Job vacancy: Administration Assistant, The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, 317 01 Freeman Hospital

Job summary

Main area: 317 CR Team 1 521000
Grade: Band 3
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref: 317-2025-22-037

Employer: The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type: NHS
Site: Freeman Hospital
Town: 317 01 Freeman Hospital
Salary: £24,625 - £25,674 per annum
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 06/07/2025 23:59
Interview date: 22/07/2025

Administration Assistant

Band 3

Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the busiest and largest NHS foundation trusts in the country, with around 15,000 staff and an annual budget of £1.6 billion.

We have a long history of providing high quality care, clinical excellence, and innovation in medical research regionally, nationally and internationally.

We’re in the top five providers of specialised health services in the country, supporting people with a range of rare and complex medical, surgical and neurological conditions, cancers and genetic orders.

Our staff oversee around 6,500 patient contacts each day, delivering high standards of healthcare.

We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and recognise the benefit in providing an inclusive environment. We value and respect the diversity of our employees and aim to recruit a workforce which reflects the communities we serve, and is equipped to deliver the best service to our patients. We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.

Newcastle Hospitals are proud to be one of the exemplar organisations across the NHS on sustainability, with a long history of delivering Sustainable Healthcare in Newcastle (Shine) and the first healthcare organisation in the world to declare a climate emergency. Our strategy includes commitments to being Net Zero by 2030, for our direct carbon footprint, and Net Zero by 2040 for our footprint plus. Delivering these ambitions will not be possible without the help, support and action of every single member of our team.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Act as first point of contact for Research queries/suggestions/problems; signposting to relevant person/team efficiently and effectively. Receive and deal with incoming queries via Reception, generic mailboxes, email, telephone and face to face in a polite, customer focused and professional manner, redirecting/signposting and/or using initiative to deal with queries where appropriate and assignment to relevant personnel and follow up until query closure
Assist with production of letters, documents & reports in relation to Research as directed by Line Manager/team
Contribute to implementation of systems/processes in ensuring systems work effectively and efficiently in relation to the role
Contribute to a comprehensive efficient and effective administration and clerical service to the Research Secretarial Team

As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.

Person specification

Qualifications & Education

Essential criteria

• Good general education (with GCSE English Language or equivalent at grade 4 or above)
• NVQ level 3 (or equivalent qualification/experience) plus relevant practical experience of working in an office environment

Knowledge & Experience

Essential criteria

• NHS experience and working knowledge of confidentiality issues

Desirable criteria

• Experience in Research administration and understanding of research terminology
• Knowledge and understanding of NIHR procedures and objectives
• Knowledge of Research Governance Framework and current national systems for clinical research in the NHS
• Experience of organising diaries, meetings, patient appointments and allocation of resources
• Experience of using Calendars Mail Groups, and working knowledge of NHS system i.e. eRecord, ATOM, Oracle etc.
• Experience of using and working with databases
• NHS secretarial experience

Skills & Abilities

Essential criteria

• Ability to exercise independence and judgement in the arrangement of administrative work, within laid down policy and procedures
• IT skills to include office packages e.g. Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint
• Excellent organisational, communication and interpersonal skills

Important note on completion of reference section of Application Form

All references from current and previous employers will be sought and must cover a minimum of 3 years employment. Therefore, when completing the reference section of your application form, please give the address, telephone number and work email address of each of your current/previous line managers that cover 3 years employment. Failure to complete this section may result in your application not being processed.

Please note it is a requirement of The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust that all successful candidates who require a DBS for the post they have been offered pay for their DBS certificate. The method of payment is a salary deduction from your first month’s pay.

Candidates who are shortlisted for interview will be contacted by e-mail. You should check your SPAM folders as well as your inbox. If you have not been contacted within 4 weeks of the closing date you should assume your application has been unsuccessful.