Job summary
The post holder will work as part of a team on the switchboard performing the operations in an efficient and courteous manner with particular emphasis on customer care.
Act as a first point of contact to Kettering General hospital. Providing general non-clinical advice, information guidance or ancillary services directly to patients, Clients, relatives or carers.
To meet the needs of a 24/7 public facing service the post holder will be required to work shifts, including working a combination of daytime, evening and night time hours on both weekdays and weekends.
Main duties of the job
Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is seeking to recruit an experienced Switchboard Co-Ordinator to join our existing team and work very closely with the Switchboard Supervisor.You will need to able to work Mon to Fri days as specified below and be flexible to cover urgent shifts if required beit evening, night, or weekend as this is a 24/7 365 service that requires flexibility in your working week.
09.00 - 17.00 Monday to Friday.
Experience in working in a busy environment with supervisor/team leader skills would be preferred.
About us
Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest employers in the area and we are on an exciting journey. Our mission is to provide safe, compassionate, and clinically excellent patient care, by being an outstanding employer for our people. We have entered into a Group Model with neighbouring Northampton General Hospital and have become University Hospitals of Northamptonshire. Our Excellence Values: Compassion Respect Integrity Courageous Accountable
Job description
Job responsibilities
Main Duties
- To operate the Groups switchboard consoles in an efficient, courteous and friendly manner, answering calls within agreed timescales
- To answer incoming telephone calls and enquiries.
- To connect outgoing telephone calls made by users. To monitor and log, if necessary, information concerning all personal calls made by staff for re-charge purposes.
- Adapt communication style to the needs of others and ensure effective and compassionate communication. Communicate in instances where there are difficulties due to language barriers, distress, emotion, hearing difficulties etc.
- The efficient operation of the Groups paging systems for both emergency and non-emergency calls. To be fully aware of the Groups Emergency process and the Switchboards responsibilities upon activation.
- Responsible for ensuring that all alarm and notification panels / screens are monitored, alerting the appropriate teams as quickly as possible.
- Responsible for ensuring that that Switchboard team prioritise emergency calls and take the appropriate actions as quickly as possible.
- To provide Out Of Hours reception cover as required dealing with general enquiries.
- transactions ensuring relevant paperwork (receipts) are completed in line with the departmental procedures.
- Responsible for contributing to regular reviews of the Switchboard directory for mobile phones, extensions and pagers take place and any issues are escalated to the Switchboard Supervisor.
- Responsible for ensuring that all staffing and on-call rota changes reported to Switchboard are made available to all staff.
- Responsible for assisting in the training of new team members.
- Flexibility in the hours worked will include cover at weekends and nights to ensure 24-hour cover is maintained within Switchboard
Management and Leadership
- Contribute to the implementation of the Group Digital Strategy, in line with Group, National priorities and initiatives.
- Deputise for the Switchboard Supervisor as necessary and where appropriate.
Technical Service Delivery
- Will have an awareness of the Groups two-way bleep system.
- Contribution to the management of the Switchboard team budgets and relevant project / capital budgets ensuring excellent financial control and forward planning
- Ensure that routine maintenance and remedial work is appropriately scheduled and undertaken so that it does not adversely impact the availability of business-critical systems.
Performance
- Contribute to the delivery of performance standards for the Switchboard team, including KPIs, having high level awareness of achievement against these and contribute to improved ways of working where necessary to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of services delivered.
- Ensure systems are in place to routinely analyse and manage ICT resource utilisation in the Switchboard team to provide efficient and optimised digital services.
Advice, guidance, and partnerships
- Provide technical and professional assistance regarding the Groups Switchboard function.
Policies and procedures
- Contribute to the Switchboard teams appropriate and up to date policies, guidelines, standard operating procedures, and standards covering the use and management of all ICT services, resources, and assets (physical and data). Contribute to the adherence of policy.
Professional and Personal Development
- With support the post holder will need to develop and maintain an awareness of developments and legislation relevant to the service area and contribute to efforts to ensure that each function reflects current professional guidance and standards.
- The post holder will take responsibility for his or her own professional development, identifying training and educational needs and agreeing ways of addressing these with the Switchboard Supervisor.
Role Requirements
- We support distributed and flexible working arrangements, however, subject to business needs, there may be a requirement to travel between the Kettering and Northampton Hospital sites and other sites across the Group
- Frequent VDU use is required for this post.
- Frequent, occasionally prolonged concentration will be required on a wide variety of complex issues throughout the day. The post holder will regularly have to adapt to changing priorities and re-focus the work of self and others on new priority areas that may require urgent action.
- The post holder will participate in meetings, which require a good level of concentration on a wide range of topics, with a variety of audiences and mixtures of attendees.
- Exposure to unpleasant working conditions or hazards is rare for this role.
Office conditions, with an occasional requirement to travel between sites in this role (for example, to support go lives of projects; an unforeseen level of absence at one site; support training or onboarding of new starters; team workshops etc.).
Job description
Job responsibilities
Main Duties
- To operate the Groups switchboard consoles in an efficient, courteous and friendly manner, answering calls within agreed timescales
- To answer incoming telephone calls and enquiries.
- To connect outgoing telephone calls made by users. To monitor and log, if necessary, information concerning all personal calls made by staff for re-charge purposes.
- Adapt communication style to the needs of others and ensure effective and compassionate communication. Communicate in instances where there are difficulties due to language barriers, distress, emotion, hearing difficulties etc.
- The efficient operation of the Groups paging systems for both emergency and non-emergency calls. To be fully aware of the Groups Emergency process and the Switchboards responsibilities upon activation.
- Responsible for ensuring that all alarm and notification panels / screens are monitored, alerting the appropriate teams as quickly as possible.
- Responsible for ensuring that that Switchboard team prioritise emergency calls and take the appropriate actions as quickly as possible.
- To provide Out Of Hours reception cover as required dealing with general enquiries.
- transactions ensuring relevant paperwork (receipts) are completed in line with the departmental procedures.
- Responsible for contributing to regular reviews of the Switchboard directory for mobile phones, extensions and pagers take place and any issues are escalated to the Switchboard Supervisor.
- Responsible for ensuring that all staffing and on-call rota changes reported to Switchboard are made available to all staff.
- Responsible for assisting in the training of new team members.
- Flexibility in the hours worked will include cover at weekends and nights to ensure 24-hour cover is maintained within Switchboard
Management and Leadership
- Contribute to the implementation of the Group Digital Strategy, in line with Group, National priorities and initiatives.
- Deputise for the Switchboard Supervisor as necessary and where appropriate.
Technical Service Delivery
- Will have an awareness of the Groups two-way bleep system.
- Contribution to the management of the Switchboard team budgets and relevant project / capital budgets ensuring excellent financial control and forward planning
- Ensure that routine maintenance and remedial work is appropriately scheduled and undertaken so that it does not adversely impact the availability of business-critical systems.
Performance
- Contribute to the delivery of performance standards for the Switchboard team, including KPIs, having high level awareness of achievement against these and contribute to improved ways of working where necessary to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of services delivered.
- Ensure systems are in place to routinely analyse and manage ICT resource utilisation in the Switchboard team to provide efficient and optimised digital services.
Advice, guidance, and partnerships
- Provide technical and professional assistance regarding the Groups Switchboard function.
Policies and procedures
- Contribute to the Switchboard teams appropriate and up to date policies, guidelines, standard operating procedures, and standards covering the use and management of all ICT services, resources, and assets (physical and data). Contribute to the adherence of policy.
Professional and Personal Development
- With support the post holder will need to develop and maintain an awareness of developments and legislation relevant to the service area and contribute to efforts to ensure that each function reflects current professional guidance and standards.
- The post holder will take responsibility for his or her own professional development, identifying training and educational needs and agreeing ways of addressing these with the Switchboard Supervisor.
Role Requirements
- We support distributed and flexible working arrangements, however, subject to business needs, there may be a requirement to travel between the Kettering and Northampton Hospital sites and other sites across the Group
- Frequent VDU use is required for this post.
- Frequent, occasionally prolonged concentration will be required on a wide variety of complex issues throughout the day. The post holder will regularly have to adapt to changing priorities and re-focus the work of self and others on new priority areas that may require urgent action.
- The post holder will participate in meetings, which require a good level of concentration on a wide range of topics, with a variety of audiences and mixtures of attendees.
- Exposure to unpleasant working conditions or hazards is rare for this role.
Office conditions, with an occasional requirement to travel between sites in this role (for example, to support go lives of projects; an unforeseen level of absence at one site; support training or onboarding of new starters; team workshops etc.).
Person Specification
Education, Training & Qualifications
Essential
- Educated to diploma/vocational Level3 education or equivalent experience.
Desirable
- Team Leader / Supervisor qualification or equivalent experience.
Skills
Essential
- Good verbal and written communication and presentation skills suitable for a range of audiences.
- Customer Care Skills.
- Ability to deal with occasional complaints.
- Able to remain calm in pressured situations.
- Deputising in the absence of the switchboard supervisor.
- Good people skills for managing staffing and priorities.
Desirable
- Knowledge of Hospital processes and procedures.
- Previous experience of a team leader role within a switchboard/receptionist environment.
Person Specification
Essential
- Computer Skills
- Experience of working in a switchboard/receptionist environment.
Desirable
- Proven experience within a team leader / deputy role working in a switchboard/receptionist environment.
Person Specification
Education, Training & Qualifications
Essential
- Educated to diploma/vocational Level3 education or equivalent experience.
Desirable
- Team Leader / Supervisor qualification or equivalent experience.
Skills
Essential
- Good verbal and written communication and presentation skills suitable for a range of audiences.
- Customer Care Skills.
- Ability to deal with occasional complaints.
- Able to remain calm in pressured situations.
- Deputising in the absence of the switchboard supervisor.
- Good people skills for managing staffing and priorities.
Desirable
- Knowledge of Hospital processes and procedures.
- Previous experience of a team leader role within a switchboard/receptionist environment.
Person Specification
Essential
- Computer Skills
- Experience of working in a switchboard/receptionist environment.
Desirable
- Proven experience within a team leader / deputy role working in a switchboard/receptionist environment.
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Additional information
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
