Call Handler & Dispatch Operator (Dual Role)

South Yorkshire Police; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 39,000; Full time

Job summary

A police organization in the UK seeks a Call Handler and Dispatch Operator. You will be the first point of contact for emergency calls and reports. This role requires excellent communication skills, the ability to multi-task under pressure, and a strong commitment to public service. Working in a 24/7 environment, the position offers a competitive salary, generous benefits, and opportunities for professional development. Join a dedicated team making a difference every day.

Benefits

Generous annual leave allowance

Access to a pension scheme

Flexible working arrangements

Development and leadership courses

Qualifications

• Strong verbal communication skills required.
• Experience in managing pressure and making timely decisions.

Responsibilities

• Receive and critically assess contacts including emergency calls.
• Identify purpose and nature of each contact promptly.
• Assess risk and determine appropriate actions.

Skills

Excellent communication skills

Active/deep listening skills

Multi-tasking

Resilience

Information gathering and problem-solving

IT package utilization

Ability to prioritize and plan own work

Ability to work under pressure

Job description

Role: Call Handler and Dispatch Operator (Dual Role)

Department: Force Control Room

Location: Atlas Court, Sheffield

Salary: £28,914 - £31,749 (plus 20% shift and weekend working allowance)

Hours: 37

Contract Type: Permanent

South Yorkshire Police are looking for a Call Handler and a Dispatch Operator. As part of a dedicated team you will be the first point of contact for all types of contacts from the public and other agencies, including 999, 101, crime reports, intelligence and general enquiries through telephone and electronic media. You will be responsible for identifying and assessing risk and making resolution and deployment decisions using a range of systems, allocating resources to incidents and supporting them in radio transmissions.

You will be part of the wider policing family helping to keep South Yorkshire safe. Working in the Force Control Room, you will be making a difference every day.

We are looking for motivated people who are excellent team players and after training can work unsupervised and use their own initiative. To be successful you will need excellent verbal communication skills and the ability to:

• Apply active/deep listening skills – listen intently, going beyond simply hearing words and seeking to understand the meaning and intent behind them, always being empathetic to the needs of others.
• Multi-task – type while listening, speaking and entering data into systems promptly, think ahead and risk assess by asking the right questions.
• Demonstrate resilience – respond to and recover from difficult situations.

You will be based at Atlas Court, Sheffield, only 5 minutes from Sheffield City Centre and Meadowhall.

You must be prepared to work shifts and bank holidays, with the service operating 24/7, 365 days a year. Working a 24/7 shift pattern, full time or job share, attracts a salary of £28,914 - £31,749 (pro‑rata for job share hours) plus a 20% shift allowance and weekend working, taking the starting pay to approximately £38,745 (pro‑rata).

As a Call Handler and Dispatch Operator you will be responsible for:

• Receiving and critically assessing all types of contacts including 999, 101 and other types of contacts by telephone or online, from the general public, police and other agencies.
• Identifying the purpose and nature of each contact by eliciting relevant and sufficient information to enable an accurate and timely assessment of appropriate means of resolution.
• Assessing risk and identifying the appropriate action to resolve or determine the appropriate agency, deployment grading and priority of contacts.
• Maintaining accurate records of relevant information using appropriate systems to ensure an audit trail and to measure and improve performance.
• Using a variety of applications and systems to maintain and update incident records, audit trails and resource availability to measure and improve performance.
• Operating the Airwave network, linked to operational patrols within the guidelines and procedures of the Force.
• Deploying resources to incidents within the guidelines and procedures of the Force.
• Operating message systems and others including maintaining a watch on internal messages.

Skills and experience:

• Excellent communication skills with the ability to listen, empathise and provide support.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to adapt language to meet the needs of different people and audiences.
• Experience of information gathering and problem solving.
• Able to utilise IT packages, systems and or databases.
• Able to appropriately prioritise and plan own work.
• Ability to work under pressure, making logical and appropriate decisions.

Skills and experience as documented in the role profile need to be evidenced in your application to be considered for interview.

What we offer:

We offer generous entitlements and supportive policies to enable a better work–life balance, some of which are listed below:

• A highly competitive salary and access to a generous pension scheme.
• Generous annual leave allowance.
• A wide range of family‑friendly policies including enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave.
• Flexible working arrangements including flexi‑time and hybrid working.
• A transparent and collaborative team culture underpinned by our core values of Fairness, Integrity & Trust.
• Comprehensive range of development and leadership courses to develop your career with South Yorkshire Police.
• Employee Assistant Programme (accessible 24/7) offering confidential support and advice.
• Flexible lifestyle benefits such as Blue Light Card, Company Shop, Cycle to work scheme.
• Committed to embedding sustainability: South Yorkshire Police Sustainability Strategy 2020-2025.
• Membership to the Sports and Social Club.
• Access to a wide range of staff support groups and networks.

Eligibility:

Applicants must meet the minimum requirement checkable history criteria, which must be taken into account for individuals applying to work with South Yorkshire Police in any capacity. A minimum checkable history of 3 years is required for this role and successfully undergoing recruitment vetting procedure is a pre‑requisite of employment with South Yorkshire Police.

Appearance & Standards:

South Yorkshire Police is committed to striking a proportionate balance between self‑expression and the need to maintain role‑sensitive professional standards in dress and appearance. Officers, staff and volunteers of South Yorkshire Police are permitted to have tattoos visible whilst on duty provided the tattoo is not considered to be unacceptable or otherwise inappropriate. Tattoos will be reviewed as part of the recruitment and selection process.

South Yorkshire Police’s Key Values:

At South Yorkshire Police we have 3 key values which run through everything we do: Fairness, Integrity & Trust. The attached document details the key behaviours we expect all employees to adhere to.

Smarter ways of Working:

South Yorkshire Police is committed to developing working practices which assist staff to balance their personal and professional lives, whilst meeting the needs of the organisation. This in turn enables SYP to provide an outstanding service to the community.

There are 3 different categories as part of this which are: Fixed, Field and Hybrid. This role has been evaluated as a fixed role.

Contact details:

For further information about the role, please contact Stephanie Ballantyne by email at [e-mail].

Closing Date:

11th January 2026

Closing dates are not normally extended, other than in exceptional circumstances and agreement is made between the Recruitment Manager and the Line Manager for the role.

Recruitment Timeline:

Shortlisting: 12th – 16th January

Online Assessment: 19th – 23rd January

Interviews: 9th – 20th February

Candidate Information:

If you are successful at the interview stage and before appointment, the relevant pre‑employment checks are required. These include references, medical clearance, vetting clearance and sickness absence criteria check.

As part of your employment contract, you would be required to engage with routine audiometry (hearing) testing as part of the force health surveillance programme. This test would be provided through the force Occupational Health Unit (OHU).

During training

You will be expected to work full time Monday to Friday for the first 13 weeks at Rotherham and Atlas Court, Atlas Way, Sheffield. No annual leave can be taken during the first 13 weeks of training.

Diversity & Inclusion:

Applications are particularly welcome from female and ethnic minority candidates. It is really important to us that the department represents the community we serve, in order for us to provide the best service, utilising a range of backgrounds, experience and skills. We support and value all officers and staff and the unique experiences they bring to the role. We strongly encourage and welcome applications from these valuable underrepresented groups. If you are from an underrepresented group and want to find out more about the support we can offer, please contact our dedicated team on [e-mail]. In addition, we will look to support anyone who requires Part Time/Job share working hours.

Case Studies – Harvinder and Kyle

Please find link to case studies for two team members in the Force Control room who are talking about the role and what it is like to work within South Yorkshire Police.

• Case Study – Kyle
• Day in the Life Story – Harvinder

Documents to Review:

For the Police Staff Recruitment Vetting Handbook – please Click here. For Application Guidance and Tips – please Click Here. For the FIT Values of South Yorkshire Police – please Click Here.

View our recruitment video:

YouTube link: https://youtu.be/2dGn5qti7_c