Switchboard Administrator - Colchester

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

The closing date is 06 May 2025

Job summary

We are looking for an enthusiastic and well motivated person to join our switchboard team at Colchester Hospital. You must demonstrate the ability to work as part of a close-knit team, show a commitment to providing the highest standard of service and possess excellent communication skills.

Working within a 24hr, 7 day a week department, you will be required to work both flexible and varied shifts over the 7 day period. This will involve both out of hours working, night duties and Bank Holidays so flexibility is paramount. There is no set shift pattern.

To fulfil this post you will undertake 5 weeks 'on the job' training during which time you will be working a full 37.5 hour week until your training is complete. Your normal contracted hours will commence after this.

This is secondment/fixed term until 31st December 2025.

Main duties of the job

  • To provide an efficient and courteous first line support service to patients, public and staff as a member of the Trust's Switchboard, which operates 24 hours every day by participating in the shift rota.
  • To receive and direct telephone calls both internally and externally.
  • To act as the first point of contact for emergency calls of all types (cardiac arrest, fire and emergency lines) and monitor and respond appropriately to all the Trust's emergency systems.
  • To provide a 24 hr service to the Trust for the following services: Fire Alarms, Intruder Alarms, Plant/Gas Alarms, Bone Bank Alarms, Cook Chill Alarm & Lift Alarms. Administrators will action appropriate procedures when these alarms are activated.
  • To provide support for Trust IT systems and applications, managing and escalating incidents in accordance with Service Level Agreements in conjunction with Trust support staff and third party support organisations.

About us

We are ESNEFT and we provide hospital and community health services to almost one million people across east Suffolk and north Essex. Our dedicated staff deliver care from acute hospitals in Colchester and Ipswich, community hospitals, surgeries, community clinics and in patients' own homes.

We are one of the largest NHS organisations in England, employing more than 12,000 staff.

We pride ourselves on supporting our staff. We offer a wide range of training and development opportunities, as well as flexible working options.

Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offer a variety of services.

Our philosophy is that Time Matters to everyone. Across the Trust, we concentrate on improving the things we do and removing those which cause time delays for our staff and patients.

We are investing in our commitment to Time Matters with a partnership with leading electronic patient record (EPR) supplier Epic. This digital transformation will bring what's widely regarded as the world's best EPR system to ESNEFT, transforming life in hospital for staff and patients.

Find out about living and working here - www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkPu7HphU8A

Date posted

01 May 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 3

Salary

£24,625 to £25,674 a year per annum pro rata

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

8 months

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

432-HR150-25

Job locations

Colchester Hospital

Turner Rd

Colchester

CO4 5JL


Job description

Job responsibilities

For full details of the responsibilities and duties of this role please see the attached job description.

Job description

Job responsibilities

For full details of the responsibilities and duties of this role please see the attached job description.

Person Specification

Education & Qualifications

Essential

  • Minimum GCSE or equivalent, including Maths & English

Skills & Abilities

Essential

  • Excellent Communication Skills & Interpersonal Manner
  • Good written skills

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

  • Microsoft Office
  • Telephone experience

Desirable

  • NHS/Hospital experience
  • Some knowledge of medical terminology
Person Specification

Education & Qualifications

Essential

  • Minimum GCSE or equivalent, including Maths & English

Skills & Abilities

Essential

  • Excellent Communication Skills & Interpersonal Manner
  • Good written skills

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

  • Microsoft Office
  • Telephone experience

Desirable

  • NHS/Hospital experience
  • Some knowledge of medical terminology

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.

Employer details

Employer name

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Colchester Hospital

Turner Rd

Colchester

CO4 5JL


Employer's website

https://www.esneft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)


Employer details

Employer name

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Colchester Hospital

Turner Rd

Colchester

CO4 5JL


Employer's website

https://www.esneft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)


For questions about the job, contact:

Switchboard Manager

Sue Blanchette

sue.blanchette@esneft.nhs.uk

07932661980

Date posted

01 May 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 3

Salary

£24,625 to £25,674 a year per annum pro rata

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

8 months

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

432-HR150-25

Job locations

Colchester Hospital

Turner Rd

Colchester

CO4 5JL


Supporting documents

Privacy notice

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust's privacy notice (opens in a new tab)