County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust

Senior Medical Secretary/Team Lead

The closing date is 09 July 2025

Job summary

To provide supervision of a team of medical secretaries on a day to day basis, including management and co-ordination of leave and cover arrangements; undertaking appraisals; ensuring compliance with mandatory training etc. To work as part of the medical secretarial team providing admin support as required.Ensure clinical activity is managed and risks identified across Paediatrics.

Ensure clinical sessions are utilised effectively.

Work closely with the Admin Manager/Operational Manager to provide support.

Main duties of the job

To provide supervision of a team of medical secretaries on a day to day basis, including management and co-ordination of leave and cover arrangements; undertaking appraisals and ensuring compliance with mandatory training.

Monitor, record sickness absence for admin staff and take appropriate action when necessary, completing referrals to occupational health as necessary in line with managing absence policy.

To undertake agreed appropriate tasks for Consultants to support the specialty team, as required

To support development of and ensure consistent and standardised implementation of policies and procedures across the secretarial team

To ensure day to day delivery of medical secretarial services across the specialty team, escalating any issues which may affect operational delivery against standards and which have not been able to be resolved within the team

To ensure newly appointed medical secretarial staff are trained to the required level

To monitor workload and performance against accuracy and timeliness standards across the secretarial team, taking any necessary corrective action to ensure these are met.

RTT and validation of patient waiting lists.

About us

If you are being interviewed you must accept an interview slot in the system to continue, even if you have arranged with the manager.

You must be able to produce ALL certificates stated essential in the person specification or you will not be able to complete pre-employment checks.

We provide hospital services from two acute sites - Darlington Memorial Hospital and University Hospital of North Durham. We have a centre for planned care in Bishop Auckland and provide care from community hospitals in Chester-le-Street, Shotley Bridge, Barnard Castle, Sedgefield and Weardale as well as over 80 other community based settings and providing care in patients' homes.

We particularly welcome applications from disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as BAME and disabled people are currently under-represented.

Full Job Descriptions can be found in the adverts supporting documents.

Over reliance on AI-generated content is discouraged and may diminish the applicant's chances of success.

For the most up-to-date information on visa requirements and eligibility, please check online to determine whether you can apply.

From April 9th 2025 - Healthcare assistants - You must have a minimum of two years of experience working within the NHS as a HCA for the Trust to consider sponsorship (we will only consider sponsorship if you meet this criteria and have a current visa expiring within 3 months).

Date posted

25 June 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 4

Salary

£26,530 to £29,114 a year per annum pro rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Job share, Flexible working, Home or remote working, Compressed hours

Reference number

C9439-2526-0314

Job locations

University Hospital Of North Durham

North Road

Durham

DH1 5TW

Job description

Job responsibilities

Senior Medical Secretary/Team Lead will perform Medical Secretary tasks and provide support to Consultants within the speciality team. In addition, you will provide supervision to Medical Secretaries.

Please view the full job description attached with the advert.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please view the full job description attached with the advert.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

Relevant experience of working in a busy office environment in the NHS.
Experience of booking appointments.
Knowledge of secretarial procedures.
Experience of supervising/training junior administration staff.

Desirable

Experience of taking minutes at multi-disciplinary meetings.
Previous medical secretary role.

Qualifications

Essential

NVQ Level 4 or equivalent experience plus relevant practical experience to diploma level.
Minimum of 5 GCSE's (or equivalent) at C grade or above, including English Language.

Special Skills & Knowledge

Essential

Ability to think analytically.
Ability to recognize and advise management team on operational issues affecting waiting lists and capacity.
Knowledge of data protection and Caldicott Principles and understanding of the need to maintain strict confidentiality.
Good interpersonal skills.
Ability to communicate accurately, verbally and courteously and effectively with a wide range of staff, professionals and members of the public.
Able to work with minimal supervision following set procedures.
Flexible approach to work and adaptable to change.
Proficient IT skills and experience of using a wideange of software packages e.g. Power Point, Excel and Microsoft Word.
Comprehensive knowledge of the 18 week patient pathway and clock stops.
Comprehensive knowledge of secretarial and administrative procedures and the ability to undertake associated tasks ensuring adherence to defined procedures and guidelines.
Able to use own initiative to resolve routine queries, in line with departmental procedures.
Committed to quality customer care/delivering excellent customer service.

Desirable

Working knowledge of Patient Booking Systems.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

Relevant experience of working in a busy office environment in the NHS.
Experience of booking appointments.
Knowledge of secretarial procedures.
Experience of supervising/training junior administration staff.

Desirable

Experience of taking minutes at multi-disciplinary meetings.
Previous medical secretary role.

Qualifications

Essential

NVQ Level 4 or equivalent experience plus relevant practical experience to diploma level.
Minimum of 5 GCSE's (or equivalent) at C grade or above, including English Language.

Special Skills & Knowledge

Essential

Ability to think analytically.
Ability to recognize and advise management team on operational issues affecting waiting lists and capacity.
Knowledge of data protection and Caldicott Principles and understanding of the need to maintain strict confidentiality.
Good interpersonal skills.
Ability to communicate accurately, verbally and courteously and effectively with a wide range of staff, professionals and members of the public.
Able to work with minimal supervision following set procedures.
Flexible approach to work and adaptable to change.
Proficient IT skills and experience of using a wideange of software packages e.g. Power Point, Excel and Microsoft Word.
Comprehensive knowledge of the 18 week patient pathway and clock stops.
Comprehensive knowledge of secretarial and administrative procedures and the ability to undertake associated tasks ensuring adherence to defined procedures and guidelines.
Able to use own initiative to resolve routine queries, in line with departmental procedures.
Committed to quality customer care/delivering excellent customer service.

Desirable

Working knowledge of Patient Booking Systems.

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

County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust

Address

University Hospital Of North Durham

North Road

Durham

DH1 5TW

Employer's website

https://www.cddft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust

Address

University Hospital Of North Durham

North Road

Durham

DH1 5TW

Employer's website

https://www.cddft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)