The NHS has many Corporate services staff who use their professional skills and knowledge to provide services throughout the NHS.
Corporate services staff work within clinical and non-clinical areas. Some services focus the patient, such as hospital play or health promotion staff and others, such as human resources, workforce development and communications support other NHS staff. Some staff, including those working as surveyors, architects and within sustainability, have a lot of contact with organisations outside the NHS.
Corporate Services can be summarised in three main areas including:
Business Services staff are those who work in Communications and Public Relations roles managing the ways in which the NHS communicates. Business Services also includes staff working in finance, human resources and workforce functions.
Staff working in these areas participate in a range of activities depending on their job role but could be arranging meetings and conferences, liaising with businesses and other outside organisations, managing local media press releases, managing social media functions or working in governance ensuring that new policies are developed and communicated with colleagues.
The NHS employs both Architects and Surveyors within the Corporate Services function.
Architects may design new buildings or extensions to existing buildings or may be renovating the historic buildings that the NHS operate out of. Architects may also project manage new constructions or renovations ensuring the projects meet the needs of the NHS and are delivered on budget. Those who work in architect roles are usually fully qualified when they join or come to work for the NHS.
Surveyors manage the buildings that house the NHS. They can be involved in any aspect of building management which can include buying property, selling property, leasing and tenancy agreements providing property management or providing valuations on assets the NHS already own. Surveyors are usually fully qualified when they join the NHS.
Patients and visitors to NHS and Social Care settings need services besides the treatment that goes on in hospitals and health centres. They may need the comfort of some spiritual help or the stimulation of involvement in the arts.
Staff also need support to do their jobs and may need guidance on healthy lifestyles and where to find support or could be working parents who need to know their children are cared for while they work.
Corporate services staff usually join the NHS with qualifications and experience. As a member of the wider healthcare team, everyone is encouraged to take further qualifications and to progress in their career.
Many corporate services staff are members of their own professional organisation and may have professional registrations. As part of this, they are required to keep up their skills with short training courses, conferences and seminars where they can network with others doing the same type of work during their registration period.
To be employed in a Corporate Services role you will need to demonstrate a good standard of literacy and numeracy and for some roles, employers will ask for GCSE’s or equivalent in maths and English. Digital skills and qualifications are also highly sought after as many NHS and Social Care settings rely on IT based systems to manage their databases and patient information.
Working for the NHS or for Social Care in Mid and South Essex provides many opportunities to continue to develop your skills further and there are a wide range of apprenticeships, in-house training and continuing professional development opportunities available that you can use to build your career.
There are also opportunities to develop your career within the Corporate Services team by taking on additional responsibility and you could become a team leader, supervisor or a manager.
Corporate Services roles do not tend to have lots of face-to-face contact with patients and other healthcare professionals and you may be predominantly based in an office environment.
