Switchboard Supervisor | St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

st georges nhs trust; Tooting; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS Trust in the UK is looking for a Switchboard Supervisor to manage operators and ensure effective telecommunications services. This role requires strong team management and communication skills, with responsibilities including planning staff rotas and responding to complaints. The ideal candidate will have experience in a hospital setting and be able to handle sensitive situations effectively.

Qualifications

• Experience in managing a team in a hospital environment.
• Ability to handle sensitive and difficult calls.
• Capability to analyze and present call data.

Responsibilities

• Plan and manage staff rotas using Healthroster.
• Support operators through operational challenges.
• Respond to complaints and offer professional resolutions.
• Initiate emergency response protocols.

Skills

Operational knowledge of switchboard services

Team management

Troubleshooting skills

Communication skills

Job description

Overview

The Switchboard Supervisor will support in the management of the switchboard operators, performance, and continuity of the hospital’s telecommunications services. This includes supervising and developing a team of operators and participating directly in frontline switchboard duties during periods of high demand or limited staffing. The post holder ensures 24/7 operational effectiveness, compliance with emergency protocols, and exceptional service delivery to patients, staff, and external stakeholders.

You should be a highly motivated team player with an operational knowledge of switchboard services within an acute hospital setting along with experience of managing teams.

Troubleshooting issues and implementing changes with suppliers will be part of the role, and working with all levels of staff to ensure telecoms systems are developed appropriately to support the activity of the services will be paramount in your thinking.

Responsibilities

• Plan and manage staff rotas using Healthroster, ensuring adequate coverage, especially during peak hours or staff shortages.
• Reallocate resources to meet fluctuating call volumes and respond to unexpected absences.
• Support and guide operators through difficult calls and operational challenges.
• Provide technical and administrative assistance where required.
• Collate, analyse, and present monthly call data for Trust reporting.
• Respond to complaints via Datix, offering professional resolutions and feedback.
• Maintain switchboard equipment and report faults to IT or service providers for resolution.
• Contribute to Trust-wide operational changes by proposing and implementing improvements.
• Receive, triage, and direct all internal and external calls via the hospital switchboard promptly and courteously.
• Handle sensitive, distressed, or irate callers professionally and empathetically.
• Initiate and track emergency response protocols, including liaising with the Emergency Planning Liaison Officer and Site Manager on Call.
• Maintain and operate the bleep and pager systems, including programming, replacements, and fault reporting.
• Manage lift alarms, radio paging requests, and contact with maintenance engineers out of hours.
• Receive and manage GP calls, rota updates, and duty lists for on-call staff and medical schools.
• Provide cover on bank holidays and participate in training and continuous development.

About the Trust

St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the country's principal teaching hospitals and our main site is shared with St George's, University of London, which trains medical students and carries out advanced medical research. We have over 9,000 dedicated staff serving a population of 1.3 million across south-west London. We deliver a large number of services, such as cardiothoracic medicine and surgery, neurosciences and renal transplantation. We also cover significant populations from Surrey and Sussex, totalling around 3.5 million people. As well as acute hospital services, we provide a wide variety of specialist care and a range of community services to patients.

Please see attached the job description for more details on the main responsibilities for this role.

This advert closes on Monday 13 Oct 2025