Administrative Officer

Purpose and Summary of Post:

This is a fixed term role at Saint John of God Hospital, at Grade IV level, reporting to the Administrative Coordinator. The post holder is responsible for providing efficient and effective secretarial and administrative support to all areas of the administration department, consultant psychiatrists, medical / multidisciplinary teams and any other personnel, as directed.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities:

The following is intended for the guidance of the person assigned to the post but is not an exhaustive list of the duties associated with the post.

·      You will be a member of the Administration Department.

·      Hours of Duty: You will be required to operate a 35-hour week over 7 days. Your hours of work will be as agreed with your line manager and in line with service needs.

You will be required to:

·      Provide full administrative and secretarial support to all areas of the administration department, including the admissions department, consultant psychiatrists, medical / multidisciplinary teams, and any other personnel, as directed, in an efficient and effective manner.

·      You may also be required to provide administrative or secretarial support for any other service within the hospital, as directed by the administrative coordinator.

·      Provide full relief and cross-cover, as directed, for other administrative colleagues and to provide relief cover on the hospital’s main reception desk / switchboard, mental health act administrator, medical record administrative functions and admissions department, as required.

·      Demonstrate flexibility in performing your duties and, if necessary, to work outside the standard working hours, should the business need arise.

·      Ensure the smooth running of out-patient clinics for consultant psychiatrists, registrars and additional team members, as directed. The Electronic Patient Record should be always used for the recording of both patient information and appointments. Fees should be lodged with the account’s office on the evening of the appointment and not held in your office.

·      Act as the first point of contact for multidisciplinary teams and deal appropriately, professionally and efficiently with all communications, queries and visitors.

·      Respect the confidentiality of your work regarding patients attending the hospital and the processing and handling of patients’ files and documents.

·      Display excellent customer care skills and empathy in dealing with all patient / family enquiries.

·      Attend meetings as required and ensure that agendas, minutes, supporting documentation and any other relevant communication are prepared and drafted in a timely manner and sent to all appropriate personnel.

·      Assisting with the maintenance, filing and archiving of all medical records.

·      Conduct and contribute to the hospital’s clinical audit activity, in conjunction with the hospital’s audit facilitator and the administrative coordinator.

·      Actively participate in staff development, in-service and external training relevant to the post, as may be organised from time to time.

·      Ensure up-to-date knowledge on all relevant matters (clinical and non-clinical) throughout the hospital so that a very good corporate knowledge is maintained.

·      Maintain own knowledge of relevant Saint John of God Hospital clg policies, procedures, protocols, guidelines and standard operating procedures to perform the role efficiently and effectively and to ensure work standards are met.

·      Ensure consistent adherence to Saint John of God Hospital clg policies, procedures, protocols, guidelines and standard operational procedures.

·      Maintain own knowledge of relevant regulations and legislation; for example, the Mental Health Act, the Mental Health Commission’s Judgement Support Framework, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Freedom of Information Act.

·      Actively participate in future service developments and projects as assigned and associated with the hospital.

·      Be fully familiar with the terms of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act and all relevant policy documents of Saint John of God Hospital clg; that is, Employee Handbook, Safety Statement, Guidelines for Investigation of Allegations of non-Accidental Injury and Abuse, etc.

·      Respect and operate within the framework of the tradition, character and ethics which govern the work of the Saint John of God Hospital clg.

·      Maintain absolutely confidentiality at all times in relation to all aspects of the role and your work.

·      Ensure that all departmental and hospital records are confidential to the service at Saint John of God Hospital and to maintain confidentiality in respect of matters which come to your knowledge in the course of your official duties.

·      Ensure that the mission and values of Saint John of God are displayed by you at all times and that everyone you come in to contact with during your work is a recipient of the values on all occasions.

·      Perform any other such appropriate duties that may be assigned to you from time to time by the administrative coordinator, their nominee or other designated person.

·      This job description is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all duties involved and, consequently, the post holder may be required to perform other duties as appropriate to the post which may be assigned to him/her from time to time and contribute to the development of the post while in office. Similarly, this job description may be subject to review in light of experience and/or changing circumstances.

Eligibility Criteria:

Candidates must have at the latest date of application:

Qualifications and / or Experience:

Eligible applicants will be those who on the closing date of the application:

·      Possess the requisite knowledge and ability for the proper discharge of the role.

·      Have excellent organisational, administrative, secretarial, typing and keyboard skills; including computer literacy and an excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel and Outlook). Audio typing experience is an advantage.

·      Have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to communicate successfully and sensitively with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.

·      Process strong team working skills and the ability to establish excellent working relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.

·      Have excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to manage multiple responsibilities and tasks in a dynamic and fast paced environment; including the ability to plan and prioritise workload (multitasking, time management skills and working to deadlines).

·      The ability to work independently on own initiative, self-motivated and constantly seeking ways to improve.

Professional Knowledge & Experience:

Demonstrate:

·      Previous experience in a busy, dynamic work environment requiring flexibility.

·      Excellent organisational, administrative, secretarial, typing, keyboard skills required and audio typing experience an advantage.

·      Ability to work in an accurate and methodical manner, with excellent numeracy skills.

·      High levels of attention to detail, while meeting the demands of a busy office.

Communication, Interpersonal Skills & Team Working:

Demonstrate:

·      Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to present information in a clear and concise manner.

·      Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate successfully and sensitively with internal and external stakeholders.

·      Ability to work as part of a team and to establish good working relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.

·      Ability to work independently on own initiative, with the capacity for management responsibility and initiative.

Planning & Managing Resources:

Demonstrate:

·      Ability to balance multiple tasks, prioritise workload and work to deadlines.

·      Excellent planning and organisational skills, including using computer technology efficiently and effectively.

·      Ability to manage deadlines and effectively handle multiple tasks.

·      Ability to manage within allocated resources and the capacity to respond to changes in a plan.

Evaluating Information, Problem Solving & Decision Making:

Demonstrate:

·      Ability to work on own initiative and take proactive decisions appropriate to the role.

·      Flexibility, problem solving and initiative skills, including the ability to adapt to change

·      Ability to appropriately analyse and interpret information, develop solutions and contribute to decisions quickly and accurately, as appropriate.

·      Ability to recognise when it is appropriate to refer decisions to a higher level of management.

·      As the service needs of Saint John of God Hospital clg evolve and develop over time, there may be an impact on this role and, therefore, this job description may be reviewed and updated accordingly to the needs of the organisation. This job description is a guide to the general range of duties assigned to the post holder. It is not intended to be exhaustive or definitive and is subject to periodic reviews.

Salary: €35,526 - 54,370 per year