Personal Assistant to the Senior Management Team (SMT Team PA)

ABOUT EASTERN ACADEMIC HEALTH SCIENCE NETWORK (AHSN)

The Eastern Academic Health Science Network (Eastern AHSN) is one of 15 Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs) set up and funded by the NHS to spread innovation at pace and scale that will improve health and care and generate economic growth.

The Eastern AHSN is a trusted networker, broker and change agent that brings together the NHS, industry and clinical innovators, academics and scientists, local government and the third sector.  Focusing on the unmet health needs of people in the Eastern region we work in partnership to identify, co-develop, adopt and spread new proven technology and transform services to improve health outcomes for all.

PURPOSE OF ROLE

The SMT Team PA fulfils a critical role in Eastern AHSN, working within a small, but highly focused team, the post holder will deliver effective administrative support to the Senior Management Team and other Board members.  The SMT consists of the Chief Operating Officer, Commercial Director, Chief Clinical Officer (0.6WTE), Head of Communications, Director – Patient Safety, Director of Health Informatics (0.5 WTE) and Head of Finance/Company Secretary (0.8 WTE).

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

This role provides a fantastic opportunity for a dedicated and enthusiastic individual who has experience in senior executive support including managing executive, administrative and developmental tasks. The right individual for this role will need to demonstrate experience in successfully developing and implementing administrative systems and procedures to fully support board members and senior directors.  The post holder will be flexible in terms of growing this role to accommodate the needs of the business.

The role includes

A.        Effective executive and administrative support

1. Act as the Team PA to seven members of the Senior Management Team (SMT), including but not limited to: managing electronic diaries; arranging and changing appointments, assisting with meeting arrangements, providing papers, handling travel arrangements , preparing expenses claims etc.
2. Help to manage their busy agendas.  This includes scanning their inboxes regularly, making suggestions for prioritising conflicting events on the same date, arranging events so as to minimise travel on the same day and generally optimise the diary and logistics.
3. Support the Eastern AHSN’s Events Manager with high profile events, e.g. with direct invitations to guests and follow-ups.
4. Provide clerical and administrative support to the Company Secretary in relation to liaising with Board members, partners and other associate organisations as required.  Taking telephone calls and dealing with emails for the Chair and other board members using initiative to deal with these calls and messages as necessary.
5. Manage and develop administrative support for the SMT, regularly reviewing administration requirements to ensure processes and systems continuously support the developing needs of Eastern AHSN.
6. Develop and maintain effective electronic and paper filing systems for SMT members ensuring that information is kept securely and is accessible as appropriate.
7. Arrange rooms, prepare agendas, take minutes and distribute notes for internal meetings as requested by members of the SMT
8. Prepare internal and external corporate documents as requested by members of the SMT
9. Assist with Board of Directors meetings and all board committee meetings, e.g. creating board packs, meeting and greeting arriving board members, making room and travel reservations etc
10. Coordinate SMT travel plans and other arrangements as needed.
11. Obtain VISAs and passports for employees needing to travel abroad.
12. Cover for other administrative members of staff during absences as required by the COO.
13. To carry out other appropriate administrative delegated duties as required.

B. Team and Staff Management

1. Works in partnership with colleagues to deliver on Eastern AHSN’s objectives and day to day running of the organisation.
2. Uses an inclusive, communicative and proactive approach to ensure effective working with organisations and teams across the Eastern AHSN footprint
3. Works with colleagues to develop and support an innovative and rewarding working environment.

C.        Corporate duties

1. Supports the COO in creating an environment that values risk management and promotes the highest standards of health and safety for the Eastern AHSN’s team, supported by policies and procedures as appropriate.
2. Supports the COO in facilitating and managing team building, developing a collaborative working environment and a culture of innovation and positive leadership, participating in the appraisal process, as required
3. Supports the COO in facilitating and ensuring compliance with the current data protection laws and company data protection policy and procedures.
4. Promotes Equal Opportunities and affirm that staff, colleagues, patients and others who encounter Eastern AHSN are afforded equality of treatment and opportunities. Support the COO in ensuring that an effective and appropriate Equality and Diversity policy is developed and maintained for Eastern AHSN.  All staff will be required to observe Eastern AHSN’s Equality and Diversity policy in every aspect of their work.  They must avoid any behaviour which discriminates against colleagues, potential employees, patients or clients on any grounds.

Given the ongoing changes within the NHS and the developing agenda of the Academic Health Science Networks, this job description provides an overview only of the key initial requirements of the post.  The post holder will be required to commit to flexibility and responsiveness, as the requirements of the post are certain to change over time

Person specification