Personal Assistant

NHS; Blackpool; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare facility is seeking a Personal Assistant to support the Directors of Operations and Finance. The role requires excellent communication, organizational skills, and the ability to manage multiple tasks effectively. The successful candidate will ensure smooth operations through efficient administrative support, diary management, and stakeholder engagement. This position offers a dynamic work environment within a respected organization dedicated to healthcare excellence.

Qualifications

• Experience as a Personal Assistant and administrator.
• Advanced IT skills, especially in Microsoft Office suite.
• High standard of written skills evident in report writing.

Responsibilities

• Manage Directors' diaries and ensure effective use of their time.
• Provide comprehensive administrative support, including minute-taking.
• Organize meetings and maintain filing systems.

Skills

Communication

Interpersonal Skills

Negotiation

Organizational Skills

Planning

Education

Degree level or equivalent

Formal secretarial qualification

Business administration NVQ 4

Tools

Microsoft Office

ESR

Job description

Go back Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Personal Assistant

The closing date is 27 May 2025

Please note that this role is advertised on behalf of Atlas BFW Management Ltd (Atlas), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and as such, successful applicant(s) will be on Atlas Terms and Conditions. For further information about Atlas, please visit: www.bfwml.co.uk

The role of the P.A will be to provide a high quality, efficient and professional personal assistant and administrative service to the Director of Operations and the Director of Finance, on a day to day basis, ensuring that they receive the support required to facilitate the performance of their roles and to deliver the efficient running of the organisation.

Main duties of the job

Managing the Director's diaries to provide the most effective use of the individual Director's time, the post holder will be capable of working to schedules and using their own initiative, whilst maintaining a high level of confidentiality and discretion at all times.

As the prime point of contact for the Directors, the post holder will often need to 'filter' calls and must therefore have excellent negotiation, diplomacy and interpersonal skills, together with the ability to interact with a wide range of stakeholders.

The post holder will be responsible for ensuring the provision of a comprehensive, effective and efficient administration service, including co-ordinating and minuting meetings, composing and issuing various communications, including emails and letters and other general admin duties; and will therefore have excellent verbal and written communication skills, together with the ability to multi-task.

About us

As experts in healthcare facilities and property management, we deliver fully-managed healthcare facilities services and property management solutions to clients throughout Blackpool, Fylde, Wyre and North Lancashire.

Our teams ensure our clients properties and amenities provide the best environment for their customers, patients, staff and visitors.

As a wholly owned subsidiary of Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, we support the Trusts frontline clinical services and assist with the delivery of patient care, through our service provision.

Our profits are used to help grow our business, whilst providing additional employment, training and development opportunities for local people.

Visit: bfwml.co.uk for further information

Please note this role will be on an ATLAS contract, not an NHS contract.

This advert will close when sufficient applications have been received.

Job responsibilities

The post holder will:

• Organise venues for meetings, on behalf of the Directors, as necessary, together with any required resources, such as stationery, flip charts and projectors etc.
• Participate in suitable staff development, appraisal and training opportunities, as appropriate, including planning, seeking and maintaining personal Continuous Professional Development (CPD) and mandatory training requirements.
• Maintain departmental filing systems, both electronic and paper based, to provide the safe, confidential, storage of documents and information and to ensure that systems are kept up-to-date and maintained in accordance with the relevant data protection and information governance procedures.
• Develop and maintain a network of key relationships, both internal and external, across the regional Integrated Care System (ICS), in order to help facilitate and enhance the performance of the Directors responsibilities.
• Support the Directors and PA to Directors in organising and coordinating meetings as required, including arranging meetings, drafting agendas, preparing and circulating papers, taking minutes and maintaining reporting schedules.
• Manage and forward plan diary commitments to ensure the optimal, most effective use, of each Directors time and will resolve conflicting demands. This will involve making decisions on whether and when appointments are made, based on the issue involved, the needs of the caller and the workload priorities and commitments of the Directors.
• Provide a full effective and confidential personal assistant service to the Directors to help maintain the smooth running of the organisation.
• Within parameters agreed with the individual Directors, make judgments and take actions necessary to resolve enquiries, requests and issues raised by managers, staff and external organisations. This will include:
  • Researching, collating and providing them with information
  • Telephoning / meeting with them to explore and resolve enquiries and issues
  • Providing them with all necessary guidance and advice.
• Prepare presentations, reports and formal correspondence on behalf of Directors, as required. To include carrying out word processing, typing and audio typing as appropriate, ensuring that all correspondence is produced to a high standard.
• Prepare agendas and attend and minute meetings as required and ensure that the related action plans are prepared and updated with reported progress against each action.
• Co-ordinate the collation of all appropriate papers and reports for relevant meetings, ensuring that the papers are submitted by the appropriate staff and received in a timely manner, in line with the meetings Terms of Reference.
• Manage the emails for the designated directors, ensuring briefings and follow up actions take place and deadlines are met.
• Answer telephones, taking and forwarding messages and ensuring that all telephone callers receive a prompt, courteous, informed response.
• Receive, allocate, prioritise and dispatch both internal and external Executive departmental mail and ensure that any outgoing mail is handled in accordance with the relevant operational procedure.
• Photocopy, scan, collate, file and distribute documents as required and liaise with the divisional admin teams to ensure that office equipment within the department is appropriately maintained and kept in working order.
• Be responsible for maintaining adequate levels of divisional stationery and supplies for the executive department and for organising quotes and materials requisitions for general stationery requirements; ensuring that all procurements are prepared in accordance with the Atlas financial governance and procurement guidelines.
• Where appropriate, be responsible for holding, managing and reconciling petty cash.
• Process admin related invoices for the executive department and deal with any related invoice queries.
• Undertake ad hoc projects as directed and provide support for specific project work as required.
• Liaise with the information Technology (IT) department, in the ordering, maintenance and updates of all required computer equipment.
• Ensure that all departmental confidential waste is collected and disposed of in line with the appropriate Atlas procedures.
• Attend and contribute to the relevant divisional and admin team meetings.
• Co-ordinate events, including venue booking and catering where required.
• Deal with enquiries, by telephone, e-mail or written correspondence, initiating and coordinating responses where appropriate and prioritising correspondence for action as required.
• Participate and contribute to service improvement initiatives and seek to identify continuous improvement ideas.

Please Note:This is not intended to be exhaustive and it is likely that duties may be altered from time to time, in the light of changing circumstances and following discussions with the post holder.The post holder may be required to work across the Company at any time throughout the duration of their contract, which may entail travel and working at a different location.

Person Specification

Education/ Qualifications

• High standard of education, degree level or equivalent
• Formal secretarial qualification or equivalent experience
• Evidence of relevant continued professional development.
• Business administration NVQ 4 or European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL)

Knowledge & Experience: General

• Experience of working within a challenging environment, managing relationships within a team environment.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills and experience of interacting effectively with a wide range of both internal and external stakeholders.

Knowledge & Experience: Specialist

• Previous experience of successfully working with Senior Leadership and Directors.
• Advanced IT skills and experienced in the use of IT applications, specifically of Microsoft Office suite of programmes, including Teams, PowerPoint and Excel.
• Previous experience as a Personal Assistant (PA) and administrator.
• Experience of supporting meetings and minute taking.
• Skilled at diary management and dealing with competing deadlines.
• A high standard of written skills, evident in report writing.
• Skilled in establishing and maintaining key internal and external relationships.
• Strong planning and organisational skills.
• Previous experience of working in a busy, fast paced, deadline driven, working environment of similar size and complexity.
• Previous experience of client relationship management.
• Previous experience of managing projects.
• Experience of working with specialist software systems, including ESR.

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.

Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust