Job overview
The post holder will be responsible for the supervision and line management of a varied and efficient secretarial team who provide a typist and administration service to a specialist clinical team. The team consists of secretaries, administration staff and apprentices.
The post holder will also provide support to the delivery of the skin cancer pathway within the head and neck service. This will include administration and secretarial support to enable provision of patient care and speciality services. Good communication with patients, relatives, general practitioners and other hospital staff is essential to ensure a proficient, high-quality service for patients and clinician.
The post holder will be responsible for ensuring that the resources within the team is used appropriately to provide a full service to the clinical team. Building relationships with clinical colleagues is a key part of this role to understand the service and work together to deliver a high standard of administration and secretarial support.
The post holder will be responsible for the team achieving both the national and local targets related to typing and administration where relevant.
The post holder will be required to work as part of a team with the speciality co-ordinator(s). Providing cross cover for annual leave and absences where necessary.
Main duties of the job
Line management/supervisory responsibility of non-clinical staff and responsibility for one clinician.
Identify and provide training, education and development of staff within the team.
Oversee the quality and accuracy of administration tasks and typing standards.
Minor budgetary responsibilities.
Creating a culture of positivity and collaborative working within the team.
Ensuring diversity and inequalities are understood and supported within the team environment.
Managing the pathway for patients referred in under the two-week wait ensuring they are monitored to minimise/avoid breach
Carrying out regular review and administrative validation of the clinician’s return outpatient wait list, supporting the delivery of new and follow up outpatient appointments with appropriate tracking being applied to patients.
Supporting the achievement of Trust performance by ensuring administrative standards are met e.g. typing times, test results passed to clinician and any potential cancer wait time standard breaches are escalated to the clinician, or AGM/DGM to avoid breach.
Ensuring all clinic cancellations/alterations are dealt with efficiently and in line with the Trust’s 8 week annual/study leave policy.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see job description attached for more information detailing the main duties and responsibilities of the role.
Person specification
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working as a secretary
- Appropriate experience in a hospital or office environment
- Understanding and previous experience in medical terminology
- IT experience of Microsoft Office packages
- Experience of supervising a staff team / leading a team
Qualifications
Essential
- Educated to GCSE grade C or above (or equivalent) in literacy and numeracy
- RSA Level three/Speed typing qualification or demonstrable experience (min 60 wpm)
- NVQ level three in administration or equivalent experience
Knowledge / Skills
Essential
- Able to prioritise own workload and that of others as appropriate
- Personally resilient and able to manage complexity and work in an ambiguous or changing environment.
- Excellent presentational, communication and interpersonal skills
- Good command and understanding of English, punctuation and grammar
Desirable
- Knowledge and awareness of health and safety issues, risk management, and data protection act
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Applying for this NHS job
This advert is for Head & Neck Secretary Supervisor, Band 4 with Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Cheltenham, South West, England. It is listed as a Band 4 Administrative and IT role. The advertised salary is £28,392 - £31,157 (pa, pro rata if part-time). The contract type is Permanent. The application deadline is 20 Jul 2026.
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