Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen for the role of paediatric dietetic assistant at Colchester General Hospital.

We welcome applications from candidates with a passion for organisation, teamwork and supporting dietetic professionals in delivering dietetic interventions to babies, children and young people with a range of conditions. You will work on site, Monday to Friday at Colchester hospital to support the paediatric dietetic team in delivering services across a range of specialist areas including , allergy, gastroenterology, diabetes, learning disabilities, home enteral feeding, oncology, neonates and general paediatric dietetics.

The paediatric dietetic team works at a fast pace with a requirement for timely responses to queries which will be coordinated by you. It is essential that you can prioritise tasks and recognise appropriate distribution and escalation or issues to the clinical team.

For more information about the role, please contact Tracey Peate or Clare Hegarty on 01206 742668

Proposed Interview Date: 19th October 2026

Main duties of the job
To support the provision of a dietetic service to paediatric patients under the care of the paediatric dietetic team including phone calls and supporting remote group interventions.

To provide administrative support to the paediatric dietetic team including answering telephone, email and my chart queries, redirecting appointment queries, sending feed prescription requests and creating and sending letters under the direction of a dietitian.

To provide cover for the adult dietetic assistant during annual leave or other absence.

To assist in providing time effective responses to telephone queries and support for children receiving home enteral feeding (HEF) or specialist infant formula and escalating concerns to the relevant dietitian.

To ensure the patient databases are up to date.

To support the paediatric dietitians with the education of other staff and future AHPs to ensure good working practices within paediatric public health nutrition.

To provide support to the ward dietitian in completing the PYMS audit and other audits and providing feedback and clinical updates to the paediatric team.

About us
We are ESNEFT and we provide hospital and community health services to almost one million people across east Suffolk and north Essex. Our dedicated staff deliver care from acute hospitals in Colchester and Ipswich, community hospitals, surgeries, community clinics and in patients' own homes.

We are one of the largest NHS organisations in England, employing more than 12,000 staff.

We pride ourselves on supporting our staff. We offer a wide range of training and development opportunities, as well as flexible working options.

Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offer a variety of services.

Our philosophy is that Time Matters to everyone. Across the Trust, we concentrate on improving the things we do and removing those which cause time delays for our staff and patients.

We are investing in our commitment to Time Matters with a partnership with leading electronic patient record (EPR) supplier Epic. This digital transformation will bring what's widely regarded as the world's best EPR system to ESNEFT, transforming life in hospital for staff and patients.

If you are passionate about patient care and want to develop your skills and knowledge, then we want to hear from you.

Find out about living and working here - Apply through our website

Details
Date posted: 24 September 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 3
Salary: £25,760 to £27,476 a year per annum
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: 432-HR854-26
Job locations: Colchester Hospital, Turner Road, Colchester, CO4 5JL, United Kingdom

Job description
Job responsibilities
For full details of the responsibilities and duties of this role please see the attached job description.

Person Specification
Experience
Essential

• Previous experience of working in an administrative or clinical role or healthcare or early years environment.
• Knowledge of the basic principles of nutrition
• Interest in food and nutrition
• Experience of working with people and specifically with children and families
• Awareness of tube feeding and home enteral nutrition

Desirable

• Experience of working with families with communication difficulties
• Previous experience of working as a dietetic assistant.

Qualifications
Essential

• O'Level/GCSE or equivalent in English and Maths
• Digital literacy

Desirable

• BDA course for Dietetic assistants
• Nutrition courses

Skills
Essential

• Ability to work with adults and children
• Ability to deal with sensitive and distressing situations
• Be able to use Microsoft Word, construct tables, type letters and use Microsoft Excel
• Be able to use e mail
• Be able to write legibly with accurate spelling and grammar
• Effective communication with all grades of staff and public, ability to obtain and pass on information
• Be able to use Powerpoint to produce presentations and handouts
• Ability to prioritise workload
• Ability to work within a team
• Positive response to supervision and direction
• Able to offer an empathetic approach
• Adaptable and flexible
• Self-motivation
• Enthusiastic about food and nutrition

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details
Employer name: East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust
Address: Colchester Hospital, Turner Road, Colchester, CO4 5JL, United Kingdom
Employer's website: https://www.esneft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact:
Professional Lead
Philippa Marshall
Philippa.Marshall@esneft.nhs.uk
07927682973

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applicants must have current UK professional registration.