Job summary
- Main area
- Pathology
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 3
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 190-0579-DIR-S
- Employer
- Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- The Northern General Hospital
- Town
- Sheffield
- Salary
- £24,625 - £25,674 pa/pro rata for part time staff
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 20/07/2025 23:59
- Interview date
- 31/07/2025
Employer heading

Departmental Secretary
NHS AfC: Band 3
We are committed to helping our staff balance their work and home lives and ensure they feel supported, valued and appreciated so whilst you care for our patients and clients, we’ll take care of you. We offer many different ways of helping staff including career development opportunities, flexible working, good annual leave and pension schemes , health and wellbeing packages and financial support systems. Joining the Trust also allows you access to a number of saving options via our salary sacrifice schemes and a wide range of discount opportunities with retailers and service providers.
Job overview
Are you looking for an exciting new challenge in a place to take your career to the next level? Would you like to join a friendly, progressive, innovative team and play a part in the transformation of pathology services across South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw? Do you want to work in a fully UKAS-accredited, modern laboratory environment where you can make a difference?
South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw is divided into several specialist departments including Automated Blood Sciences, Specialist Blood Sciences, Blood Transfusion, Point of Care Testing, Microbiology, Virology and Histology. These departments have laboratories at both the Northern General Hospital and the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield and in some instances are also networked with other external NHS Trusts. The Directorate provides an analytical service that assists in the diagnosis of infection and disease in inpatients, outpatients, and community services in addition to offering specialist testing services to other hospitals.
This role sits within the Outpatients Admin Team who provide admin support based at The Northern General Hospital and requires an experienced and proactive Departmental Secretary with a proven track record in team working in a hospital environment. The post holder must have a proven ability of working independently and take a proactive approach in their work.
Main duties of the job
Provision of a flexible administrative support service across the department as required by workload demands and agree priorities in liaison with the Administration Lead and/or Laboratory Managers.
Oversee all aspects of the patient pathway liaising as appropriate with other members of the clinical administration team for timely and accurate system recording, in line with clinical instruction and with national and local waiting time targets.
Use information reports/Patient Target List (PTL) to perform appropriate checks and co-ordinate next appointments/activities in line with clinical instruction/local/national agreed waiting times, working closely with consultants and delegated members of team to manage capacity effectively.
Print and distribute sensitive reports.
To pass on the enquiry to and to take and pass on appropriate messages promptly and efficiently and in a methodical and professional manner.
Arrange and service external, directorate and department meetings and in consultation with meeting chairs formulate agendas, co-ordinate papers, produce and distribute minutes of meetings and follow up action points arising.
Undertake photocopying, printing, scanning, sorting and distribution of documents to respective staff within the department.
Demonstrate working procedures and communicate own knowledge and understanding to others and provide advice and guidance and basic training to less experienced staff.
Working for our organisation
You will be working for an organisation which values and respects all its staff and the community it serves. The Trust is a leader in the NHS and research sectors and provides excellent benefits for its staff. This includes commitments to professional development but also many policies to support employees in balancing their personal and professional lives.
STHFT operates with a budget of £1.2 bn, has a workforce of over 18,500 employees, covers five hospital sites, provides care from over forty community settings, and has an excellent reputation for research.
As an organisation we value and respect our staff and the community we serve. We provide excellent staff benefits; this includes commitment to professional development but also many initiatives to support employees in balancing their personal and professional lives.
Are you looking for an exciting new challenge in a place to take your career to the next level? Would you like to join a friendly, progressive, innovative team and play a part in the transformation of pathology services across South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw? Do you want to work in a fully UKAS-accredited, modern laboratory environment where you can make a difference?
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please view the attached Job Description and Person Specification documents for full details regarding this post.
When completing your application please ensure that you clearly demonstrate how you meet the role criteria.
Person specification
Education and Qualifications
Essential criteria
- GCSE in English and Maths at grade C/4 or above or equivalent qualification/experience.
- NVQ level 3 in Business administration or equivalent qualification or experience
Desirable criteria
- ECDL or evidence of short courses in all core Microsoft Office Applications (Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel)
Experience
Essential criteria
- Relevant experience of secretarial/ clerical/administration duties
- Experience of meeting objectives and deadlines in a fast-paced environment
- Experience of producing documents to a high standard of presentation with good accuracy
- Experience of working in a confidential environment
Desirable criteria
- Experience with NHS/Healthcare software systems
- Audio typing experience
- Experience working as a Medical Secretary/admin role in healthcare setting
Skills and Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Working knowledge of Microsoft Office package (word, excel, access etc)
- Effective Communication skills, written and oral
- Able to work in a methodical & analytical manner. Prioritise work, meet deadlines & utilise good organisational skills
- Ability to build relationships, work under pressure, and contribute to a high-quality service
- Commitment to role
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Hollie Toplis
- Job title
- Operations Manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07572176457
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