NIHR BRC Administration Manager

NHS; Town of Oxford; On-site; CAD 72,000 - 87,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent NHS teaching hospital is seeking a BRC Administration Manager to handle administrative functions and support operations within its Biomedical Research Centre. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in high-level PA roles, excellent communication skills, and the ability to manage complex projects and events. This position is vital in ensuring smooth operations, maintaining relationships with stakeholders, and providing high-quality administrative support. The salary ranges from £38,682 to £46,580 per year, pro rata.

Qualifications

• Significant experience of acting as a PA at a high level.
• Experience in a similar senior administrative role.
• Ability to manage a complex workload.

Responsibilities

• Provide comprehensive administrative support for the BRC management team.
• Coordinate meetings and manage calendars efficiently.
• Assist in financial management and reporting.

Skills

Organizational skills

Communication skills

Project management

Confidentiality

Education

Good first degree or equivalent

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

NIHR BRC Administration Manager

The closing date is 01 March 2026

This is an exciting opportunity to join Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH) a world‑renowned centre of clinical excellence and one of the largest NHS teaching trusts in the UK. Delivering the benefits of research and innovation to its patients, people and populations is a key strategic priority for the Trust, capitalising on the breadth and depth of the Trust's unique relationship with the University of Oxford (OU).

The NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) is the largest and most successful research partnership between OUH and OU. Since it was first designated in 2007, the BRC has been awarded more than £350m for translational research and related activities. The BRC funds innovation across 15 research themes and has a BRC management team that supports researchers across these themes in a number of areas, https://oxfordbrc.nihr.ac.uk/.

MAIN PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

The BRC Administration Manager will play a vital role in ensuring day‑to‑day operations run smoothly. They will provide support to the BRC management team office and Personal Assistant (PA) service to the Deputy Head of BRC Operations and Head of Operations.

Main duties of the job

This is a varied post requiring a highly organised approach and ability to work autonomously with minimal supervision. Experience of working within or closely with the NHS or higher education setting will be advantageous to provide background knowledge as the post holder is required to deal effectively with staff at all levels including Executive Board level throughout Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Oxford (OU), the wider healthcare community, local and national external organisations and the public.

Reporting to the Deputy Head of BRC Operations the post holder will also provide effective and professional support for the development and implementation of the BRC's operations, meetings and events. The post holder will assist with the organisation of local, national and international review panels, meetings, conferences and events.

They will also assist with the collation of quarterly and annual reporting to NIHR.

About us

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest NHS teaching trusts in the country. It provides a wide range of general and specialist clinical services and is a base for medical education, training and research. The Trust comprises four hospitals - the John Radcliffe Hospital, Churchill Hospital and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Headington and the Horton General Hospital in Banbury. For more information on OUH please view OUH At a Glance by OUHospitals - Issuu

Our values, standards and behaviours define the quality of clinical care we offer and the professional relationships we make with our patients, colleagues and the wider community.

We call this Delivering Compassionate Excellence and its focus is on our values of compassion, respect, learning, delivery, improvement and excellence.

Job responsibilities

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Office management

1. Provide high quality, consistent and comprehensive administrative support functions to the BRC management team office, managing incoming communications, drafting responses and distributing and delegating tasks where appropriate, demonstrating a high level of discretion, confidentiality and appropriate initiative.
2. Act as a first point of contact for communication with the BRC in a confidential, effective and efficient manner.
3. Coordinate and administer BRC Steering Committee, BRC research theme leaders meetings, BRC operations meetings and BRC management team meetings. Includes organizing schedules, rooms and refreshments, preparing agendas and papers, circulating information, taking high quality minutes and ensuring action points are followed up.
4. Maintain and build upon internal/external relationships and communicate effectively with a range of stakeholders and partner organisations at Executive and Board level at OUH NHS Foundation Trust and University of Oxford.
5. Take ownership of the management of smaller discrete projects at the request of the BRC senior management team and support them with the management of larger more complex projects.
6. Assist the Head of BRC Operations with Human Resource issues, such as recruitment, appraisals, absence reporting, and recording of annual leave.
7. Manage the purchase and stock control of stationery, refreshments, template documents and equipment for the BRC.
8. Oversee the use of BRC meeting rooms and office facilities.
9. Organise office maintenance and repair as necessary.

Diary management and correspondence

1. Manage the Deputy and Head of BRC Operations calendars and resolve complex and conflicting commitments on a daily basis. Anticipate diary pressures and take appropriate action to ensure smooth running and effectiveness.
2. Arrange meetings and appointments via the calendar system with both internal and external contacts working closely with the BRC Director. This will include liaison at the highest levels with Trust and University staff.
3. Plan and co‑ordinate diary events such as Ministerial and other high‑level visits/Board and other away days, meetings and conferences.
4. Identify suitable venues on or off site, depending on the number of delegates, room layout, hospitality and audio‑visual requirements.
5. Organise travel and accommodation arrangements for the BRC management team.

Finance

1. Support the BRC management team in financial matters including co‑ordinating invoice payment and claim form processing such as travel, subsistence and other expenses and preparing purchase requisitions as necessary. Working closely with the R&D Head of Financial Management.

Engagement with National Institute for Research (NIHR)

1. Support Deputy Head of Operations to ensure that all relevant quarterly and annual reporting requirements are quality checked and deadlines met. Includes working closely with BRC theme liaisons.
2. Contribute to the planning and management of future BRC funding applications, working closely with the BRC senior management team and BRC Director.

Other responsibilities

1. Attend and participate in training, both internal and external, in order to carry out these duties effectively.
2. Any other duties relevant to the post and appropriate to the grade, which reflect the changing needs of the service.
3. All post holders will be expected to adhere to the NHS Code of Conduct.

Person Specification

Qualifications and experience

• A good first degree or equivalent including significant experience of acting as a PA at a high level, in a large complex organisation.
• Experience in a similar role plus experience in a senior administrative role. Proven experience of working as a PA.
• Experience of working with Executive level Boards and Committees

Experience

• Previous experience organising events. Experience of working autonomously to resolve problems. Excellent written communication skills, demonstrate experience of preparing papers for meetings, minute taking, etc., including accurate typing and proof‑reading skills. Ability to exercise a high degree of tact and discretion with confidential information. Ability to exercise a high degree of personal responsibility, judgement and initiative, with a positive, proactive and flexible approach to work. Excellent time management and organisational skills with the ability to manage and prioritise a varied and busy workload, working to deadlines as required, including coping with unpredictable volumes of work and busy periods. Experience of using financial information systems.

Personal skills

• Comfortable liaising with people at all levels, in particular very senior personnel internal and external to the University of Oxford and OUH NHS Trust staff
• Good team player
• Excellent communicator
• Flexible and helpful attitude adaptable to changing priorities

Technical skills

• Computer literate with experience of working with the Microsoft Office package.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

£38,682 to £46,580 a yearper annum pro rata