Chief of Staff to the Chief Executive and Trust Chair
NHS AfC: Band 8b
Main area Administrative Services Grade NHS AfC: Band 8b Contract Permanent Hours Full time – 37.5 hours per week Job ref 361-8365360
Site Lister Hospital Town Stevenage Salary £66,582 – £77,368 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 27/10/2026 23:59 Interview date 05/11/2026
Here at East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS TrustOur mission is:Providing high-quality, compassionate care for our communities
Our vision to 2030 is:To be trusted to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service
Our values – We want our staff to believe in, demonstrate and live our values in everything we do. Our values are:
IncludeWe value the diversity and experience of our community colleagues and partners, creating relationships and climates that provide an opportunity to share, collaborate and grow together.
RespectWe create a safe environment where we are curious of the lived experience of others, seek out best practice and are open to listening and hearing new ideas.
ImproveWe are committed to consistently delivering excellent services and continuously looking to improve through a creative workforce that feels empowered to act in service of our shared purpose.
Job overview
We are seeking an exceptional Senior Executive Business Manager to provide trusted strategic support to the Chief Executive and Trust Chair during a period of significant transformation and improvement. This is a unique opportunity to operate at Board level, working closely with Executive and Non-Executive Directors, clinical leaders and system partners to drive delivery of the Trust’s priorities.
You will lead the Executive Office, provide high-level analysis and advice, coordinate complex organisational initiatives, and ensure key decisions translate into meaningful action. Working with considerable autonomy and discretion, you will play a pivotal role in shaping organisational effectiveness, performance improvement and strategic delivery.
We are looking for an experienced senior manager with outstanding communication, relationship-building and problem-solving skills, preferably with experience supporting senior leaders within the NHS or another complex, highly regulated environment.
If you thrive in a fast-paced setting, enjoy bringing clarity to complexity and want to make a significant contribution to improving services for patients, staff and communities, we would love to hear from you.
Main duties of the job
The postholder will enable the Chief Executive and Chair to focus their time on the issues that matter most by ensuring that priorities are translated into action, decisions are followed through, emerging risks are identified early and high-quality information is available at the point it is needed.
Working with considerable autonomy and discretion, the postholder will act as a trusted interface between the Chief Executive and Chair, Executive and Non-Executive Directors, clinical and operational leaders, the wider system and external stakeholders. Bringing together complex information, provide concise advice and constructive challenge, and use delegated authority to progress priority actions and resolve barriers.
The postholder will have direct management responsibility for the Executive Office and, under delegated authority from the Chief Executive, lead the development and implementation of improvements to corporate management arrangements, Executive decision-making processes and organisational ways of working. The role will include responsibility for developing longer-term plans, coordinating implementation across Executive portfolios and corporate functions, and managing designated staffing budgets, office accommodation and associated physical resources. Postholder will exercise independent judgement within agreed delegated authority, ensuring that improvements are implemented effectively, resources are appropriately managed and organisational priorities are supported.
Working for our organisation
At East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust, we are proud of the range of general and specialist services we provide and our 6,000 or so dedicated staff ensure our patients get the best care. Our ability to be flexible and innovative in the way in which we work and deliver our services to our catchment has never been more important than it is now.
We run the following hospitals:
- The Lister Hospital, Stevenage
- New Queen Elizabeth II (New QEII), Welwyn Garden City
- Hertford County, Hertford
We have ambitious plans to become an outstanding, patient-led Trust where dedicated staff provide high-quality, compassionate care to our patients. We continue to undergo significant transformation and our staff and patients are at the heart of delivering this ambitious agenda.
We are committed to a positive work life balance for our employees. This means that any employee is entitled to seek to work flexible working patterns and we are committed to listen and consider all requests. Such requests, of course, have to be made and considered formally, and will need to be balanced against service needs, but our starting point will always be to find ways to support making them happen.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification applicant pack for further detailed information regarding this role.
Person specification
Qualifications and Training
- Educated to degree level or able to demonstrate equivalent knowledge and skills gained through substantial relevant experience
- Evidence of continuing professional development
Experience
- Significant experience supporting a Chief Executive, Chair, Executive Director or equivalent senior leader
- Experience operating effectively within a complex, highly regulated organisation
- Experience coordinating strategic priorities, projects and Executive-level actions
- Experience producing high-quality briefings, reports and presentations for senior audiences
- Experience handling highly sensitive, confidential and contentious matters
- Experience managing and developing staff
- Experience working with Board members and senior internal and external stakeholders
- Experience of financial and resource management
- Senior-level experience within the NHS or wider public sector
- Experience of transformation, improvement or programme governance
Knowledge
- Understanding of NHS structures, governance and the wider health and care environment
- Knowledge of effective corporate governance, assurance and risk management
- Understanding of equality, diversity and inclusion and its application in the workplace
- Knowledge of East and North Hertfordshire’s health and care system
Skills and Abilities
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Ability to analyse complex information and present clear advice and recommendations
- Highly developed organisational and prioritisation skills
- Ability to work autonomously, exercise sound judgement and make decisions within delegated authority
- Ability to influence, challenge and build credibility with senior stakeholders
- Strong political awareness, diplomacy and discretion
- Ability to manage competing priorities and deliver to demanding deadlines
- Ability to lead a responsive, collaborative and high-performing team
- Advanced digital skills, including Microsoft Office applications
- Ability to identify and implement improvements to systems and ways of working
Personal Attributes
- Demonstrates integrity, professionalism and resilience
- Proactive, adaptable and solutions focused
- Maintains confidentiality and inspires trust and confidence
- Committed to the Trust’s values of Include, Respect and Improve
- Able to work flexibly to meet the requirements of the role
Secondments/Fixed term
Where a vacancy is advertised as a temporary position, the duration will be specified in the advert. If the vacancy becomes permanent towards the end of the specified duration, the successful applicant may not be required to re-apply and can be slotted into the role on a permanent basis if appropriate.
If you are an internal applicant applying for a temporary working arrangement, please see the attached notes on secondments.
Committed to our Community
East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion for all job applicants, staff, patients and the wider community. We want to create a workforce which represents the communities we serve. We are on a journey to become a more inclusive organisation and we welcome applications from everyone regardless of their background. In particular we encourage applications from candidates with disabilities, and candidates from Black, Asian and Minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds who are currently under-represented in various parts of our workforce .
We understand the importance of balancing work and home life. We are committed to support flexible working for our staff wherever possible and all our employees are given the opportunity to discuss potential for flexible working.
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and achieved our status in 2019.
We will remove barriers that prospective candidates might face at any stage of our recruitment process. If you have a disability and would like the advert in an alternative format, or would like to talk about how we can adjust the interview process to best support you, please contact us by emailing resourcing.enh-tr@nhs.net
We are also proud to support our UK armed forces by supporting Reservists, Cadet Instructors, Veterans and military spouses/partners into employment and offering supportive policies that value their contribution to the community and to our Trust.
We are committed to being a carer-friendly environment, addressing the complex needs of families with caring responsibilities. In partnership with Carers in Hertfordshire, all our working carers have access to support from recruitment. We are also a member of Carers UK, providing resources to make balancing work and caring easier. Our approach is inclusive, recognising diverse challenges and creating a supportive environment where carers feel valued.
King’s Trust Support
If you’re aged between 16 and 30 years-old, you can get FREE employability support from The King’s Trust. The King’s Trust will help build your CV and cover letter, offer advice and top tips for future interviews and support you with research about working in the NHS. Please contact Enquiries.H&SC@princes-trust.org.uk for support.
We are committed to fair, transparent and ethical recruitment. We will never ask applicants to pay fees at any stage of the recruitment process. All vacancies are advertised on our Trust Careers webpage and NHS Jobs, with applications managed through TRAC. We will only contact applicants through our official recruitment channels and Trust contact details.
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