Lewisham Community Pilot Administrator/Project Support Officer

We have an incredibly exciting and rare opportunity to play a key role in the successful implementation of an exciting new community mental health pilot. The programme is a strategic priority for the Trust and will have a major national profile with NHS England who are hoping that the pilot will radically transform how we deliver mental health care in the UK.

Following a highly competitive bid process, Lewisham was selected by NHS England as one of six national pilot sites to test a new model of mental health care for adults with serious mental health needs. The bid was led by South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, as part of the Lewisham Mental Health Alliance.

We are therefore looking for exceptional candidates with experience of administration and project support. Our ideal candidate will also have values that will match the ethos and outcomes that the pilot is seeking to achieve for patients, families, and local communities.

The post holder will be an integral part of the core programme team, working with the local neighbourhood team to prepare for the implementation of a new way of delivering mental health services with the hope of opening doors to a new centre in 2025. The preparatory work will include changes to long-standing cultural practices and processes, as well as finding a new facility for a community mental health centre. The pilot is expected to run for two years.

The postholder will play a motivational and inspirational role, in helping and supporting the goals and objectives of the programme through administrative support, project coordination, monitoring and reporting, risk and issue management, document control, and stakeholder engagement.

They must be able to use initiative in dealing with enquiries from stakeholders, promoting the professional and caring image of the team. They will therefore need to be self-motivated with excellent written, communication, interpersonal and organisational skills and have a flexible approach to work; they must enjoy working as part of a team as they contribute to the delivery of a high-quality service.

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) offer the widest range of NHS mental health services in the UK as well as substance misuse services for people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. We work closely with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London and are part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre. There are very few organisations in the world that have such wide-ranging capabilities working with mental illness.

We are committed to ensuring our staff get the most out of their benefits package and understand the importance of a healthy work life balance. There is an extensive range of excellent benefits for you and your family.

We want you to feel like you are part of a close knit team at South London and Maudsley. It's important to us that you are valued and appreciated and that is why we have a comprehensive benefits package on offer.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide administrative support and coordinate the day-to-day activities of the programme.
• Provide secretariat support to the core programme team, including managing, and coordinating diaries.
• Plan, prepare and co-ordinate a range of meetings and forums, including confirming agendas, sharing apologies, taking actions, distributing actions and monitoring of actions.
• Be the initial point of contact for all correspondence for the programme, using personal judgment to action and problem solve appropriately.
• Put in place and maintain systems and processes and ensure that the goals and objectives of the programme can be achieved in an effective and efficient way.
• Build and maintain relationships with stakeholders and have the ability to communicate confidently with individuals at all levels both within and outside the organisation.
• Keep the programme team organised and use own initiative to keep the programme moving in the right direction.
• Support with the booking of venues for any events, workshops and meetings, and associated activities such as circulating joining instructions, completing attendance registration, non-routine activity and ensuring all documentation has been distributed.

Project Support Duties

• Provide project support to the programme, including supporting the completion and maintenance of key project/programme documents and templates.
• Support the Programme Manager with the delivery of various workstreams and working groups.
• Be responsible for the production of specified deliverables as defined by the Programme Manager by undertaking specific activities, in relation to project coordination, governance, monitoring and reporting, risk and issue management, and document control.

Other Duties

• Participate in business, team, and departmental meetings to support service planning and new developments, and to work as part of a team.
• Manage own workload and report any difficulties to line manager.
• Maintain own personal development.
• Undertake any other administrative duties appropriate to the pay band.