Telephonist

North West Borough Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust; Knowsley; On-site; GBP 21,000 - 24,000; Full time

Job summary

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust invites applications for a Telephonist to manage the Cisco Unified Arc Pro switchboard, handle incoming/outgoing calls, and ensure continuous coverage during shifts.

The role requires good general education, NHS experience preferred, and strong customer care with confidentiality. The post emphasises safety, on-call coordination, and professional conduct within a dynamic Trust environment.

Qualifications

• Telephonist experience using a computerised switchboard.
• Previous experience as a receptionist for at least one year.
• Excellent customer care skills and confidential handling.
• Knowledge of Ericsson switchboard (Desirable).
• A good standard of spoken and written English.

Responsibilities

• Facilitate all incoming and outgoing telephone calls using a Cisco Unified Arc Pro attendant console.
• Ensure switchboard is attended during the post holder's shift.
• Participate in annual Personal Achievement and Contribution Evaluation (PACE) activities and related training.
• Adhere to health and safety requirements and assist with relevant duties.
• Notify appropriate on-call staff and announce calls to wards as appropriate.
• Facilitate the Doctor on Call rota and other on-call rotas for MCT, updating contact numbers.

Skills

Telephonist experience

Switchboard operation

Customer care skills

English proficiency

Confidentiality awareness

Education

Good general education

Tools

Ericsson switchboard

Job description

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust celebrates diversity and promotes equal opportunities; we are committed to challenging and eliminating racism and other forms of discrimination and advancing and promoting equality of opportunity in the provision of services and creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We believe that everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect.

We take positive action to support disadvantaged groups and also particularly encourage applications from ethnically diverse, disabled and LGBTQIA+ people that are under-represented in our workforce. Furthermore we welcome applications from reservists and ex-armed forces personnel as we recognise the benefits of the values, skills, training and experience that they bring to their work with us. We encourage all applicants to share their equality information with us.

Using AI to support your application

AI can be a useful tool to support the preparation of your application. However, all information submitted must be accurate, truthful and reflect your own skills, experience and achievements. Applications should include personal examples demonstrating how you meet the person specification. Applications that appear mostly or fully generated by AI, without clear personal examples linked to the person specification, may be rejected. For tips and guidance, please refer to our applicant guidance.

Identity verification

Candidates attending interview will be required to provide original photographic identification where available. Where suitable photographic identification is not available, a photograph will be taken at interview for identity verification purposes. Successful candidates will also be required to complete digital identity and right to work checks via TrustID, including facial recognition and image matching technology, to verify their identity throughout the recruitment and onboarding process. Identity verification will also be undertaken on the first day of employment in line with NHS employment check requirements.

Job overview

To facilitate all incoming and outgoing telephone calls using a cisco unified Arc Pro attendant console computerised switchboard.

To provide a full service whilst ensuring that the switchboard equipment is not left unattended during the post holder(s) shift.

All employees are required to participate in annual Personal Achievement and Contribution Evaluation (PACE) activities and any associated training and/or learning opportunities. For those staff covered by Agenda for Change Terms and Conditions the Personal Development Review will incorporate the use of the Knowledge and Skills Framework Outline for the post.

Employees must act in a responsible manner to ensure the care of their health and safety and that of others who may be affected by their omissions at work.

Employees must co-operate with the employer insofar as is necessary to enable Health and Safety duties or requirements to be performed and complied with.

Main duties of the job

To use technology and co-operate in the introduction of technological developments.

To update directory user database as and when required

To operate all relevant emergency procedures, to include terrorist or bomb threat or service user escape.

To order taxis and maintaining appropriate record

To contact appropriate on-call staff when required

To announce all in-coming calls to wards as appropriate

Facilitate the Doctor on Call rota and all other on-call rotas for MCT (e.g. Bronze, Silver and Gold Command, Pharmacist, Driver, SLS Manager), to include updating and maintaining contact numbers.

Working for our organisation

Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.

We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.

At the heart of all we do is our commitment to 'perfect care' - care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We're currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.

Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To facilitate all incoming and outgoing telephone calls using a cisco unified Arc Pro attendant console computerised switchboard

To provide a full service whilst ensuring that the switchboard equipment is not left unattended during the post holder(s) shift

To use technology and co-operate in the introduction of technological developments

To update directory user database as and when required

To operate all relevant emergency procedures, to include terrorist or bomb threat or service user escape.

To order taxis and maintaining appropriate record

To contact appropriate on-call staff when required

To announce all in-coming calls to wards as appropriate

Facilitate the Doctor on Call rota and all other on-call rotas for MCT (e.g. Bronze, Silver and Gold Command, Pharmacist, Driver, SLS Manager), to include updating and maintaining contact numbers.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Good general education

Experience

Essential criteria

• Telephonist experience using a computerised switchboard


• Previous experience working as a receptionist for a minimum of one year


• Excellent customer care skills

Desirable criteria

• Previous experience working in similar position for the NHS


• Knowledge of Ericcson computerised switchboard

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• A good standard of spoken and written English


• A confident and polite telephone manner

Skills

Essential criteria

• Ability to use a computerised Switchboard


• Ability to work without direct supervision


• Windows based computer skills.


• Ability to work under time pressure


• An awareness of confidentiality issues


• Good timekeeping and reliability

Only those applicants who demonstrate clearly how they meet our person specification will be shortlisted for interview.

As a Disability Confident Employer, we offer a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants who consider themselves to be disabled who meet the minimum (essential) criteria for the role in the person specification. If you would like your application to be considered under the Trust's guaranteed interview scheme you can indicate this in the personal information section of your online application form.