Service Support Officer

County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust

Service Support Officer

The closing date is 16 March 2026

An opportunity has arisen for a Service Support Officer within Family Health. Operating in a small and very well established team, the post holder will act as a point of contact for the General Managers, Matrons and senior nursing staff of Paediatrics and Neonates. The role includes diary management and minuting meetings.

It is essential that you have experience of Microsoft packages, e.g., Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint. You must be able to use email and maintain and update electronic diaries.

A flexible, pro active team player is required. You will also have excellent organisational and communication skills and be able to work under pressure and to tight deadlines.

Main duties of the job

• Provide full secretarial support to General Managers.
• Ensure data quality is maintained.
• Attend meetings and take minutes as appropriate.
• Act as a point of contact for departments and support the management team to deliver patient focused clinical services.
• Effectively manage diaries.
• Monitor rotas to ensure on calls are in all diaries.
• Provide annual leave cover for other team members.
• Cross site cover.

About us

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 they are currently under represented.

Job responsibilities

• Provide a full range of confidential secretarial/administrative support to the General Manager, Service Manager, Matrons and Clinical Directors.
• Deal with telephone enquiries, taking and conveying messages appropriately.
• Undertake typing and distribution of confidential correspondence.
• Be the point of contact for staff, patients and others within and outside the organisation, responding to external and internal telephone enquiries and taking appropriate and timely action.
• Receive and respond to internal and external correspondence in accordance with Trust and/or departmental standards and processes.
• Manage electronic diaries as required.
• Support arrangement of on call rotas.
• Organise meetings, including arranging venues, preparing agendas, collating and issuing papers, and attending for taking and producing minutes.
• Maintain an up to date filing and archive filing system, disposing of archived records and documentation according to Trust policy.
• Operate efficient and up to date administrative systems and processes for all office tasks.
• Maintain accurate and timely data entry to databases to meet service requirements.
• Order office supplies through Cardea and maintain agreed stock levels.
• Prioritise own workload to meet the needs of the head of service and supporting staff and ensure all deadlines are met.
• Support new and/or less experienced staff as required.
• Supervise work experience students and apprentices requiring experience of office work.
• Support interview arrangements for medical staff.
• Provide cover as required during absence of colleagues.
• The postholder may be required to undertake the role of Information Asset Administrator or Information Asset Owner to provide support for the control and administration of information assets within their area/department.
• The postholder may be required to undertake the role of Registration Authority Agent/Sponsor which includes supporting the NHS Care Records Service applications using smartcards and appropriate access files.
• Possess the ability to travel independently across the County to fulfil the requirements of the post.

Person Specification Qualifications

• Good standard of Education - Minimum of 3 GCSEs (or equivalent) at C Grade or above including English Language.
• NVQ Level 3 in Business Administration or equivalent knowledge/experience (or working towards).
• Qualification in secretarial and/or computer skills.

Special Skills & Knowledge

• Knowledge of computer packages, e.g. Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint.
• IT Skills.
• Ability to use email and maintain and update paper and electronic diaries.
• Knowledge of Data Protection and Caldicott Principles and understanding of the need to maintain strict confidentiality.
• Good interpersonal skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to deal with and prepare routine verbal and written correspondence and to obtain information and pass on comprehensive and confidential messages.
• Ability to communicate accurately, verbally, courteously and effectively with a wide range of staff, professionals and members of the public.
• Ability to use own initiative to resolve routine queries, in line with departmental procedures.
• Able to work with minimal supervision following set procedures.
• Ability to organise and prioritise workload in order to meet deadlines.
• Ability to work as a member of a team.
• Committed to quality customer care and delivering excellent customer service.
• Flexible approach to work and adaptable to change.
• Working knowledge of Medical Terminology.

Special Requirements

• Ability to travel independently across the County to fulfil the requirements of the post.

Experience

• Experience of an administrative role providing general provision of administrative duties in a challenging and constantly changing environment.
• Demonstrated experience of using Microsoft Word.
• Experience in setting up and maintaining office filing systems.
• Experience of maintaining and setting up databases.
• Experience in planning and organising meetings and taking notes.
• Experience of providing administrative support to a team.
• Experience of working within an NHS environment.
• Understanding of health informatics such as waiting lists, patient access 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 name

County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust