Senior Business Manager to the Group Chief Executive

Job overview

We are looking for a confident and highly capable Senior Business Manager to lead the office of the Group Chief Executive and Chair of the St George's, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals and Health Group.

The role offers an unique opportunity to work at the heart of the St George's, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals and Health Group, providing high quality business management, project management and briefing advice and support to the Group Chief Executive Officer, helping the Group to deliver outstanding care for our patients, and driving forward our strategic ambitions.

You'll be organisationally savvy, able to drive forward the agenda and priorities of the CEO , identifying and unblocking issues.

***The advertisement will close on the 27th December 2024, but will be re-advertised until the 6th January, so expect an update on your application after this date.***

Main duties of the job

The postholder will closely monitor national policy developments, consider their implications for the Group, and contribute to effective horizon scanning. In addition, the postholder will ensure there are efficient and robust administrative systems and processes in place to support the work of the Group Chief Executive Officer and will lead the Executive and Site Support team.

Working for our organisation

The Group shares a single Chairman, Chief Executive and Executive team, and the Board and Board Committees operate on a Group-wide basis.

This is an exciting time to join the Group in a critical role supporting our Group Chief Executive Officer and Chair as we further develop our Group at a time of significant change and challenge across the NHS and in South West London.

• Provide high quality and proactive business management support to the Group Chief Executive to ensure she can fulfil her functions, lead the group of hospitals effectively, and represent the Group in the best possible light.
• Ensure the Group Chief Executive is fully prepared and briefed prior to internal and external meetings. This will involve engaging with relevant leads across the organisation to produce concise and engaging briefing and that the GCEO is well prepared for all meetings.
• Prepare high quality presentations and reports for the Group Chief Executive for internal and external meetings, including preparing the Group Chief Executive’s report to the Group Board and Council of Governors. This will include developing a highly attuned understanding of the Group Chief Executive and Chair’s priorities and key issues of focus and preparing presentations and reports in a way that encapsulates this.
• Coordinate and drive forward priority projects and programmes of work for the Group Chief Executive and Group Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, ensuring effective project and programme management and tracking of actions and deliverables.
• Commission and produce reports as required, producing documents from a variety of sources (internal and external) and presenting information in a variety of formats.
• Work across and liaise with members of the Group Executive team, Trust-level senior managers and other senior staff as appropriate, on behalf of the Group Chief Executive to disseminate, follow-up on and progress actions, keeping track of all actions on behalf of the Chief Executive, and working to unblock and resolve key issues.
• Identify and prioritise incoming issues and concerns addressed to the Group Chief Executive and Chair, including those of a sensitive and confidential nature, determining the appropriate course of action, referral or response.
• Coordinate meetings of the Group Executive Committee (the most senior Executive decision-making governance forum in the Group) ensuring that there is a clear forward plan of business, papers are commissioned and delivered in a timely way, and ensure that there are clear minutes of meetings and actions are followed-up in a timely way.
• Take a lead in coordinating high priority and sensitive meetings on behalf of the Group Chief Executive and Chair, having considerable scope and autonomy in arranging these and proactively thinking through key issues for discussion based on the purpose of the meetings and engaging with the Group Chief Executive to ensure that the meetings align with their strategic priorities.
• Ensure all operational, administrative and business management requirements of the office of the Group Chief Executive and Chair are met, and that incoming work and / or issues are effectively and systematically prioritised. This will include maintaining – and where necessary putting in place – robust business management and administrative processes to ensure that the office operates efficiently and effectively.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Educated to masters level or equivalent qualification or substantial relevant experience working in a strategic advisory and business management role supporting a Chief Executive

• Evidence of continuing professional development

Experience

• Substantial experience working as a business manager, private secretary, chief of staff or similar role to a Chief Executive and / or Chair in a large and complex organisation
• Experience of drafting high quality and accessible reports, presentations and speaking notes for or on behalf of a Chief Executive or senior director
• Experience of working with a diverse range of very senior internal and external stakeholders and a successful track record of influence and engagement
• Significant experience of managing and motivating teams and individual members of staff

• Experience of working in the NHS and understanding of key issues affecting the health service

Skills and Knowledge

• Understanding of current issues and challenges affecting the NHS and the as a whole, and NHS providers specifically
• Outstanding influencing and negotiation skills and ability to build strong and effective working relationships at all levels
• Ability to assimilate and analyse a wide range of complex information quickly and make recommendations
• Excellent organisational, planning and time management skills, and ability to prioritise own and others’ workloads.

Personal Qualities

• Highly collaborative approach with ability to build strong relationships with staff at all levels and with partners.
• Ability to work at pace and deliver to tight deadlines.
• Commitment and passion for creating an open, transparent organisational culture, including instilling organisational values and behaviours, and commitment to openness, honesty and integrity.