About this role
Job summary An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced and highly organised Administrative Assistant/Secretary to provide comprehensive administrative, secretarial, governance and project support across the Community Paediatrics Children in Care Health Team and Safeguarding/Vulnerable Children's Services. Working closely with the Designated Doctor, Named Doctor and Nurse for Looked After Children, Specialist Children in Care Nurses, and Safeguarding Professionals and wider multi-disciplinary teams, the post holder will play a key role in supporting the delivery of statutory safeguarding and children in care services. The successful candidate will coordinate meetings and clinics, manage diaries, prepare reports and correspondence, support governance processes, maintain accurate records and contribute to service development, quality improvement and audit activity. The role requires excellent organisational, communication and IT skills, together with the ability to handle highly sensitive and confidential information professionally. This is a varied and rewarding position requiring the ability to work independently and across multiple teams while ensuring services continue to meet statutory requirements, performance standards and operational demands. The post holder will also provide cross-cover during periods of annual leave, sickness and increased service pressures, helping to maintain effective support for vulnerable children and young people across Cornwall.
Main duties of the job Providing dedicated administrative and secretarial support to Community Paediatrics Looked After Children and Safeguarding/ Vulnerable Children's Teams. Managing correspondence, reports, discharge summaries and other documentation using advanced typing and audio transcription skills. Coordinating diaries, annual leave records, training compliance, appraisal tracking and workforce monitoring processes. Organising clinics, meetings, safeguarding supervision sessions, strategy discussions and multi-agency forums, including preparing agendas, taking minutes and maintaining action logs. Supporting waiting list management and monitoring statutory timescales, escalating concerns where service delivery may be affected. Acting as a key point of contact for the Named Nurse, clinicians, service users, carers and partner agencies, handling sensitive enquiries professionally and confidentially. Maintaining and updating information across a range of healthcare and safeguarding systems, including PAS, Maxims, National Spine, Child Health systems and other service databases. Producing reports, presentations, audit information and performance data to support governance, quality improvement and service development activities. Supporting recruitment, training events, communications, project work and service user engagement initiatives. Providing cross-cover for colleagues during periods of annual leave, sickness absence and increased service demand to ensure business
About us
Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust (RCHT) is at the heart of acute and specialist care for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. We care for a population of around 470,000 people, a number that rises significantly during peak visitor seasons. We employ around 6,700 staff, united by a shared commitment to deliver safe, high-quality care. We provide services across three main hospital sites, with around 780 inpatient beds:
Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro St Michael's Hospital in Hayle West Cornwall Hospital in Penzance As a teaching hospital, we are proud to work in partnership with the University of Exeter Medical School, the University of Plymouth School of Nursing and Midwifery, and Peninsula Dental School, supporting the next generation of health professionals while continually strengthening our own services.
Education and lifelong learning are central to who we are. The Knowledge Spa, located on the Royal Cornwall Hospital site, is a vibrant hub for medical, nursing and professional education across clinical and non-clinical roles. It plays a vital role in attracting, developing and retaining highly skilled teams who support the care of more than half a million people every year.
We are driven by one clear ambition - Outstanding Care for One and All - care that's safe, kind and high-quality, for every patient and every staff member. We are RCHT.
Job description Job responsibilities
PLEASE NOTE: To view the full Job Description and Person Specification, please click the supporting document on the right-hand side.
To be an employee of the NHS you need to successfully complete the following:
Identity Checks Professional registration and qualification checks Employment history and reference checks Occupational Health clearance Satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service check Right to work in the UK For further information please visit:
https://www.nhsemployers.org/topics-networks/employment-standards-and-regulation
We reserve the right to close this advert early.
We may be able to offer flexible working. Please discuss at interview.
Person Specification
Skills Essential
Able to communicate effectively with staff of different disciplines, Trusts and Agencies including matters of a complex and sensitive nature Advanced keyboard skills. Ability to work within prescribed Trust Policies and to timescales as directed by the Named Nurse, Children in Care.
Desirable
Excellent working knowledge and use of IT systems used within a Healthcare setting e.g. PAS, Maxims, Dragon Excel, National Spine and Care Plus.
Experience Essential
Previous office experience Excellent communication skills
Desirable
Previous office experience working in a Healthcare environment. Previous experience of working with Microsoft Office packages Medical Terminology
Qualification Essential
2 GCSE's in Maths & English
Desirable
Previous office experience working in a Healthcare environment. Previous experience of working with Microsoft Office packages
Desirable Desirable
Experience within safeguarding, Children in Care, SEND or children's services.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Certificate of Sponsorship Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Employer details Employer name Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust
Address Pendragon House
Royal Cornwall Hospital
Truro
TR1 3LJ
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.royalcornwall.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)