Legal Services Administrator

Are you an organised, proactive administrator looking for an opportunity to develop your career within NHS Legal Services?

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust is looking for an enthusiastic and highly organised Legal Services Administrator to join our busy and supportive Legal Services team.

This is a varied role providing administrative and coordination support across a broad range of legal matters, including claims, inquests and Court of Protection matters.

You will be an important part of the Legal Services team, helping to ensure that legal matters are managed efficiently, accurately and within required timescales. You will work closely with Legal Services Officer, the Legal Services Manager and colleagues across the Trust.

This role would suit someone who enjoys working in a busy environment, takes pride in getting the detail right and is confident dealing with confidential and sometimes sensitive information.

You do not need to be a qualified legal professional. We are looking for someone with strong administrative skills, excellent organisation and attention to detail, and an interest in developing their knowledge and experience of NHS Legal Services.

You will provide administrative support to the Legal Services team, helping to keep cases, documents and deadlines organised and ensuring that colleagues have the information and support they need.

· Acting as a first point of contact for routine enquiries to Legal Services and ensuring these are logged, acknowledged and directed appropriately.

· Maintaining accurate legal case records, databases, trackers and case management systems.

· Tracking key deadlines, hearings and actions and ensuring records are kept up to date.

· Supporting the collation of clinical records, policies and other information required for legal matters and disclosure.

· Assisting with the preparation and collation of legal documents, correspondence, witness statements and evidence bundles.

· Arranging meetings, case conferences, hearings, calls and witness meetings.

· Preparing routine correspondence, reports and meeting papers.

· Liaising with clinical and corporate teams to obtain information and documentation.

· Communicating professionally and sensitively with staff, patients, families, external solicitors, Coroner's Officers and other agencies.

· Handling confidential and sensitive information appropriately and in accordance with information governance requirements.

· Recognising urgent, complex or sensitive matters and escalating them appropriately.

· Providing general administrative support to the Legal Services team.

At South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, we believe in providing excellent care which is delivered with pride and compassion. Everything we do is focused on improving the lives of the people and communities we serve and promoting mental health and wellbeing for all.

We provide the widest range of NHS mental health services in the UK, alongside substance misuse services. 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.

Our organisation brings together three major foundations: care and treatment, science and research, and training. We employ around 5,000 staff and provide more than 230 services across our local communities.

Working for our Trust gives you the opportunity to be part of an organisation with a rich history and an international reputation in mental health care. You will work alongside colleagues from a wide range of professional backgrounds and have access to learning and professional development opportunities.

We are committed to providing a supportive, inclusive and professional working environment in which our staff can develop and make a meaningful contribution to the work of the Trust.

The postholder will provide comprehensive administrative and coordination support to the Trust's Legal Services function.

You will work within agreed processes and procedures, using your initiative to manage your workload and ensure that administrative tasks are completed accurately and within required timescales. You will be expected to recognise when a matter is urgent, complex or sensitive and escalate it to an appropriate member of the Legal Services team.

· Highly organised, with the ability to manage competing priorities and deadlines.

· Accurate and attentive to detail.

· Confident using IT systems, including Microsoft Office, Outlook, Word, Excel and databases.

· Able to maintain accurate records and ensure information is filed and retrievable.

· A clear and professional communicator, both verbally and in writing.

· Comfortable working with confidential and sensitive information.

· Able to work calmly and professionally under pressure.

· Proactive and able to work independently within defined procedures.

· A positive team player who is willing to support colleagues and contribute to an efficient and supportive Legal Services function.

You will have experience of providing administrative support in a busy office environment, maintaining records or databases, preparing correspondence and documents, arranging meetings and dealing with internal and external stakeholders. Experience of managing competing priorities and deadlines is also important.

Experience of working within an NHS, healthcare, legal, governance, claims, complaints, risk or regulatory environment would be advantageous. An awareness of inquests, claims, Court of Protection or Mental Capacity Act processes would also be desirable.

You will be educated to A-level standard or have equivalent experience, with GCSE English and Maths or equivalent. A legal secretary, paralegal, CILEX, business administration or healthcare administration qualification would be desirable.

Why this role?

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced administrator who wants to develop their skills within a specialist NHS environment.

You will gain exposure to a wide variety of legal matters and will work alongside experienced legal professionals while developing your understanding of the processes and governance that underpin NHS Legal Services.

If you are organised, approachable and motivated to make a difference, and you are looking for a role where your administrative skills will have a direct impact on the effective delivery of an important Trust function, we would love to hear from you.