Senior Administrator - Psychology

NHS; Stratford-upon-Avon; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 30,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare provider in Stratford-upon-Avon seeks a Senior Administrator to provide essential support to the Clinical Health Psychology team. You'll manage communications with patients and staff, maintain waiting lists, and ensure efficient workflow. Ideal candidates will have NHS experience and strong organizational and communication skills. Join a dedicated team committed to patient care and quality service.

Qualifications

• Previous significant office experience required.
• Experience of managing own workload essential.
• NHS experience is necessary.

Responsibilities

• Provide comprehensive administrative support to the Clinical Health Psychology Department.
• Manage communication with staff and patients effectively.
• Assist in maintaining and updating waiting lists.

Skills

Excellent communication skills

Organisational skills

Ability to use Microsoft Office

Compassionate telephone manner

Ability to manage own workload

Education

Level 3 RSA/NVQ in relevant administrative field or equivalent experience

Tools

Microsoft Outlook

Databases

Job description

Senior Administrator - Psychology

South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust

The closing date is 30 November 2025

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a self‑motivated, efficient and friendly individual to join our welcoming and dedicated Clinical Health Psychology team. This role is integral to the success and smooth running of this team and is highly valued.

As a Senior Administrator, you will be working on site, responsible for contributing to an efficient and effective admin service within the busy Clinical Health Psychology Department based at Stratford Healthcare, Stratford upon Avon. You will be the first point of call for many of our patients. Previous NHS experience is essential.

You will need excellent communication skills, with a patient‑centred approach, an eye for detail, excellent organisational skills and the ability to use your own initiative. Previous office/administrative experience, knowledge of databases and Microsoft Office including Outlook is necessary.

Your duties will include being a point of contact for all members of the team, communicating with staff and patients via telephone, email, and face‑to‑face; making patient appointments, updating waiting lists, using databases and typing standard letters.

Main duties of the job

To provide a comprehensive, efficient, and responsive administrative and clerical support to assist the Clinical Health Psychology Department to maintain an efficient and effective work flow.

To contribute fully as a member of the Clinical Health Psychology team, working closely with colleagues within the function to ensure a patient‑centred approach.

About us

Come and join a Trust rated Outstanding by the CQC. South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust have been rated as outstanding following our latest inspection by the CQC and we are recruiting new staff to help us improve even further. In addition, our staff survey results have placed us 4th in the country for recommended place to work.

We provide services across Warwickshire and beyond ranging from hospitals in Warwick, Stratford‑Upon‑Avon, Royal Leamington Spa and Shipston‑on‑Stour to community services across the county. We are a progressive, expanding organisation with great ambition around improving quality, integrating pathways and delivering high levels of productivity. Our values can be summed up in one sentence: we are ‘Trusted to provide safe, inclusive, effective and compassionate care’. Throughout the recruitment process you will be asked to think about how you demonstrate these values and how they impact your work. It doesn’t matter what role you do, whether it is patient‑facing or not, we are all working in the same way with our values at the core.

As part of our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion we encourage all applicants to complete a short survey. This can be accessed via the link below:

https://forms.office.com/e/ahWY3eAGM2

We appreciate you completing the survey.

Job responsibilities

Main Duties

Under the direction of the Office Manager, provide a point of contact for all members of the team.

The applicant will be required to manage their own workload using planning and organisational skills to ensure that the most urgent issues are dealt with promptly.

Work pattern is unpredictable with a frequent requirement to concentrate – e.g. putting on new referrals (using database, waiting list and creating electronic and hard‑copy files) whilst having frequent interruptions for example dealing with phone calls from referrers, patients, members of staff, responding to clinically present clinicians and patients at reception.

Maintain the psychology general email inbox. Retrieve referrals as necessary and coordinate queries, including liaison with the team about risk and action. Answer internal and external telephone calls, record and relay accurate messages as appropriate. Make telephone calls as necessary. Retrieve any messages left and deal with appropriately.

Input new patient referrals onto the relevant electronic patient record systems.

Complete associated admin following referral meetings, to include updating databases, sending out letters, making patient appointments and allocating the patient to a clinician on database and waiting list for different services within the department.

Assist in maintaining and updating the waiting lists for the Department of Clinical Health Psychology, ensuring data is accurate in accordance with current guidelines.

Taking calls from colleagues and other services. Address the complexity of which of multiple services the patient should be referred to, knowing when to elevate to clinicians appropriately where there are highly complex clinical issues, and how to answer with sufficient clinical detail in an efficient manner.

Taking calls from patients who are distressed, struggling with their mental health, where there are barriers to understanding due to difficulties with language and cognitive understanding, or where there are physical barriers/restrictions due to illness where communication is via a third party.

Explaining complex information about psychological assessment, therapy and interventions to referrers and patients, including why a referral has not been accepted – e.g. explaining health condition or limits to service criteria in a sensitive and empathetic way where there may be barriers to understanding and distress.

Knowing your limitations and boundaries in communication and being able to liaise effectively with an appropriate clinician, including accurate explanation of the needs of complex and high‑risk patients.

Making appointments for new and existing patients using Microsoft Outlook and maintaining a record of appointments, dealing with all changes using judgement when dealing with changes to appointments, e.g. when a patient attends incorrectly, who may become distressed.

Coordinating clinicians’ diaries and using own judgement, within guidance, when making multiple different types of appointments to meet different department services and patient requirements.

Regular requirement to speak to emotionally distressed patients and family, both on the phone and in person.

Regular requirement to deal with angry or confused patients about referrals, health treatment or discharge both on the phone and in person.

Greet patients/staff members who come to reception with a welcoming, helpful attitude. Use knowledge and tact to direct individuals to the correct department given a multi‑use site; this includes the need to manage frustration and agitation.

Be able to demonstrate processes and lead induction to new trainee psychologists, students and staff on clinical activity and expectation including audit paperwork, discharge steps and electronic patient records.

Compiling patient files in an accurate and timely manner.

Maintain patient record filing systems, ensuring all records are accurately and appropriately archived. Retrieve patient records from filing as required.

Provide general administrative duties such as typing a range of standard letters, sending out patient letters and questionnaires, scanning documents. Details in clinical letters may be distressing and highly complex.

Disseminate incoming post appropriately and act where possible. Outgoing post, ensuring priorities are maintained.

Photocopying, faxing and any other clerical duties as necessary.

Provide short‑term cover for colleagues during periods of leave.

The post holder may be required to undertake some moderate lifting and handling.

This job description is not exhaustive and may be amended in consultation with the post holder. It should be reviewed whenever major changes have been agreed to the post and should be reviewed as part of the annual appraisal process to ensure it remains an accurate reflection of the duties and responsibilities undertaken by the post holder.

During the course of your employment you may have access to, see or hear information of a confidential nature and you are required not to disclose such information, particularly relating to patients or staff. All persons identifiable information must be held in the strictest confidence and should be disclosed only to authorised people in accordance with NHS Confidentiality Guidelines and the Data Protection Act 1998 unless explicit written consent has been given by the person identified, or where information sharing protocols exist.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Level 3 RSA/NVQ in relevant administrative field or equivalent experience

Experience

• Previous significant office experience, Ability to manage an alphabetical filing system
• Experience of managing own workload
• Experience of working in the NHS

Skills

• Excellent communications skills.
• Compassionate telephone manner.
• Able to prioritise tasks.
• Demonstrates potential to be able to work under pressure with multiple competing priorities.
• Demonstrate understanding of patient confidentiality.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office including Outlook and Excel and excellent keyboard skills.
• Working knowledge of using databases and NHS systems.

Personal Qualities

• The ability to work alone and manage own workload.
• Compassion and kindness when working with those in distress.
• Able to interact with a variety of staff.
• Able to maintain confidentiality.
• Flexible and adaptable.
• Ability to use initiative.
• Understanding of own limitations and boundaries in patient contacts.

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.

Address

Clinical Health Psychology Dept, Building 1, 2nd Floor, Stratford Healthcare, Arden Street.