Senior PA

Job Summary

Working with the Head of Components Development, you’ll make sure the group runs smoothly and effectively while acting as a key channel of communication between the senior manager and other colleagues within your directorate and across NHSBT. By helping the department make NHSBT’s strategies on improved blood components a success, you’ll also be playing your part in helping thousands of patients live better, fuller lives.

You’ll be managing diaries, organising and documenting meetings, making travel and accommodation arrangements and producing reports for meetings. Building strong working relationships with other departments and organisations will be crucial to your success. You’ll have a proactive style, excellent communication skills and focused on looking for opportunities to reduce or improve administration.

Main duties

In this very important role, you will support the Head of Department to ensure the Head and Department functions efficiently. Your responsibilities will include:

• Providing a comprehensive personal assistant/administrative service, to the Head of Department.
• Acting as a central source of communication between the Head of Department and other Senior Managers in NHSBT and with agencies/contacts external to the organisation.
• Ensuring the smooth and efficient running of the office, enabling their trust and confidence in the timely prioritisation and action of all administrative duties including:
• Diary management, arranging meetings, producing agenda, taking minutes and chasing progress on actions and updates.
• Supporting and deputise for other secretarial / administrative colleagues as and when required.

On infrequent occasions you will be required to travel to other NHSBT and external sites, very occasionally requiring overnight stays. Appropriate notice will always be given.

About You

Experience and Knowledge

• Experience of working in a busy office environment, using office equipment, handling conflicting deadlines and priorities
• Proficient in Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint, Teams and SharePoint.
• Experience in logging and chasing progress on actions.
• Experienced in producing meeting agendas and minute taking.
• Experienced in preparing clear and concise reports.

Qualifications and Training

• NVQ L4 OR NVQ L4 (or equivalent) qualification in Business Administration or equivalent experience in a business administration field.
• European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) – Part I & II or ITQ2, or CLAIT II, or OCR (RSA) level 3 in text/word processing or demonstrable work experience.

About Us

It takes all types of people to deliver the kind of service that saves and improves lives. At NHS Blood and Transplant, you’ll join a team of more than 6,000 people who are making a genuine difference to communities, families, friends, relatives and more across the UK. We play a unique and special role in the NHS by helping people do something extraordinary- donate blood, blood products, organs, tissues, or stem cells to save someone in need.

Our three core values are what set us apart. They guide and inspire everything we do.

By being caring, expertly meeting the needs of our patients and our people, and accepting nothing less than the best quality, we can do extraordinary work – and help our people to do something extraordinary in their career, too. Three small words, one big difference - Caring, Expert and Quality. Together we'll save and improve more lives than ever.

You will join us on our journey to create an inclusive workplace and aim to reflect the diverse communities we work with, and we positively encourage applications from all sectors of the community.

The work that we do in Components Development directly drives improvements for patients, though the development and validation of safer and more effective blood components. Your role in supporting the head of Components Development and the wide team will facilitate this novel work helping to save and improve patient lives.

What we offer:

• NHSBT promotes flexible working opportunities which for this role will include hybrid working (working from both the Cambridge centre and from home)
• 27 days annual leave (pro rata for part-time) plus Bank Holidays, increasing to 29 days after 5 years’ service and to 33 days after 10 years.
• NHS pension scheme. The NHS Pension Scheme is a defined benefit scheme (not dependent on investment returns) 
• We’ve fostered a culture of continuous learning where colleagues are well-led, engaged, and encouraged to grow. We support you in reaching your full potential, both in your current role and future career. Our Thrive program embodies our commitment to learning and development, offering a wide range of activities to support your personal and professional growth. It’s open to everyone at NHSBT, ensuring you have the resources to succeed and shine in your role.
• As a department we are very keen on developing colleagues to enable them to meet their full potential. This is done in a number of ways including access to taught courses and qualifications, mentoring and shadowing and taking on additional/new responsibilities including website and simple database building and maintenance.

To learn more, please see our recruitment profile, which provides a summary of the job description and person specification. This can be accessed via the link below, or by clicking ‘Apply’ if you are viewing this advert on another site.

This vacancy may close sooner than the advertised deadline if we receive a high volume of applications, so we recommend applying early

This vacancy will close at 23:59 on Sunday 14 September 2025.

Interviews are anticipated to be held w/c 29 September 2025 – subject to confirmation