Executive Assistant to Chief Executive Officer

Executive Assistant to Chief Executive Officer

An opportunity has arisen for a highly efficient and experienced Executive Assistant (EA) to support and coordinate the office for the Chief Executive (CEO) and the Deputy Chief Executive. You will support the CEO in achieving successful delivery through a broad list of tasks that will differ from day to day including managing regular business activities and overseeing the vital logistical functions. You will be required to supervise the Executive support staff within Trust Administration, and the role will report to the Director of Workforce.

The role will have a large focus on leading and driving forward transformational change within the function using digital as an enabler to achieve this. Excellent digital skills and a continuous improvement mindset are essential.

The role involves regular engagement with regional and national NHS offices, and so quality stakeholder management skills will be core to your every-day role. The role will also require engagement with staff and patients, requiring a high level of confidentiality, compassion, kindness, diplomacy, and tact.

The EA role requires you to deliver to exceptionally high standards and at great pace. Attention to detail is pivotal.

You will need to be a calm individual who can work under pressure, meeting tight deadlines and managing a varied and continually changing workload.

Please note this role is a full-time post and requires on-site working Monday to Friday and may on occasion include working outside of business hours.

Main Duties of the Job

This is a role for a highly organized and committed Executive Assistant (EA) with responsibility for the smooth running of the Executive Office. Providing an efficient and effective EA and secretarial service to the Chief Executive (CEO), Deputy CEO, and deputizing in the absence of the Chair’s EA.

The postholder will be able to act on their own initiative and must have excellent negotiation, diplomacy, and interpersonal skills. The role will involve contact on a daily basis with a wide range of people – both internal and external to the organization. The postholder will need to be a team player with very strong communication skills.

The postholder will also be required to supervise the Executive support staff within Trust Administration. Line management responsibilities will be with the Director of Workforce.

The role will drive forward transformational change within the function using digital as an enabler to achieve this.

About Us

The Christie is one of Europe’s leading cancer centres, treating over 60,000 patients a year. We are based in Manchester and serve a population of 3.2 million across Greater Manchester and Cheshire, but as a national specialist, around 15% of patients are referred to us from other parts of the country.

We provide radiotherapy through one of the largest radiotherapy departments in the world; chemotherapy on site and through 14 other hospitals; highly specialist surgery for complex and rare cancer; and a wide range of support and diagnostic services. We are also an international leader in research, with world-first breakthroughs for over 100 years.

We run one of the largest early clinical trial units in Europe with over 300 trials every year. Cancer research in Manchester, most of which is undertaken on the Christie site, has been officially ranked the best in the UK.

Job Responsibilities

Principal Duties and Responsibilities Communications:

The postholder must be able to recognize the importance of confidentiality and sensitivity of issues and at all times is able to act using the utmost discretion.

To work closely with the CEO and Deputy CEO, across all aspects of their work to ensure a complete understanding of their workload. This will include drafting letters, emails, and coordinating responses with minimum supervision and guidance, managing electronic diaries, emails, day-to-day telephone queries, and incoming post in a way that is responsive to their needs and contributes to the effectiveness of their role.

Use initiative in all areas of work in the absence of or on behalf of the CEO and ensure they are kept informed. This involves prioritizing and problem-solving skills and a well-developed ability to relate absorbed knowledge to new emerging problems without guidance.

Ensure that critical issues are brought to the CEO’s attention in a timely manner, ensuring that only appropriate queries are passed on and that the most appropriate people deal with others effectively.

Manage the multiple demands of the CEO and Deputy CEO’s time and proactively manage their complex diaries by forward planning and organizing regular meetings and events.

Assist the CEO to research and prepare reports and presentations, draft and issue letters using a wide range of Microsoft technology.

Ensure that the CEO and Deputy CEO are aware of appointments and that all relevant documents are prepared for each meeting and travel arrangements/accommodation are in place.

Manage complaints on behalf of the CEO in conjunction with the Quality and Standards team ensuring that responses are within set service standards.

Establish, develop and maintain links with key stakeholders including the Department of Health, NHSE, Government Office, MPs, and the wider board.

Administer high level meetings as required including Senior Management Committee (SMC) and the Executive Team meeting. Ensuring that agenda plans, minutes, action logs, and papers are distributed within set deadlines. Attend and take comprehensive minutes as required.

Bring actions from meetings to the attention of the CEO and liaise with the appropriate members of staff to implement the actions. This includes maintaining an efficient brought forward system to effectively monitor work that has been delegated elsewhere and progress/chase outstanding items.

Coordinate arrangements for a variety of meetings, internally and externally, ordering equipment and refreshments ensuring that all reasonable adjustments have been met as required.

Coordinate the rolling programme of performance development reviews and 1:1 meetings with all of the CEO’s direct reports.

Alongside other members of the Executive Assistants be the first point of contact for visitors to the department in person or by telephone. Communicate with tact, understanding, and discretion.

Provide full comprehensive and seamless cover for all duties of the Executive Assistants responsible for supporting the Chair in their absence.

Manage/lead ad-hoc delegated projects as required.

Transformation Change

Lead a continuous programme of sustainable long-term transformational change across the function undertaking benchmarking, monitoring quality standards and maximizing the use of digital technology to create a flexible, agile, cross-covering service.

Maximize the use of digital technology to transform day-to-day tasks creating efficiency and improving effectiveness of the service for example minute taking, rota coordination etc.

Supervision/Managing the Trust Administration Function

Act as a role model for the Trust Executive Assistant team leading by example and providing advice and guidance as required.

Supervise all Executive Assistants within the Executive Office ensuring that work is appropriately prioritized and managed.

Line management responsibility will be with the Director of Workforce for all EAs.

Maintain sickness absence/annual leave/study leave records for all EAs.

To ensure that the office is covered between core hours on site utilizing appropriate rotas for team members.

Foster a culture of mutual support and team working across the whole director portfolios to ensure work is equitably allocated and cover for team members for annual leave or sickness.

Provide cover for all other Executive Assistants in order that a seamless service is provided during annual leave and sickness.

Support the Trust in the effective use of resources, e.g. staff, premises, equipment, supplies, and materials ensuring that costs and waste are kept to a minimum.

Develop and maintain systems and processes to promote monitor and maintain a healthy, safe and secure working environment, ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory requirements maintaining accurate documentation and reporting any concerns.

Governance

Develop and maintain systems and processes to establish and maintain effective communication and confidentiality of information.

Ensure compliance with Trust policies procedures and guidelines for self and others by taking action/alerting senior management team if practice contravenes policy or if concerned about any aspect of patient care.

Person Specification

Qualifications & Experience

• Degree or equivalent experience in related subject and/or environment
• Commitment to continuous professional development.
• Excellent typing/word processing skills and/or OCR/Text production and word processing level 3 or Advanced ECDL or equivalent.
• Experience of working within a business administrative function.
• Experience of working to support all levels of an organization including Board members
• Experience of working within a business administrative function in the NHS
• Supervisory experience

Circumstances

• Able to be mobile across the organization and other locations
• Ability to work flexibly with occasional need to work unsocial hours

Values and Behaviours

• Must demonstrate the Trust’s values
• Recognition of the importance of showing respect, dignity, and compassion to patients and colleagues
• A commitment to work together to create the best outcomes
• A commitment to quality and safety
• A listening and learning approach

Skills

• Experience of working closely with senior colleagues on confidential and sensitive activities
• Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office (including Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint)
• Ability to write, develop, consult, interpret, review, and amend complex information.
• Ability to organize and prioritize work to meet deadlines whilst managing a number of conflicting requirements in a professional manner
• Ability to work accurately under pressure without supervision and direction
• Flexible responsive approach to work
• Flexible self-motivated team worker
• High degree of personal integrity and probity
• Ability to display tact, diplomacy, and discretion when relaying sensitive information
• Experience of setting up and managing performance monitoring systems
• Ability to take notes at meetings and produce accurate, grammatically correct comprehensive minutes
• Ability to supervise and motivate people leading by example
• Ability to lead transformational change utilizing digital technology as an enabler

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.

£46,148 to £52,809 a year, pro rata

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