Team Leader and Safeguarding Secretary

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Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Team Leader and Safeguarding Secretary

The closing date is 08 November 2026

Apply for this job

Job summary

Working Full Time: 37.5 Hours per week

The post holder will provide an effective, efficient and high-quality secretarial and administrative service, supporting the Paediatric Safeguarding Team, Community Paediatrics and designated and named doctors for safeguarding, adoption and fostering. They will also lead and support secretarial teams within the Division, promoting a positive, collaborative and team-based approach and ensuring the delivery of excellent administrative and secretarial support to the Management Team.

Working with minimal supervision, the post holder will be expected to exercise independent judgement, use their own initiative and manage competing priorities effectively. They will maintain high standards of data quality and information governance, ensuring that confidential and sensitive patient and staff information is handled appropriately at all times.

Main duties of the job

The role will provide comprehensive administrative support for the delivery of the Trust's paediatric safeguarding agenda, including facilitating the data and administrative requirements associated with the paediatric safeguarding strategy. This will include providing administrative and data support for the monitoring and reporting requirements associated with the Trust's statutory safeguarding functions, Safeguarding Assurance Framework and mandatory safeguarding submissions.

The post holder will work collaboratively and co-operatively with colleagues across the Trust and external agencies, acting as a key point of contact between Trust staff, the Paediatric Safeguarding Team and partner organisations. This will include liaison with social care and acting as the single point of contact for requests to the Paediatric Safeguarding Team, including requests for child protection medical referrals.

The post holder will be accountable to the Assistant Service Manager and will be expected to contribute to a supportive, responsive and well-organised service, demonstrating flexibility in response to changing service requirements and priorities to ensure the delivery of Safe, Kind and Effective care.

About us

The Trust's services are provided from three locations:

o The Countess of Chester Hospital: providing 473 general and acute beds.o Ellesmere Port Hospital: providing 60 beds as a rehabilitation, intermediate and outpatient facility.o Tarporley War Memorial Hospital: a base for community services which serve the local rural population.

The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust employs 5,964 staff (headcount) to provide care and treatment to a population of over 400,000 people living in Chester and West Cheshire which includes Ellesmere Port and Neston as well as the Deeside area of Flintshire.

The Trust works collaboratively within the wider Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System. Due to its location on the border with North Wales, the Trust also works closely with the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.

The Trust treats patients from England and some parts of Wales. During 2024/2025, there were approximately 643,000 patient attendances (inpatient, A&E, outpatient and diagnostic) ranging from a simple outpatient appointment to major cancer surgery

Details

Date posted

28 October 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 4

Salary

£28,392 to £31,157 a year pa

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

210-2026-718

Job locations

Countess of Chester Hospital

Liverpool Road

Chester

CH2 1UL

United Kingdom

Job description

Job responsibilities

See Job Description for further details.

Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values. An applicant guide to help and support you through your recruitment journey can be accessed at the bottom of this page.

If you have a disability that meets the definition set out in the Equality Act 2010, and you can show that you meet the essential criteria described in the person specification for an available position, please answer YES to the question: Do you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme?

Please inform the team if you have any special support needs to be considered as part of the interview and selection processes.

The trust offers a Guaranteed Interview Scheme to any armed forces community applicants who meet the essential criteria for the post.

If a DBS is required for your role, you are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee applies which is payable to the DBS Service. Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs will be deducted from their salary over the first three months of employment.

New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.

Applicants requiring sponsorship may wish to determine the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship for this position by assessing themselves against the criteria on the gov.uk website - https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa.

The Trust will not sponsor where the starting salary does not meet immigration rules

Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date.

Good luck with your application.

Job description

Job responsibilities

See Job Description for further details.

Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values. An applicant guide to help and support you through your recruitment journey can be accessed at the bottom of this page.

If you have a disability that meets the definition set out in the Equality Act 2010, and you can show that you meet the essential criteria described in the person specification for an available position, please answer YES to the question: Do you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme?

Please inform the team if you have any special support needs to be considered as part of the interview and selection processes.

The trust offers a Guaranteed Interview Scheme to any armed forces community applicants who meet the essential criteria for the post.

If a DBS is required for your role, you are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee applies which is payable to the DBS Service. Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs will be deducted from their salary over the first three months of employment.

New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.

Applicants requiring sponsorship may wish to determine the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship for this position by assessing themselves against the criteria on the gov.uk website - https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa.

The Trust will not sponsor where the starting salary does not meet immigration rules

Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date.

Good luck with your application.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• NVQ 3 or equivalent
• GCSE standard (English) or equivalent

Desirable

• RSA Typing III

Knowledge & Experience

Essential

• Touch typist
• Recent and relevant secretarial experience
• Knowledge of full range of secretarial duties
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office Packages
• Experience of managing own workload with minimal supervision
• Experience of participation with audit and performance dashboards
• Experience of supporting with policy development
• Understanding of the Safeguarding Assurance Framework and Compliance audits
• Experience of ensuring accurate and concise minute taking, meeting planning and organising
• Understanding of Data Protection/Caldicott issues
• Experience of working with confidential and sensitive information

Desirable

• Experience as a medical secretary in a healthcare setting
• Experience of first line management/supervision
• Knowledge/experience of specific patient administration systems
• Knowledge of Medical Terminology
• Knowledge of NHS or other health/social care settings
• Participation in service development and change management
• Prior experience of working within both Safeguarding and Complex care

Skills & Abilities

Essential

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to problem-solve
• Excellent organisational skills
• Reliable and flexible
• Positive attitude
• Ability to cope well with change
• Able to work under pressure within a multi-disciplinary team-based environment
• Ability to work both on own initiative and as part of a team
• Ability to work to a high level of accuracy and attention to detail
• Willing to undergo further training or development

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• NVQ 3 or equivalent
• GCSE standard (English) or equivalent

Desirable

• RSA Typing III

Knowledge & Experience

Essential

• Touch typist
• Recent and relevant secretarial experience
• Knowledge of full range of secretarial duties
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office Packages
• Experience of managing own workload with minimal supervision
• Experience of participation with audit and performance dashboards
• Experience of supporting with policy development
• Understanding of the Safeguarding Assurance Framework and Compliance audits
• Experience of ensuring accurate and concise minute taking, meeting planning and organising
• Understanding of Data Protection/Caldicott issues
• Experience of working with confidential and sensitive information

Desirable

• Experience as a medical secretary in a healthcare setting
• Experience of first line management/supervision
• Knowledge/experience of specific patient administration systems
• Knowledge of Medical Terminology
• Knowledge of NHS or other health/social care settings
• Participation in service development and change management
• Prior experience of working within both Safeguarding and Complex care

Skills & Abilities

Essential

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to problem-solve
• Excellent organisational skills
• Reliable and flexible
• Positive attitude
• Ability to cope well with change
• Able to work under pressure within a multi-disciplinary team-based environment
• Ability to work both on own initiative and as part of a team
• Ability to work to a high level of accuracy and attention to detail
• Willing to undergo further training or development

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer details

Employer name

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Countess of Chester Hospital

Liverpool Road

Chester

CH2 1UL

United Kingdom

Employer's website

https://www.coch.nhs.uk/working-with-us.aspx (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Countess of Chester Hospital

Liverpool Road

Chester

CH2 1UL

United Kingdom

Employer's website

https://www.coch.nhs.uk/working-with-us.aspx (Opens in a new tab)

Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Assistant Service Manager

Amy Mills

[email protected]

01244364641

Details

Date posted

28 October 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 4

Salary

£28,392 to £31,157 a year pa

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

210-2026-718

Job locations

Countess of Chester Hospital

Liverpool Road

Chester

CH2 1UL

United Kingdom

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