Administrative Assistant

Central East Integrated Care Board; Shefford; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 32,000; Full time

Job summary

Central East Integrated Care Board is seeking a Contracts and Procurement Assistant to provide essential administrative and coordination support across the contracts and procurement function. You will help maintain contract records, process variations, support governance, and assist with procurement activities and reporting.

The role covers work across primary care, dental, community, mental health, and other sector organisations, with active collaboration within a flexible, priorities-driven

Qualifications

• Experience managing multiple tasks, keeping accurate records, and meeting tight deadlines.
• Ability to process, monitor, and maintain contract, procurement or governance information accurately.
• Strong written and verbal communication to liaise with colleagues, providers and stakeholders.
• Strong written and verbal communication to liaise with colleagues, providers and stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day administrative support to ensure the effective running of programmes, services, or projects.
• Manage correspondence, maintain records, and support the coordination of tasks and deadlines.
• Input and maintain data in relevant systems, and assist in creating reports and dashboards.
• Support project activities: scheduling meetings, taking minutes, and following up on actions.
• Ensure governance, information governance and confidentiality are observed; maintain audit trails.

Skills

Task management

Record keeping

Contract governance

Communication skills

Job description

We are Central East ICB, the new organisationentrusted with serving more than 3.5 million people across Bedfordshire, Luton, Milton Keynes, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and Hertfordshire.

We are responsible for making sure that the NHS can continue to support our community – now, and in the future. Everything we do will be guided by our core purpose: to do what best serves the population of this area.

We promise to focus on what makes the biggest difference to people’s lives – acting earlier to help prevent illness and detect disease and making it easier for our community to get the health care they need, closer to home, whenever that’s possible.

If you need support with the application process, please contact our People Team at [e-mail].

Read about our priorities in our strategy document, Our Way .

Job overview

The Contracts and Procurement Assistant provides vital administrative andcoordination support to the contracts and procurement team, ensuring accuratedocumentation and efficient delivery of contractual and procurement processes.

This includes maintaining contract records, processing variations, updating systems,and supporting governance requirements for contracts across primary care, dental services, community providers, mental health, acute trusts, voluntary sector andindependent sector organisations, working in a flexible way in line with team priorities.

The role also assists with procurement activities, including support to individualprocurement processes, management of appropriate databases, coordinatesmeetings, prepares reports, and handles routine internal and external contract andprocurement queries.

Main duties of the job

The responsibilities include:

1. Administrative and Operational Support: Provide day-to-day administrative assistance to ensure the effective running of programmes, services, or projects. Manage correspondence, maintain records, and support the coordination of tasks and deadlines, ensuring empathy when communicating with other parties.

2. Data and Information Management: Regularly collect, input, and maintain accurate data in relevant systems. Support the preparation of reports, spreadsheets, and dashboards to inform monitoring and assurance activities which may present complex or contentious information and require comparison or analysis of a range of data and options.

3. Project and Programme Support: Assist in the coordination of project activities by preparing materials, scheduling meetings, taking minutes, and following up on agreed actions.

4. Quality and Improvement: Contribute to service improvement activities by helping gather feedback, maintaining documentation, and supporting small improvement initiatives. Use motivational and persuasive communications to achieve tasks. Provide feedback on service improvements as part of the continuous improvement process.

5. Governance and Compliance: Ensure all work complies with organisational policies and procedures, including information governance and confidentiality. Maintain clear audit trails and accurate documentation at all times. Propose changes to working practices and policies for work area.

Working for our organisation

We are committed to promoting equal opportunities to achieve equity of access, experience and outcomes and to recognising and valuing people’s differences. We are passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity; we see this as a strength and part of our founding mission, values and behaviours. We know through experience that different ideas, perspectives and backgrounds create a stronger and more creative work environment that delivers patient outcomes.

We are committed to creating the best place to work, where your contribution is valued, your wellbeing is supported and all our colleagues can reach their full potential. We welcome and encourage applications from all areas of the community, who meet the criteria for the role, regardless of their protected characteristic. We work to ensure that our recruitment processes are as inclusive as possible to everyone, including making adjustments for people who have a disability or long-term condition and support with the recruitment process for people with lived experience.

We are happy to discuss flexible working options for all roles.

We operate a Carer friendly working environment that is supportive and inclusive. We actively encourage Carers to self-identify themselves.

We are a Disability Confident Employer and commit to shortlisting suitable applicants who meet the essential criteria for an interview. Please inform us of any adjustments you may require.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

This role is to support the CHC contracts team with the smooth running of services by undertaking a range of administrative, coordination, and data-related tasks, contributing to effective team performance and service delivery. Some tasks may be non-routine.

There is also a need to support the team with routine work to support the new digital platform in enrolling and approving providers and further checking uploaded documentation.

Good organizational skills are required to be successful in this role as is a can do attitude.

Person specification

Admin and Organisational Skills

• Demonstrable experience of managing multiple tasks, maintaining accurate records, and working to tight deadlines.
• Ability to accurately process, monitor and maintain contract, procurement or governance information, with a high level of accuracy
• Good written and verbal communication skills with the ability to liaise professionally with colleagues, providers, and stakeholders
• Good written and verbal communication skills with the ability to liaise professionally with colleagues, providers, and stakeholders

Please Note:

• This vacancy may close before the advertised closing date if a sufficient number of suitable applications are received. We recommend submitting your application early to avoid disappointment.
• Successfully shortlisted applicants will be contacted by email with an invitation to interview.
• Please note that we do not pay interview expenses, all costs are incurred by the candidate.

Notes on completion of applications:

• All reference requests will be made to your employer/previous employers' HR Department, covering the previous 3 years of activity.
• We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults, and expect all staff to undertake this commitment. Applicants will be subject to robust safer recruitment processes.
• All eligible staff will need to have gained clearance through a standard/enhanced DBS check prior to working.
• All posts are subject to a probationary period.