JOB TITLE: Personal Assistant
REPORTS TO: Executive Assistant
HOURS: 37.5 hours per week
CONTRACT: 12 months (Maternity Cover)
SALARY: £30,000 - £35,000 per annum
Job summary
Islington GP Federation is looking for a proactive and highly organised Personal Assistant to provide administrative and executive support to the Deputy CEO/COO and Medical Director. This varied role includes diary management, meeting coordination, communications, governance support, and general administration, while also supporting the Islington Training Hub with workforce development and training programmes.
The successful candidate will have excellent organisational and communication skills, the ability to manage multiple priorities, and a professional, confidential approach to supporting senior leaders in a fast-paced healthcare environment.
About Islington GP Federation
Islington GP Federation (IGPF) is a growing organisation representing 31 practices; we have
established ourselves as a leader in new ways of working, including running Islington’s extended access primary care services (I: HUB) as well as supporting the Islington Primary Care Networks (PCNs). Our current range of services includes the Extended Access Service, I: HUB, Community Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT), Integrated Community Gynaecology, practice-based pharmacists and a range of practice support mechanisms.
IGPF works very closely with a range of partners including the regional commissioning group, NHS England, Healthy London Partnership, Public Health, local hospitals such as UCLH and the Whittington Health and the London Borough of Islington.
IGPF is the host organisation for the Primary Care Network (PCN) workforce and the Islington Training Hub and has been working for over two years to create training and development programmes that meet the needs of staff working in primary and community care settings.
IGPF runs four Islington GP practices, one on a GMS contract, two on APMS contracts and one caretaking contract.
Why work for Islington GP Federation:
At Islington GP Federation, we take pride in fostering a supportive and inclusive culture where employees feel valued and empowered. We are committed to professional growth, work-life balance, and creating a positive workplace environment that encourages collaboration and innovation.
As part of our commitment to employee well-being, we offer a range of benefits designed to support both personal and professional development.
Employee Benefits:
- 25 days annual leave plus 8 bank holidays (Pro-rata for part time employees)
- 1 day per week work-from-home option upon successful completion of probation
- Blue Light Card and NHS discounts
- Reimbursement of Eye check-up appointments
- Yearly Festive staff celebrations
- Employee wellbeing helpline & portal - available 24 hours a day
- Confidential resources for mental health support via NHS Support
Job Summary:
The purpose of the role is to:
- Undertake a variety of administrative duties to assist the support of the Executive team.
- Facilitate effective communication across the broad range of stakeholders to assure the smooth-running of the workstreams.
- The role also involves spending half to one day per week with Islington Training Hub to support local workforce development and training programmes. Responsibilities include managing communications to stakeholders regarding training and workforce updates, coordinating training administration, including registration, attendance lists, and trainer communications, and working with clinical and workforce leads to organise local training sessions. This includes maintaining a training planner, sending calendar invites, and providing updates to attendees. The role will also help manage the Training Hub’s shared inbox and may support other relevant tasks as needed within the allocated time.
Job Responsibilities:
- Undertake a wide range of administrative duties, ensuring all information is managed accurately, appropriately filed, and followed up accordingly.
- Provide dedicated support to the Deputy CEO/COO and Medical Director.
- Manage complex diary scheduling, prioritisation, and conflict resolution across multiple calendars whilst maintaining a sensible, proactive approach.
- Support the planning, coordination, and administration of Clinical Governance processes, including organising and facilitating Clinical Governance review meetings, managing policies and procedures, coordinating accident and incident reporting, and providing ad hoc governance support as required.
- Manage printing, scanning, photocopying and filing of documents following all necessary Information Governance principles.
- Organise and coordinate internal and external meetings.
- Prepare and distribute fortnightly bulletins and internal communications.
- Draft and distribute emails, correspondence, memos, letters, and forms.
- Assist in the preparation of regular reports and documentation.
- Maintain and update accurate contact lists.
- Provide administrative support at training sessions, events and conferences provided by IGPF.
- Order and manage office supplies and weekly food shop orders.
- Support Executive Assistant with ad hoc duties.
- Maintain a high level of integrity and discretion when handling confidential information and professionalism when working with senior executives
- The role will have access to a range of confidential and privileged information relating to the Executive team, the organisation and its relationships. As such the role requires a high degree of discretion and trust and the post-holder must always demonstrate desired behaviours in line with organisational values to others within the organisation and externally.
Requirements
- Initiative
- Knowledge of office management systems and procedures
- Working knowledge of office equipment, like printers and fax machines
- Proficiency in MS Office (MS Excel and MS PowerPoint, in particular)
- Excellent time management skills and the ability to prioritise work Attention to detail and problem-solving skills
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Strong organisational skills with the ability to multi-task
- Additional qualification as an administrative assistant or secretary would be a plus
- Ability to adapty in a fast-paced environment and collaborate effectively across teams
- Background in healthcare/ primary care is a plus, though not essential
Confidentiality:
In the course of seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately.
In the performance of the duties outlined in this Job Description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, staff and other healthcare workers.
They may also have access to information relating to the Federation as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential
Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the business of the Federation may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the Federation policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data.
Health & Safety:
The post-holder will assist in promoting and maintaining their own and others’ health, safety and security as defined in the Federation’s Health & Safety Policy, to include:
- Using personal security systems within the workplace according to IGPF guidelines
- Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks
- Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills
- Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy and safe way and free from hazards
- Reporting potential risks identified
Equality and Diversity:
The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues, to include:
- Acting in a way that recognises the importance of people’s rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with Federation procedures and policies, and current legislation
- Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues
- Behaving in a manner which is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings, priorities and rights.
Personal/Professional Development:
The post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the Federation as part of this employment, such training to include:
- Participation in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development
- Taking responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work.
Quality:
The post-holder will strive to maintain quality within the Federation, and will:
- Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk
- Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision
- Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and
- making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the team’s performance
- Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients’ needs.
- Effectively manage own time, workload and resources
Communication:
The post-holder should recognise the importance of effective communication within the team and will strive to:
- Communicate effectively with other team members Communicate effectively with patients and carers
- Recognise people’s needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly
Contribution to the Implementation of Services:
The post-holder will:
- Apply Federation policies, standards and guidance,
- Discuss with other members of the team how the policies, standards and guidelines will affect own work.
- Participate in audit where appropriate
Person Specification
Qualifications & Experience
Essential -
- Educated to GCSE level (or equivalent) including English and Maths.
- Evidence of continuous professional development.
- Previous experience working as a Personal Assistant, Executive Assistant, Administrative Assistant, or in a similar support role.
- Experience in complex diary management, including handling multiple calendars, shared inboxes and resolving scheduling conflicts.
- Experience supporting senior managers or executives in an administrative or PA capacity.
- Experience organising and coordinating meetings and events.
Desirable -
- Experience of working in NHS/Healthcare setting.
Skills & Attributes
- Excellent organisational and time management skills with the ability to multitask and prioritise workload effectively.
- Excellent verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills and ability to identify the key messages and areas for action arising from meetings and telephone, email and personal conversations.
- High attention to detail and ability to maintain accurate filing/documentation systems.
- Proficient in Microsoft Office applications, including Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams.
- Ability to work independently and use initiative to solve problems.
- Team worker, empathetic, able to remain calm and focused under pressure.
- Ability to meet agreed objectives and work independently as well as part of a team.
Attributes
- An ability to maintain confidentiality and trust
- Dynamic communicator, proactively resolving problems/issues
- Able to store information and data safely and securely
- Clear communicator with excellent verbal, written and presentation skills; capable of constructing and delivering clear ideas and concepts concisely and accurately to a diverse and varied range of audiences consisting of internal and external stakeholders.
- Concentration when preparing for meetings, training and report writing
- Adaptable to change in a busy working environment
- Ability to deal in calm and confident manner to diffuse confrontational situations
Values and Behaviors
- Ability to actively promote equality, diversity and inclusion within all areas of responsibility
- Commitment to and focused on quality, promote high standards in all they do.
- Work well with others, is positive and helpful, listens, involves, respects and learns from the contribution of others.
- Consistently looks to improve what they do, look for successful tried and tested ways of working but also seeks out innovation.
Pay: £30,000.00-£35,000.00 per year
Work Location: In person
