Job overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a organised and proactive Programme Support Officer to join the Sussex Pathology Network. This Band 5 role will provide administrative, coordination and analytical support to the SPN Programme Manager and programme team, helping deliver projects that support the development, governance and transformation of pathology services across Sussex. The successful candidate will support programme delivery by coordinating meetings, preparing agendas, producing minutes, maintaining action logs and monitoring progress against actions. They will assist with project plans, milestones, risks, issues and dependencies, ensuring accurate information is available to support reporting and decision making. The role requires excellent organisational, communication and IT skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities, work independently and develop effective working relationships with colleagues across the network and partner organisations. The postholder will support data collection, analysis and reporting, contribute to project documentation and highlight reports, and help maintain systems for sharing information across programme activities. We are looking for an individual with strong administrative experience, attention to detail and confidence using Microsoft Office applications. Experience of working within the NHS, supporting programmes or projects, analysing data, tracking actions or contributing to change initiatives would be advantageous.
Main duties of the job
- Provide high-quality administrative and coordination support to the SPN Programme Manager and wider programme team, including arranging meetings, preparing agendas, taking minutes, maintaining action logs and following up agreed actions.
- Support the development, monitoring and maintenance of programme and project plans, milestones, risks, issues, dependencies and documentation in line with agreed programme management approaches.
- Prepare and contribute to highlight reports, updates, briefings and ad hoc reports, ensuring information is accurate, timely and presented clearly to support decision-making.
- Coordinate effective information sharing across SPN projects and stakeholders, maintaining accessible systems and documentation to support programme delivery and governance.
- Collect, analyse and present data to support project delivery, service improvement, resource planning and monitoring of progress against agreed priorities
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please refer to the job description attached.
If you have any questions about this position please do not hesitate to contact us.
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.
Person specification
Experience
Essential
- Significant experience in a secretarial / administrative role, preferably in the NHS within an acute or community trust at senior administration level.
- Experience of administrative procedures including coordinating and managing the administration of meetings at a senior level.
- Substantial experience of data collection and analysis and/or audit of information for decision making.
- Awareness of service development initiative and/or change management.
- Evidence of knowledge of a range of statistical/numerical techniques.
- Strong data analysis and problem solving skills.
- Awareness of confidentiality issues and value the importance of data management policies.
Desirable
- Experience in a secretarial / administrative role.
- Experience of service development initiative or change management.
- Experience of risks and issues management.
- Experience of action tracking and resolution.
- Experience of timescale negotiation.
- Experience in conducting presentations and taking part in meetings.
Qualifications
Essential
- Good level of general education including Maths and English.
- Evidence of continued professional development to degree level or equivalent level of knowledge and experience.
- ECDL or alternative IT qualification or evidence of equivalent IT knowledge and experience – advanced skills in Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Outlook.
Desirable
- Prince 2 or alternative project management qualification.
- Presentation skills training.
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Applying for this NHS job
This advert is for SPN Programme Support Officer with East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust in ESHT but could be hybrid. It is listed as a Band 5 Administrative and IT role. The contract type is Permanent. The application deadline is 03 Sep 2026.
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