducts its business in accordance with corporate assurance processes.
17. Ensure that any papers produced by the Division are compliant with the Corporate branding and using the agreed templates. Be responsible for tracking decision making processes to ensure auditable governance records are available as required.
18. Support divisional recruitment processes where required.
19. Open all mail into the office, sort and distribute using judgement and experience to decide which documents require immediate attention.
20. Organise own work tasks and be able to prioritise own workload.
21. Ensure information returns required by the Trust, external organisations and other partner organisations are delivered and are timely, accurate and presented to a high standard.
22. Continuous audit of the use of information systems and processes required to assure the smooth running of the Division.
23. Co-ordinate the bookings for divisional offices.
Person specification
Experience / qualifications
Essential criteria
24. •Degree level qualification or equivalent gained through work experience/ combination of work and other qualifications.
25. •Experience of working in a busy office environment.
26. •Experience of organising events, seminars, meetings, courses and conferences.
27. •Experience of handling confidential and sensitive information
28. •Advanced typing skills (e.g 70+wpm).
Desirable criteria
29. •NVQ or equivalent in secretarial studies
30. •Project management experience.
Skills
Essential criteria
31. •Ability to multi-task
32. •Excellent written and communication skills
33. •Excellent organisational skills
34. •Ability to work unsupervised
35. •Ability to prioritise workload without supervision.
36. •Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines in tight timescales
37. •Able to produce concise reports both financial and information based
38. •Ability to create visual presentations for use by others
39. •Advanced working knowledge of Microsoft Office Products: Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
Desirable criteria
40. •Good working knowledge of Microsoft Access or similar database package
41. •Experience of using patient administration systems
Specific reqirements
Essential criteria
42. •Minute taking skills
43. •Diary management
Freedom to act
Essential criteria
44. •To be responsible for own professional actions and have sufficient autonomy for the delivery of the job.
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
Essential criteria
45. Evidence of having championed diversity in previous roles (as appropriate to role).
46. Evidence of having undertaken own development to improve understanding of equalities issues
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