Assistant Practice Manager

Job description

Job responsibilities

Job Purpose

The Assistant Practice Manager will support the Practice Manager and Partners in the day to day operational running of Pembroke Medical Group across both sites. The postholder will help deliver safe, efficient and high quality services by supervising administrative teams, coordinating resources, supporting service improvement and ensuring consistent application of practice policies and procedures. The role deputies for the Practice Manager when required within agreed limits, and contributes to planning, compliance and reporting.

Key Responsibilities

Support the daily smooth running of reception, secretarial and administrative workflows; identify and resolve routine operational issues, escalating risks appropriately.

Coordinate staff rotas and cover arrangements; monitor annual leave and sickness and keep workforce planners up to date.

Support onboarding and induction for new starters; coordinate mandatory and role specific training logistics.

Maintain up to date standard operating procedures (SOPs) and practice policies; promote consistent adherence across teams.

Handle patient enquiries and complaints courteously; draft responses and escalate complex cases to the Practice Manager.

Monitor operational KPIs such as appointment utilisation, call handling and workflow turnaround; prepare basic reports for meetings.

Provide day to day supervision and guidance to reception supervisors and administrative teams; promote a positive, supportive culture.

Assist with recruitment administration, interviewing and onboarding activities as delegated.

Support performance conversations, onetoones and appraisals by collating evidence and tracking agreed actions.

Champion staff wellbeing, inclusion and team morale; help plan team briefings and engagement activities.

Support preparation for CQC compliance and ongoing assurance activities; maintain evidence logs and action trackers.

Contribute to nonclinical audit cycles; build simple searches and collate results for review.

Assist with incident, complaint and significant event logging; track learning actions and share outcomes with teams.

Help maintain mandatory training registers and DBS records; chase compliance and produce reports.

Support safeguarding, infection prevention & control and Health & Safety processes; ensure risk assessments and checks are completed and filed.

Process supplier invoices, credit notes and petty cash; assist with reconciliations and monthend checklists.

Support monitoring of income streams (e.g. QOF, Enhanced Services, private work) and help investigate variances.

Assist with private fees administration, cash handling and debt follow up following practice procedures.

Help compile routine business and performance reports for partners and PCN/ICB reporting cycles.

Assist the management and nursing/admin leads with QOF and Enhanced Service tracking; maintain action logs and reminders.

Collate data and draft submissions on relevant portals (CQRS).

Help schedule recalls and campaigns to meet targets and improve patient outcomes.

Coordinate seasonal and targeted clinics (e.g., flu/Covid-19) including rooming, staffing and patient communications.

Support the Patient Participation Group (PPG): schedule meetings, prepare agendas and minutes, and track actions.

Gather and summarise patient feedback (e.g. Friends & Family Test, surveys); propose improvement ideas and support implementation.

Contribute to newsletters and website/noticeboard updates in collaboration with the Digital & Communications lead.

Act as a contact for routine IT queries and keep users informed.

Support effective use of clinical, online access and telephony systems (e.g. EMIS, Klinik and Xon) help with simple configuration and training aids.

Promote good data quality and information governance (IG) practices, including confidentiality, secure handling and retention schedules.

Assist with business continuity and disaster recovery tests; keep asset and access lists current.

Log and track maintenance issues; liaise with contractors/landlords to ensure timely resolution.

Support room allocation and third party bookings to maximise utilisation.

Help ensure site security and safety procedures (alarms, access control, lone working) are followed.

Prepare agendas, papers and minutes for team meetings; circulate promptly and follow up actions.

Produce concise dashboards and update packs to aid decision making.

Deputise for the Practice Manager during short periods of absence within agreed scope, ensuring continuity of day to day operations.

Handle all patient and practice information confidentially in line with Data Protection legislation, NHS guidance and practice policies.

Only share information with authorised individuals for lawful purposes and with appropriate consent or legal basis.

Act in a way that recognises peoples rights and is consistent with practice policies and current legislation.

Respect privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients and colleagues; challenge discriminatory behaviour.

Use personal security systems and safe systems of work as per policy.

Identify risks in work activities and take action to mitigate; escalate hazards and incidents promptly.

Maintain tidy, safe work areas and apply infection prevention & control procedures.

Participate in audits, service evaluations and QI projects.

Reflect on performance (self and team) and make suggestions to enhance effectiveness and patient experience.

Communicate clearly and professionally with patients, carers and colleagues; adapt approach to meet diverse needs.

Participate in appraisal and maintain a record of CPD; undertake training required for the role and share learning with peers.

Apply practice policies, standards and guidance; discuss implications with the team and support implementation of agreed changes.

Person Specification

Personal Qualities

Essential

• Polite, professional and compassionate, excellent interpersonal skills.
• Flexible, cooperative and resilient, calm under pressure.
• Proactive, motivated and solutions focused; uses initiative and sound judgement.
• High levels of integrity and confidentiality, team player who builds trust.
• Commitment to continuous improvement.
• Able to work on own initiative

Qualifications

Essential

• Degree Level Qualification
• Leadership-Management Qualification.

Desirable

• NHS-Primary Care training (eg medical terminology, information governance, finance, HR, Project Management).

Other Requirements

Essential

• Flexibility to work occasional hours outside core times when service needs arise.
• Enhanced DBS (or willingness to obtain).
• Ability to travel between sites as required.
• Note: This document may be amended following consultation with the postholder to support the development of the role, the practice and the individual. All personnel may be required to accept additional, or surrender existing duties, to enable the efficient running of the practice.

Experience

Essential

• Customer facing service experience and handling challenging situations.
• Supervising-leading teams in a busy environment.
• Experience of producing agendas, minutes and action logs.

Desirable

• Primary care or wider NHS experience.
• Exposure to workforce planning-rotas and HR administration.
• Financial administration (invoicing, reconciliations, cash handling).
• Experience supporting audits/quality improvement and compliance activity.

Skills & Knowledge

Essential

• Excellent written and verbal communication, confident interpersonal skills.
• Strong organisational and IT skills.
• Effective planning, prioritisation and time management.
• Problem solving and analytical skills; attention to detail.
• Ability to analyse processes and implement improvements.
• Understanding of confidentiality, safeguarding and data protection.

Desirable

• Working knowledge of EMIS, Klinik and X-on ability to learn new systems rapidly.
• Awareness of QOF/Enhanced Services and primary care workflows.
• Experience with service improvement initiatives
• Knowledge of NHS systems and procedures

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.

Employer details

Employer name

Pembroke Medical Group

Address

266-268 Torquay Road

Paignton

Devon

TQ3 2EZ

Employer's website

https://pembrokehousesurgery.co.uk (Opens in a new tab)