Job summary
- Main area
- Administration
- Grade
- Band 4
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Part time - 30 hours per week
- Job ref
- 364-B-157
- Employer
- Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- The Laurels
- Town
- Epping
- Salary
- £28,392 - £31,157 per annum, pro rata for part time
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 26/06/2026 23:59
Employer heading
PA to Senior Management Team
Band 4
Please be aware that, due to current allocation constraints, Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) are being prioritised for registered roles at this time.
Our Trust cares for more than 100,000 patients at any one time across our community health, mental health and learning disability services across Essex and parts of Bedfordshire and Suffolk.
We want you to be part of our journey of transformation, where our patients and their families are at the heart of everything we do and to achieve our vision to be the leading health and wellbeing service in the provision of mental health and community care.
You’ll be part of a Trust where you will be supported to be your authentic self and be the best you can be, where we will help you to grow, develop and thrive.
The Trust is recognised by the University of Essex and is a top provider of apprenticeships for people looking to be an assistant practitioner, senior health care support worker (CAP). Our trailblazing CAP apprenticeship won a national HSJ Award.
We are also recognised as a Veteran Aware Trust and holder of gold accreditation from the Ministry of Defence Employment Recognition Scheme. Our services are highlighted as an exemplar of good practice, producing the best care for more than 3.500 armed forces veterans in the past seven years.
We have been shortlisted and won national awards. We are an inclusive organisation and Level 3 Disability Confident Leader Trust.
We are constantly innovating and looking for new ways to deliver care, such as using technology to enhance patient care and working with partners to launch new services such as the Basildon Mental Health Urgent Care Department, virtual hospitals and falls response cars.
Join us and you’ll do the best work of your life – and make a difference to other people’s lives. What we do together, matters.
Job overview
We are looking to recruit an experienced, enthusiastic and highly motivated Personal Assistant to provide comprehensive Personal Assistant administrative service to support the work of the Deputy Director of Community Mental Health and Physical Services, and Senior management Team as appropriate.
Main duties of the job
- You will be expected to work collaboratively with key partner organisations and colleagues across the Trust
Working for our organisation
Valuing you. Recognising your dedication. At EPUT, we look after you.
- Receive supervision and support to help you fulfil your potential.
- Join an inclusive EPUT community and connect with others through engagement events and equality or champion networks.
- If you need help, we provide mental health and wellbeing services, occupational health advice and counselling.
Benefits
- 27 days holiday, plus bank holidays, rising to 33 days after 10 years’ service.
- Excellent pension of up to 14.5% of your pensionable pay.
- Staff discounts include Blue Light Card, NHS discount offers, and staff benefits.
- Season ticket loans are interest-free to cover the cost of travelling to and from work via tram, rail, or bus.
Work that wraps around your needs
- Job share: Applications for job shares are welcomed.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
- To provide a full and confidential secretarial and administrative service to the Deputy Director of Community Mental Health and Physical Services and senior management team. The complexity of this role requires a high degree of organisational skills particularly in diary management and time management.
- Manage the diaries of the Deputy Director of Community Mental Health and Physical Services and senior management team as agreed and take decisions on their behalf in prioritising and re-arranging diary commitments.
- To communicate on a daily basis ensuring that deadlines are met with the Team Manager’s and all levels of staff on operational issues
- To attend appropriate meetings, prepare Agenda’s take/ transcribe accurate minutes and distribute accordingly with appropriate paperwork.
- To ensure that all files, relevant documentation and supporting papers are available for the senior management team prior to any meetings taking place.
- To identify deadlines, to prioritise workload to meet internal and external deadlines, to manage workload using own initiative with minimal supervision.
- To process all incoming and outgoing correspondence, ensuring rapid and appropriate distribution of information and to co-ordinate responses from community teams also circulating documents/reports as required from the Trust Information system.
- To ensure that there is efficient and effective electronic and manual filing and retrieval system in operation with a functioning brought forward system.
- To receive visitors and deal with telephone enquiries. Answering emails, correspondence enquiries where necessary otherwise signposting to the relevant member of the senior management team or appropriate department.
- To arrange meetings, book venues and arrange refreshments, preparing and distributing papers as requested/required necessary.
- To manage and administer a range of operational procedures including on-call rota, administration of the West Clinical Incident Review Group meeting and or/other investigation procedures.
- Manage and administer procurement and ordering procedures and systems for the Deputy Director of Community Mental Health and Physical Services and senior management team including receiving, checking and coding relevant invoices in a timely manager in accordance with standing financial instructions.
- To enter onto Health Roster shifts for the Deputy Director of Community Mental Health and Physical Services and mileage claims, also maintaining accurate records relating to annual leave, sickness. Informing managers on a monthly basis up-do-date accurate Trust sickness/absence/study leave information.
- In times of service need to provide PA/secretarial cover for Directors PA’s as appropriate, in cases of absence/sickness and leave also support to the Community Managers, The post holder may be asked to visit other sites for meetings and attend evening events if required.
- To work autonomously on own initiative to manage workload and prioritise tasks in support of the Deputy Director of Community Mental Health and Physical Services.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Good General Education with Maths and GCSE standard or Equivalent
- NVQ level 3 Business Administration / and or equivalent experience
Desirable criteria
- Recognised Qualification
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Advanced level knowledge of IT systems in particular Microsoft Office Packages
Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience of providing PA support to senior managers/directors and working in a team environment
- Previous experience working in an administrative/secretarial environment
Desirable criteria
- Previous experience of working in the NHS
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
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Nina Gough
- Job title
- Deputy Director West Essex
- Email address
- [email protected]
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