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Main area People Directorate, Human Resources - Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Grade Band 4 Contract 12 months (Fixed term (external applicants) or secondment (internal applicants)) Hours

• Full time
• Part time
• Flexible working
• Compressed hours

37.5 hours per week (Hybrid working. Post holder will also be expected to travel across UHSussex sites and external sites to support Staff Networks with project planning and delivery.) Job ref 279-7429290-SEP25

Employer 279 University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Royal Sussex County Hospital (or 21 Farncombe Road, Worthing) Town Brighton Salary £27,485 - £30,162 per annum, (pro-rata if part-time) Salary period Yearly Closing 02/10/2025 23:59

About our Trust

At UHSussex we’re proud to be at the heart of the NHS. As one of the UK’s largest acute Trusts, we’re a leading example of the excellence, the ambition and the values that have embodied the NHS for over 70 years.

Our hard-working, talented and dedicated people work together towards a common goal – to always put our Patient First. In fact our mission is summed up by our ‘where better never stops’ motto and you will play a part in driving us forwards and in improving the lives of patients across Sussex.

At UHSussex, diversity is our strength, and we want you to feel included to help us always put the Patient First. Your uniqueness and experiences will be part of our creative and innovative community where everyone is encouraged to succeed. We have a range of Staff Networks to help break down barriers, and can offer a buddy to help new members settle in. We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Employer (Level 2) and a Veteran Aware Trust.

We treat our patients and staff with the same compassion and empathy we expect for ourselves. We’re here for them when they need us, and we go above and beyond to meet their needs. This can be seen in our Wellbeing Programme for staff which is extensive and designed to support you when you need it, including where possible, flexible working to support work life balance - because we know that to look after others we must first look after ourselves.

As a university trust and a leader in healthcare research, we value learning, teaching and training so that we can be the best that we can be. From the moment you start with us and throughout your career we will help you to grow and develop. We hope that in choosing UHSussex you are choosing a long and happy career where you will be able to see the difference you make and feel valued for all that you do.

As part of our commitment to access for all, please see the different ways you can access the application form:

We look forward to receiving your application and the start of your journey with UHSussex.

Job overview

This position is funded by a grant from My University Hospitals Sussex, the dedicated charity of the Trust. You’ll serve as a valued link between the Charity and project, and will be an ambassador for the Charity in promoting its missions and values at events, conferences and when engaging with both internal and external audiences.

Do you bring strong coordination and delivery skills and want to help deliver change that improves NHS staff experience and patient care?

We are recruiting a proactive and compassionate Project Support Manager to join a time-limited programme (approx. 18 months) funded by My University Hospitals Sussex Charity. This ambitious and high-impact programme supports a series of targeted engagement and wellbeing initiatives for key staff groups, aligned with our NHS Trust’s People Plan and national goals to improve population health and tackle inequalities in care and outcomes.

You’ll work in partnership with a range of stakeholders to deliver events, communications, and collaborative improvement activities. These are designed to support staff engagement, increase retention, and strengthen our organisation’s capacity to listen to and act on lived experience. You’ll take the lead in planning and coordination, enabling delivery across the programme and supporting robust evaluation.

Main duties of the job

We’re seeking someone who is:

• A confident communicator with excellent planning and organisation skills
• Able to navigate complexity and ambiguity while keeping people motivated
• Experienced in delivering multi-stakeholder projects or improvement work
• Passionate about improving the NHS as a place to work and receive care

You’ll be supported by the wider My UHSussex Charity and Leadership, OD and Engagement teams and work closely with internal and external partners including national speakers and system leaders to deliver an exciting programme of events and campaigns. You’ll help ensure high visibility and wide engagement across the Trust, working across teams and services.

In return, we offer:

• Flexible working (including hybrid)
• Support to access management and leadership development programmes and activities
• Opportunities to shape wider engagement and development work with My UHSussex Charity
• A supportive team committed to improving staff and patient experience

If you’re committed to helping our workplaces become more engaging, inclusive and healthy places to work, we’d love to hear from you.

Working for our organisation

At UHSussex, diversity is our strength, and we want you to feel included to help us always put the Patient First. Your uniqueness and experiences will be part of our creative and innovative community where everyone is encouraged to succeed. We have a range of Staff Networks to help break down barriers, and can offer a buddy to help new members settle in. We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Employer (Level 2) and a Veteran Aware Trust.

We treat our patients and staff with the same compassion and empathy we expect for ourselves. We’re here for them when they need us, and we go above and beyond to meet their needs. This can be seen in our Wellbeing Programme for staff which is extensive and designed to support you when you need it, including where possible, flexible working to support work life balance - because we know that to look after others we must first look after ourselves.

As a university trust and a leader in healthcare research, we value learning, teaching and training so that we can be the best that we can be. From the moment you start with us and throughout your career we will help you to grow and develop. We hope that in choosing UHSussex you are choosing a long and happy career where you will be able to see the difference you make and feel valued for all that you do.

We look forward to receiving your application and the start of your journey with UHSussex.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

This position is funded by a grant from My University Hospitals Sussex, the dedicated charity of the Trust. It serves as a vital connection between the hospital charity and the Staff Networks. The post holder will act as an ambassador for the Charity understanding its missions and values when representing the Staff Networks at events, conferences, and when engaging with both internal and external audiences.

This charity funded fixed-term role will support the UHSussex Staff Network development project. The postholder will work closely with the Trust’s Staff Networks to deliver a variety of charity funded activities and events including staff conferences, seminars, targeted initiatives and market stalls to promote and develop staff networks. The Staff Networks Project Support Manager will also need to be able to demonstrate the ability to work autonomously to deliver three core elements:

• Providing project support to the Trust Staff Networks, currently BAME Network, LGBTQI+ Network, Disabled Staff Network, Religion & Belief Forum, Armed Forces Community, Women’s Network, Carer’s Network, Trans & Non-Binary Group. To provide programme-wide oversight of Staff Networks / My Charity programmes, delivering a multi-strand project structure spanning Staff Networks, My Charity programme, People & Culture Committee (via Workforce Inclusion Steering Group) and Trust Communications Team. This support will focus on raising the profile of the Staff Networks to ensure greater visibility, increased membership and enhanced engagement. The post holder will also support network leads with engagement event days: planning, promoting and facilitating these events to encourage sign-ups to the Staff Networks and broaden participation across all networks. This will also include monitoring and reporting of progress against the Staff Network’s agreed action plans (e.g. post-event evaluations for feedback from attendees, tracking network membership levels, monitoring attendance at network meetings and events).

• Providing support to Trust Staff Network Leads at engagement events. This will include working with all 8 Staff Network Leads, organising and managing events such as conferences, webinars and engagement events at UHSussex sites, ensuring collaboration with Intergrated Educational team to distil learning into educational content for all Trust staff to be accessed via our internal StaffHub or the IRIS learning platform. Additionally, this role will involve hands-on support for setting up stands, supporting network leads on promoting networks, and following up with attendees to encourage sign-ups to Staff Networks.

• Encourage collaborative working across all Trust Staff Networks. This will include identifying opportunities for joint working on Staff Network initiatives to support the overall aim of promoting enhanced staff wellbeing and reducing health inequalities in minoritised staff groups. This could include joint initiatives such as co-hosted events, shared initiatives (e.g. educational webinars/sessions), and the development of educational material (e.g. bitesize e-learning modules for uploading to the IRIS learning platform). It will also mean coordinating the sharing of resources, scheduling across networks, and ensuring consistency in messaging and outreach across all Staff Network activities.

Person specification

1-5 (1 Poor, 2 Weak, 3 Satisfactory, 4 Good, 5 - Excellent/exceeds)

• Educated to degree level (e.g. Project Management degree), equivalent qualification (e.g. CIPD Level 5 Diploma) plus significant experience, or a demonstrably equivalent level of knowledge and experience (which may have been gained through paid or voluntary/community work).
• The postholder will need to be experienced in providing project management support underpinned by theoretical knowledge or practical experience in equalities and inclusion issues. The postholder will need to demonstrate understanding of the theoretical knowledge and evidence underpinning project management and business administration, as well as operational experience of delivery.
• Evidence of having taken steps to educate self around inclusion issues (e.g. experiences of people from different backgrounds), and of having advocated for diversity & inclusion (e.g. in previous work roles).
• Evidence of developed skills of persuasion, motivation, negotiation, reassurance; to be able to convey sensitive, complex and potentially contentious information appropriately for the audience (especially where there are barriers to acceptance and understanding).
• Experience of training colleagues

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

• Evidence of having undertaken own development to improve understanding of equalities issue.
• Evidence of having championed diversity in previous roles (as appropriate to role)

Important information for applicants:

A Note on AI Use in ApplicationsWe value the individuality and authenticity that each candidate brings to the application process. While AI tools are increasingly accessible, we strongly discourage their use in completing your application. Your responses should reflect your own voice, experiences, and motivations—elements that are essential to a fair and accurate evaluation. Applications that rely heavily on AI-generated content may misrepresent your abilities and could result in your application being rejected. We encourage you to take the time to present your genuine self, as this helps us better understand your potential and ensures a transparent selection process.

Closing Adverts Early: In the event of exceptional interest, we may close adverts earlier than specified.

Some of our adverts are capped for a limited number of applications; therefore, the advert will close once the cap has been reached. We therefore encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible if you are interested in the position to prevent you from missing out on applying for the opportunity.

Flexible Working: If you would like to explore potential options regarding flexible working please speak with the appropriate recruiting/line manager.

DBS Checks: As part of our commitment to a safe working environment, we undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service check on all new employees where the role is eligible for a criminal record check. We make offers in line with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1975.

Skilled Worker Visa: Applications for Skilled Worker sponsorship are welcome for the roles that meet the Visa and Immigrations eligibility criteria. For further information please visit the gov.uk website searching for Skilled Worker. It is your responsibility as the applicant to ensure that you meet this criteria.

UHSussex reserves the right to close the role early if we receive a high volume of applications

Further Information

For help with the application process for Nursing vacancies, please email uhsussex.nursingteam@nhs.net.

For help with the application process for Non-Nursing vacancies, please email uhsussex.nonnursingteam@nhs.net.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Name Fariha Ahmed

Job title Business Manager

Email address fariha.ahmed2@nhs.net

Telephone number 01444448610

Additional information

Please contact via email if you would like to arrange an informal discussion