Overview
Senior Administrative Officer Jobs in Bristol, England, United Kingdom at North Bristol NHS Trust
Title: Senior Administrative Officer
Company: North Bristol NHS Trust
Location: Bristol, England, United Kingdom
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North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT) and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) are working towards merging as one organisation from July 2026.
This will create an exciting future that brings together the best of both organisations. As a single, strong and sustainable organisation, we will not only be able to deliver better outcomes for our patients and fairer care for our population, but it will also provide greater opportunities for our people.
Should you join NBT as an employee prior to our organisations merging, your employment will be automatically transferred across to UHBW. Should your employment begin after our two Trusts merge, you will be employed directly by UHBW and therefore UHBW terms and conditions of service will apply
Our job adverts may close as soon as sufficient applications have been received. Considering this, if you are interested in this role, please do apply as soon as you can.
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Job Overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an organised and proactive Senior Administrative Officer to join the Chief Executives’ Office. This varied role offers the chance to work at the heart of a busy, high-profile service, providing essential support that helps the office run smoothly.
You will play a key role in supporting complex administrative processes, coordinating meetings, maintaining accurate records, producing reports and papers, and acting as a key contact for internal and external stakeholders. The role calls for excellent communication and IT skills, strong attention to details, and the ability to manage competing priorities while handling sensitive information with discretion.
We are looking for someone with administrative experience in a complex organisation, ideally with experience supporting senior leaders and a good understanding of confidentiality, information governance, and NHS working practices. If you are calm, highly organised, and take pride in delivering a professional and reliable service, we would be delighted to hear from you.
Main duties of the job
- Provide high-level administrative support to the Chief Executive’s Office, helping a busy, high-profile service run smoothly, efficiently and professionally.
- Act as a key contact for senior leaders, staff and external stakeholders, handling enquiries with professionalism, discretion and sound judgement.
- Organise meetings and events, manage diaries, prepare papers, take minutes and ensure actions are followed up promptly.
- Draft and produce high-quality correspondence, reports and briefing papers, using strong written skills and digital confidence.
- Maintain accurate records and support good governance, handling sensitive information securely and confidentially.
- Support service improvement, provide cross-cover for colleagues and adapt quickly to changing priorities in a fast-paced team.
Working for our organisation
North Bristol NHS Trust employs over 12,000 staff providing healthcare to the residents of Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset from our award-winning hospital building at Southmead. We are the regional Major Trauma Centre, and an internationally recognised centre of excellence in a range of services and major specialities. Our vision is that by enabling our teams to be the best that they can be, we will provide exceptional healthcare, personally delivered.
North Bristol NHS Trust values all people as individuals. We aim to be an anti-discriminatory organisation and are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We welcome applicants from all underrepresented groups.
Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities
Please refer to the attached job description for full details of the main duties and responsibilities that the post holder is required to undertake.
- Provide comprehensive administrative and organisational support to the Chief Executive’s Office to help ensure the smooth running of services.
- Act as a first point of contact for internal and external enquiries, dealing with visitors, telephone calls and correspondence in a professional and confidential manner.
- Organise and support meetings, including diary management, scheduling, booking rooms, preparing agendas, circulating papers and taking accurate minutes.
- Draft, proofread and quality-check correspondence, reports, briefing notes and other formal documents for senior leaders.
- Maintain accurate electronic and paper records, ensuring information is handled securely and in line with data protection, confidentiality and governance requirements.
- Coordinate day-to-day office processes, follow up actions from meetings and respond to routine queries independently, escalating more complex issues where needed.
- Support the planning and coordination of events, travel arrangements and multi-stakeholder meetings across Group Headquarters and other sites.
- Process purchase orders, invoices and stationery requests, ensuring resources are managed efficiently and in line with procurement procedures.
- Work collaboratively with colleagues across the Executive Office, providing cross-cover during absences and supporting consistent administrative standards.
- Contribute to service improvement by supporting new systems, improving administrative processes and helping to maintain effective governance arrangements.
- Handle sensitive or sometimes distressing enquiries with discretion, empathy and professionalism.
- Manage competing priorities, use sound judgement and work independently in a busy and high-profile environment.
Person specification
Education And Qualifications
Essential criteria
- NVQ Level 3 in Business Administration or equivalent experience
Desirable criteria
- Further training in administrative practice or governance
Knowledge, Skills And Abilities
Essential criteria
- Advanced IT skills (particularly Microsoft Office)
- Strong organisational skills with exceptional attention to detail, even when working under constant interruptions.
- Minute-taking and document production skills
- Understanding of GDPR / FOI / confidentiality
Experience
Essential criteria
- Significant administrative experience in a complex organisation
- Experience producing high-quality reports, papers and correspondence
Desirable criteria
- Experience supporting senior leaders
Personal qualities
Essential criteria
- Professional, calm and diplomatic
- Ability to manage own workload and support others under pressure
- Ability to work independently, exercise sound judgment, and manage competing priorities
- Highly effective organiser with a structured approach to tasks
Please note that if you apply for a position with North Bristol NHS Trust, you may be contacted via TRAC or via email. This includes invites for job interviews. We therefore recommend that you regularly check your TRAC Account and email accounts including junk and spam folders.
If you apply for this vacancy and have not received a communication from North Bristol NHS Trust within three weeks of the closing date, please assume that on this occasion your application has been unsuccessful.
Please note that North Bristol NHS Trust does not reimburse travel expenses relating to interview attendance.
If you feel you meet the requirements of the Disability Act / Two Ticks scheme and require further support/advice, please contact us on tel 0117 414 1151.
North Bristol NHS Trust are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
The successful applicant(s) will normally commence at the minimum of the scale unless they have previous NHS service at the same band. Progression through the scale is by annual increments.
At North Bristol Trust (NBT), we know diverse and inclusive environments lead to happier and healthier teams and improved patient care and outcomes. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are currently underrepresented in NBT’s workforce at Band 8a and above. These include people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, disabled people and LGBTQIA+ people.
Please note that stringent pre-employment checks are undertaken on all successful applicants prior to commencement in post.
