Job vacancy: Business Support Officer, Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Radlett

Job summary

Main area: Estates
Grade: NHS AfC: Band 5
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref: 367-CORP-9889

Employer: Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type: NHS
Site: 1 Bowlers Green
Town: Radlett
Salary: £32,602 - £39,686 per annum
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 10/12/2025 23:59

Business Support Officer

NHS AfC: Band 5

Values Based Screener

At Hertfordshire Partnership Foundation Trust we are looking for people to join us who share our values and those of the NHS. Before your application can be considered please take part on our online values questionnaire, which you can find below. When you have finished you will be sent a 'completion code' by email, which will be valid for 6 months and required to submit your application form.

http://hpft.recruitforvalues.co

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Governance & Meeting Management

Full administration of governance and project-related meetings including HPFT Estates Steering Group, Sustainability Steering Group, Capital Works & Operations, EMED Contract Review, Soft FM Tender, Green Travel Plan, and Eastern Hub.

Prepare agendas, briefing packs, reports, and accurate minutes; maintain action trackers to monitor delivery of project and operational objectives.

Provide executive-level reporting for the Associate Director, Head of Operations, and Project Leads.
Project Management Support
Support Estates & Facilities projects and programmes by:

- · Coordinating project plans, timelines, and milestones.
- · Tracking risks, issues, actions, and dependencies, escalating where required.
- · Preparing progress reports, dashboards, and exception reports for senior management and committees.
- · Supporting stakeholder engagement, consultations, and workshops.
- · Provide secretariat and documentation support for project boards and working groups.
- · Monitor project deliverables, ensuring alignment with Trust objectives and reporting frameworks.
- · Support post-project evaluation, lessons learned, and continuous improvement activities.

Business Administration & Executive Support

· Provide proactive diary and inbox management for the Associate Director and Head of Operations.

· Prepare and coordinate high-quality executive reports, business cases, and presentations for Trust Boards and Committees.

· Coordinate departmental team meetings and induction of new staff.

· Maintain up-to-date directories, site lists, organograms, and intranet content.

Operational & People Administration

· Manage records of annual leave, sickness, mandatory training, and appraisals, ensuring compliance with Trust policies.

· Support recruitment processes including vacancy submissions, adverts, and interview coordination.

· Maintain personnel records and support HR/Payroll compliance.

Procurement & Financial Administration

· Raise and track purchase requisitions (PRs), purchase orders (POs), and invoices, maintaining a PO register via SharePoint.

· Support project budget monitoring, expenditure reporting, and forecasting.

· Liaise with Finance and suppliers to ensure accurate financial administration.

Freedom of Information (FOI)

· Act as lead contact for Estates FOI requests across HPFT & HCT.

· Log, allocate, and track requests ensuring statutory deadlines are met.

· Maintain FOI database and liaise with stakeholders for accurate responses.

Communication & Stakeholder Management

· Act as a first point of contact for Estates enquiries, dealing with queries from staff, contractors, and external partners.

· Build strong working relationships with senior stakeholders, project leads, and external suppliers.

· Communicate diplomatically, providing accurate information and updates on Estates & Facilities projects and operations.

Service Development & Improvement

· Contribute to continuous improvement of administrative and project management systems, including implementation of digital filing, SharePoint, and paperless processes.

· Suggest and implement improvements to governance, reporting, and project tracking systems.

Health, Safety & Equality

· Support departmental Health & Safety compliance, ensuring policies are up-to-date and accessible.

· Act as Fire Warden for the department, ensuring induction and training for new staff on fire procedures.

· Uphold Trust values on Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in all aspects of work.

Person specification

QUALIFICATIONS/EDUCATION/TRAINING

Essential criteria

Knowledge of administrative and organisational policies and procedures, acquired through training and relevant experience to degree level or equivalent.
Knowledge of secretarial and administrative procedures and systems, acquired through training and experience to Vocational Level 3 or equivalent.

Desirable criteria

Membership of relevant professional body
Additional training in project management or governance.

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE

Essential criteria

Expertise within own specialism, underpinned by practical experience
Proven experience in business administration, governance, and project management support within a large and complex organisation.
Knowledge and experience to deal with non-routine issues such as problem solving for an area of work or developing alternative procedures.

Desirable criteria

Experience in delivering training or mentoring staff.

SKILLS/KNOWLEDGE/ABILITY

Essential criteria

Excellent IT skills, including advanced use of Microsoft Office, SharePoint, and digital systems.
Knowledge of specialist functional/medical/legal/estates terms, organisational policies, and procedures.
Range of work procedures and practices, the majority non-routine; intermediate theoretical knowledge.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Essential criteria

Provide and receive complex, sensitive information requiring persuasive, motivational, and negotiating skills.
Ability to communicate complex information with staff internally and externally across the organisation.
Proven ability to build and maintain effective working relationships.
Ability to handle confidential and sensitive information appropriately.

Desirable criteria

Experience in stakeholder engagement at a regional or national level.

ANALYTICAL SKILLS

Essential criteria

Ability to solve non-routine problems and develop alternative or additional procedures.

Desirable criteria

Experience in data analysis and reporting to support decision-making.

PHYSICAL SKILLS

Essential criteria

Proficient computer and keyboard skills to manipulate spreadsheets, reports, and digital systems.

Desirable criteria

Car driver (unless prevented by disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010).

MENTAL EFFORT

Essential criteria

Regular requirement for concentration with frequent interruptions.
Requirement to manage competing priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.

EMOTIONAL EFFORT

Essential criteria

Requirement to deal with sensitive, confidential, and potentially distressing information.

About us

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (HPFT) is rated by the Care Quality Commission as an Outstanding provider of mental health and learning disability services. In 2021, we won the prestigious Health Service Journal award for Mental Health Trust of the Year, with the judges saying they were “blown away” by our people’s achievements and that everything they saw “sings and hums”. This year, our staff rated us the 4^th best mental health and learning disability trust to work for out of all 52 trusts in the country. Our staff tell us that they are proud to be part of the HPFT team, proud of the standard of care we provide and proud that service users are our top priority. Our people tell us they feel supported though a great development, wellbeing and work-life balance offer and a highly compassionate, values-driven culture. We are equally proud of our staff, who live our values of being welcoming, kind, positive, respectful and professional so that together we provide great care and great outcomes for our service users and carers.

If you would like to join a team to be proud of and you share our values and passion for great care and outcomes for our service users and carers, we would love to hear from you.

Additional Information

HPFT is committed to being an equal opportunities employer and in order to reflect the diversity of its population, positively encourages applications from all areas of the community. We aim to be a representative organisation with regards to age, disability, ethnicity, gender, beliefs and sexual orientation and are fully committed to equality, diversity and human rights and encourage applications from all sections of the community including users of mental health services.

The Trust is committed to helping staff balance work and home life and welcomes applications from candidates wishing to work part-time or under flexible working arrangements.

Infection Control

All our staff will need to comply with current Infection Prevention and Control measures which could include wearing a mask on all our Trust sites and in all roles

AI Usage Guidance

While Artificial Intelligence (AI) can aid you in completing your application, these tools cannot fully grasp the context of requirements of the job you’re applying for, nor can they accurately reflect your skills, knowledge and experience. Please ensure you have tailored your application before submitting it.

For further information, please refer to the Trust’s guidance on AI usage document which can be found below.

Visa and Immigration

Candidates who require a Skilled Worker visa to work in the United Kingdom can determine the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship for this position by assessing their circumstances against the criteria specified on the Check if you need a UK visa - GOV.UK website. We would encourage all applicants to review the criteria carefully to understand their eligibility for sponsorship.