111 Health Advisor (Call Handler) - Crawley

South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust; Crawley; On-site; GBP 2,600 - 27,000; Full time

Job summary

South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust is seeking an NHS 111 Call Handler (Health Advisor) in Crawley. You will be the first point of contact, handling 111 and 999 calls with compassionate guidance, using NHS Pathways, and directing callers to appropriate care.

Full training is provided, with shift patterns including earlies, lates and weekends. Role requires GCSEs in Maths and English and RN Pathways training or equivalent.

Qualifications

• GCSE Maths and English (or equivalent) at Grade C or above.
• NHSP Pathways trained or equivalent medical triage system background.
• Experience in public-facing roles and strong IT skills.

Responsibilities

• Answer 111/999 calls and provide guidance using the NHS Pathways system.
• Direct callers to appropriate services and provide timely advice.
• Maintain composure and empathy in stressful situations while delivering high quality support.

Skills

Communication skills

Empathy

Flexibility

Typing speed

Education

GCSE Maths & English

Tools

NHSP Pathways trained

IT / computer skills

Job description

Main area NHS, Health Advisor, 111, Team Leader, Contact Centre Grade Band 3 Contract Permanent Hours

• Full time
• Part time

37.5 hours per week (15 - 37.5 hours per week) Job ref 278-111HAC-2809-CV

Employer South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Crawley HQ, 4 Gatwick Road, Nexus House Town Crawley Salary £25,760 - £27,476 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 11/10/2026 23:59

111 Health Advisor (Call Handler) - Crawley

Band 3

South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb) has a vision to ‘support our staff to provide a caring, high quality and efficient urgent and emergency care service to our communities’. We are rated ‘Good’ for care by the Care Quality Commission and while the other areas under their most recent report require improvement, our aim is to continually improve and to reach outstanding across all areas of the Trust.

Our 4,000+ workforce provide services to 4.9m people across Kent, Surrey, Sussex and North East Hampshire. We handle over 1 million calls to 999 and 1 million calls to NHS 111 every year. More information regarding our services and locations can be found on our website.

Job overview

111 Call Handler (Health Advisor) - Crawley

Join your local Ambulance Service! Your NHS needs YOU!

Our NHS 111 Call Handlers (Health Advisors) are people just like you: people who have come to us from all walks of life, from different backgrounds and age groups, people who all have the same things in common.

You are the first person our patients speak to when they call 111, it could be urgent and they may require an ambulance. Alternatively, they simply are in need of some advice and support from you.

The 111 service receive a huge variety of calls which means no two days are ever the same.

We offer excellent training and career development opportunities for ambitious employees both within the call centres and also opportunities to explore different roles within the wider Trust such as Human Resources and Administration and operational front-line roles, leading to a career as a Paramedic or in Senior Management.

What makes a great NHS 111 Call Handler (Health Advisor)?

• Our 111 Call Handlers are all caring and empathetic
• They all have great communication skills and love talking to people
• They're all happy and able to work flexibly
• They all love making a difference to people's lives

Main duties of the job

When you ring 111 or 999, your call goes through to a call handler based in one of our 3 Emergency Operation/Contact Centres. These staff are trained to use the NHS Pathways system to provide assistance in a variety of situations, from minor illness to life threatening situations. The assistance you will provide will range from offering lifesaving advice whilst an ambulance is on route, to directing callers to other more suitable services.

This role can be demanding, challenging and ultimately very rewarding however, it's not for everyone. Applicants will need to have a range of skills to be able to deal with often stressful and emotional situations, whilst also demonstrating compassion and empathy to all callers, no matter what the situation.

As we are a 24/7 service, this role will involve working a varied shift pattern including earlies, lates and weekends but due to our flexible working, we will work with you to create a rota that gives you a great work/life balance whilst meeting the needs of the trust.

Please note that it is a requirement to work 3 out of 4 weekends, even if you are applying for a part time position. Please give this consideration before making your application.

Working for our organisation

What we can offer you:

• Competitive salary of £25,760 - £27,476 with the earning potential of up to £30,000 per annum
• Any unsocial hours worked you will attract an enhancement in line with Section 2 Agenda for Change
• 35 days’ annual leave inclusive of Bank Holidays (pro rata)
• Free parking
• Access to Blue Light discounts
• Staff networks
• Training and development
• Salary Sacrifice schemes for cars or push bikes
• Free Enhanced DBS check

Other than in exceptional circumstances, the starting salary for staff new to the NHS will be the bottom point of the band to which they have been appointed.

Training Provided

We will provide full training in a warm, friendly environment in our NHS 111 Call Centre.

• Training will be full-time (even for part-time applicants)
• Has a ‘must’ attend policy and no annual leave is permitted during this period
• Comprises of classroom, observing and mentoring periods within the working environment
• Designed to fully support full transition to call handling independently

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Successful applicants will demonstrate high levels of personal commitment to facilitate the delivery of a patient focused service.

We need individuals who have the drive and passion to make a difference to people’s lives, but also the personal resilience to work in a high-pressured environment.

You will need to be able to work well within a team and independently, have fast/accurate typing skills and a good standard of education. Successful candidates must possess GCSE Maths and English (or equivalent qualifications) at Grade C or above (2018 Grade 4).

This role is suited to people who remain calm under pressure, good at problem solving and have excellent interpersonal skills, with an empathetic nature.

Further Information

All successful applicants will be required to undertake an Enhanced DBS check for children and adults.

Person specification

Qualifications/Training

• Educated to GCSE or Functional Skills in Maths, English and ICT skills OR evidence within previous employment that they have used Maths and English to GCSE level or higher
• NHSP Pathways trained or other medical triage system background

Experience

• Previous experience working and communicating with the public
• Ability to communicate with a variety of different people and build rapport
• Experience of working in a computer based role - strong IT skills
• Previous experience of working within a team or with stakeholders across a range of setting

Please note that the salary range noted on the vacancy is in line with agenda for change (AFC) pay scales. All successful applicants would be placed automatically at the bottom of the banding, unless proven, relevant NHS or equivalent experience can be demonstrated.

Following the revision of current national legislation (Vaccine as a Condition of Deployment), the Trust has reviewed our requirements relating to staff uptake of the SARS-COV-2 (COVID-19) vaccination.

Going forward, for patient facing positions, we strongly recommend that new starters will be appropriately vaccinated unless medically exempt in order to offer greater protection against exposure to the virus for front line staff.

In line with this recommendation, if you are successful in your application for a front line post, we will seek information from you in relation to your vaccine status, including exemption status, as applicable.

Please note, all positions come with a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check relevant to the post. This will either be a basic, standard, or enhanced check depending on the role. The level of check will be outlined in the conditional offer letter sent to successful applicants.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to declare any unspent/unfiltered convictions. If you are shortlisted you will then be sent a self declaration form, which must be completed prior to attending interview. for any queries relating to declarations, please contact the Recruitment Advisor listed on the vacancy.

The Trust is passionately committed to being an inclusive employer - a place where we can all be ourselves and succeed. As an employer we offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement networks, facilities and services to support staff from different backgrounds.

We actively support equality of opportunity for all our staff and welcome applications from individuals regardless of age, any disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief. The Trust is making progress towards its aim of becoming more reflective of the diversity of our community in our workforce and guarantees an interview to candidates with disability who meet the essential criteria specified. We particularly encourage applications from Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and disabled applicants and those from other under-represented groups.

The Equality Act 2010 protects disabled people - including those with long term health conditions, learning disabilities and hidden disabilities such as dyslexia. If you tell us that you have a disability we can make reasonable adjustments to ensure that any selection processes - including the interview - are fair and equitable.

We are a committed to offering opportunities to individuals with disabilities and offer on-going support, should you be successful, with any adjustments you may need when performing your role.

Please note that under our Trust policies, we're unable to employ anyone under the age of 18 years old.

The majority of our roles will include some travel between sites for business purposes. If the vacancy you’re applying for includes work related travel, you will be required to ensure that you hold and have covered the cost of suitable car insurance to support this.

Should you require an application form in an alternative format including large print or braille, please contact [e-mail] stating the vacancy reference number and we will be happy to provide this.

Due to the high volume of applications at SECAmb, we regret that we will only be able to contact those applicants who are shortlisted for interview. If you have not heard from us within 10 working days of the closing date, then please assume you have not been shortlisted for interview on this particular occasion.

Please note that we contact all applicants via Trac Jobs and would advise you check your Trac Jobs account regularly.

Please be aware that the Trust reserves the right to close this vacancy early if sufficient applications are received. For this reason we recommend completing your application as early as possible.

We understand that AI tools can be useful for generating ideas or structuring your application. However, any content submitted must reflect your own experiences, skills, and understanding. Applications that are generated wholly or in large part by AI, without personalisation or accuracy, may be excluded from consideration. We value honesty, authenticity, and integrity, and we expect all applicants to uphold these principles.

If you are a current SECAmb employee, by applying for this position, if successful you will move to the terms and conditions associated with the post. Any unsocial hours payments will be paid under the Section 2 agreement of agenda for change. Section 2 unsocial hours will need to be claimed via your monthly timesheet. More information regarding section 2 can be found in the Agenda for Change handbook and on the our dedicatedSection 2 page on The Zon e .

Employer certification / accreditation badges

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.