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Job summary

Main area
Admin
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 5
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref
374-ED2085
Employer
East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
ESHT but could be hybrid
Town
EDGH
Salary
£32,073 - £39,043 per annum, pro rata
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
03/09/2026 23:59

Employer heading

East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust logo

SPN Programme Support Officer

NHS AfC: Band 5

We are proud to provide ‘Outstanding’ care and be a great place to work.

East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust provides safe, compassionate and high quality hospital and community care to the half a million people living in East Sussex and those who visit our local area. 


We are one of the largest organisations in East Sussex with an annual income of £700 million and we are the only integrated provider of acute and community care in Sussex. 


Our extensive health services are provided by over 8,000+ dedicated members of staff working from two acute hospitals in Hastings and Eastbourne, three community hospitals in Bexhill, Rye and Uckfield, over 100 community sites across East Sussex, and in people’s own homes. 


The Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated us as ‘Good’ overall, and ‘Outstanding’ for being Caring and Effective. The Conquest Hospital in Hastings and our Community Services were rated ‘Outstanding’ and Eastbourne DGH was rated ‘Good’ Our two acute hospitals have Emergency Departments and provide 24 hour a day care, offering a comprehensive range of surgical, medical, outpatient and maternity services, supported by a full range of diagnostic and therapy services. 

 

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a organised and proactive Programme Support Officer to join the Sussex Pathology Network. This Band 5 role will provide administrative, coordination and analytical support to the SPN Programme Manager and programme team, helping deliver projects that support the development, governance and transformation of pathology services across Sussex. The successful candidate will support programme delivery by coordinating meetings, preparing agendas, producing minutes, maintaining action logs and monitoring progress against actions. They will assist with project plans, milestones, risks, issues and dependencies, ensuring accurate information is available to support reporting and decision making. The role requires excellent organisational, communication and IT skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities, work independently and develop effective working relationships with colleagues across the network and partner organisations. The postholder will support data collection, analysis and reporting, contribute to project documentation and highlight reports, and help maintain systems for sharing information across programme activities. We are looking for an individual with strong administrative experience, attention to detail and confidence using Microsoft Office applications. Experience of working within the NHS, supporting programmes or projects, analysing data, tracking actions or contributing to change initiatives would be advantageous.

Main duties of the job

  • Provide high-quality administrative and coordination support to the SPN Programme Manager and wider programme team, including arranging meetings, preparing agendas, taking minutes, maintaining action logs and following up agreed actions.
  • Support the development, monitoring and maintenance of programme and project plans, milestones, risks, issues, dependencies and documentation in line with agreed programme management approaches.
  • Prepare and contribute to highlight reports, updates, briefings and ad hoc reports, ensuring information is accurate, timely and presented clearly to support decision-making.
  • Coordinate effective information sharing across SPN projects and stakeholders, maintaining accessible systems and documentation to support programme delivery and governance.
  • Collect, analyse and present data to support project delivery, service improvement, resource planning and monitoring of progress against agreed priorities

Working for our organisation

A wide range of staff benefits are available to our staff including staff development, enrolment in the NHS pension scheme, auto-enrolment to our Temporary Workforce Service, access to onsite nurseries. staff restaurants and accommodation.

In addition to an internal Occupational Health department, all staff also have access to free psychological support through our confidential Employee Assistance Programme. Onsite parking is available from only £50 a year. 

There has never been a better time to join East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, submit your application today.

Statement on the Use of AI

We value the individuality that each candidate brings to the application process. While we understand that AI tools are widely available, we strongly discourage applicants from using AI-generated content when applying for jobs with us. We believe that your application should reflect your true skills, experiences, and motivations, which are best conveyed through your own words and unique perspective.

Using AI for your application may not accurately represent your knowledge, skills, and experience and may result in a disconnect between your qualifications and our assessment of your application.

We encourage applicants to take the time to thoughtfully complete their applications; by doing so, you allow us to better understand your true potential and ensure a fair and transparent evaluation of your application. Over reliance on AI-generated content may diminish your chance of success.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please refer to the job description attached.

If you have any questions about this position please do not hesitate to contact us.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • Good level of general education including Maths and English.
  • Evidence of continued professional development to degree level or equivalent level of knowledge and experience.
  • ECDL or alternative IT qualification or evidence of equivalent IT knowledge and experience – advanced skills in Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Outlook.
Desirable criteria
  • Prince 2 or alternative project management qualification.
  • Presentation skills training.

Experience

Essential criteria
  • Significant experience in a secretarial / administrative role, preferably in the NHS within an acute or community trust at senior administration level.
  • Experience of administrative procedures including coordinating and managing the administration of meetings at a senior level.
  • Substantial experience of data collection and analysis and/or audit of information for decision making.
  • Awareness of service development initiative and/or change management.
  • Evidence of knowledge of a range of statistical/numerical techniques.
  • Strong data analysis and problem solving skills.
  • Awareness of confidentiality issues and value the importance of data management policies.
Desirable criteria
  • Experience in a secretarial / administrative role.
  • Experience of service development initiative or change management.
  • Experience of risks and issues management.
  • Experience of action tracking and resolution.
  • Experience of timescale negotiation.
  • Experience in conducting presentations and taking part in meetings.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

NHS Pastoral Care Quality AwardVeteran AwareApprenticeships logoNo smoking policyDisability confident leaderImproving working livesCare quality commission - GoodArmed Forces Covenant Gold AwardNational Preceptorship for Nursing Quality MarkGold Award 2026 - Wellbeing at Work - East Sussex

Applicant requirements

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Alex Dumbleton
Job title
Head of Programme
Email address
[email protected]
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