Job vacancy: Switchboard Team Leader, Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Southport

Job summary

Main area: Switchboard
Grade: NHS AfC: Band 4
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full time - 37.5 sessions per week
Job ref: 409-7409942

Employer: Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Employer type: NHS
Site: Southport Hospital
Town: Southport
Salary: £27,485 - £30,162 Per Annum
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 13/10/2025 23:59
Interview date: 21/10/2025

Switchboard Team Leader

NHS AfC: Band 4

After applying via NHS Jobs, your submitted application will be imported into our preferred Third-party recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs. You will not be able to track the progress of your application or receive messages through the NHS Jobs website, and furthermore, as an employer, we will not be able to respond to any e-mails sent to us via the NHS Jobs website. By applying for this post you are agreeing to "name of trust" transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are appointed to a post information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Operational Management

Organise and plan own work routine.
Liaison with relevant suppliers of communication equipment for maintenance purposes.
Assist with the testing of fall-back equipment and associated procedures. Provide advice and guidance on the specialised procedures, Major Incident, Cardiac Arrest, Fire alarms, General Alarms, Bomb Scares.
Maintain and monitor all on-site Ascom’s, long range pagers and mobile telephony and keep an up-to-date register of all holders.
Input information into the computer systems as required Involvement in the review of departmental work instructions and procedures.
Enforce compliance with the Waste Management Policy to meet changing requirements as segregation requirements increase.
Work with the Accommodation department to enable a smooth changeover of tenants within the residential accommodation and assist with day-to-day problems.
To cover switchboard duties in times of need (24hr service).
Lead, implement and deliver into Facilities operational procedures and services the Trust agreed Sustainability and Carbon Reduction Strategy

Staff/ Training

Dissemination of information to staff e.g. team brief, new work procedures.
To attend training courses as required and participate in annual refresher sessions in accordance with own Personal Development Review.
Conduct personal development reviews within own team.
Conduct informal counselling when required.
Take staff through the disciplinary procedure when appropriate.
Manage the sickness absence process in line with Trust policy
Annually train and update staff on departmental operational and H&S procedures liaising with the Monitoring and Training Manger.
Ensure compliance with all targets in relation to Mandatory Training and PDRs for the Communication service team.
Carry out competency/ capability reviews with new and existing staff

Leadership

Provide effective and motivational leadership to the team.
Provide guidance and a knowledge base for new and existing staff.
Involvement in the recruitment, selection and interview process

Quality

Ensure compliance with Facilities Management standards Ensure compliance with the Trust Quality Strategy 2012/15 and operational policies as appropriate
Ensure effective delivery of services to service users and customers.

Risk

Ensure all staff observe legal requirements
Responsible for the safe use of all equipment
Carry out Risk assessments, Manual Handling Assessments and COSHH assessments.
Ensure compliance and operational observance of safe working practices as detailed in all aspects of risk management

Finance/ Planning and Organisation

To ensure economical use of all the Trust resources
Maintain and monitor stock levels to meet the demands of the service
Arrange cover when staff shortages occur within the constraints of the budget as required
Completion of Staff variation lists as appropriate ensuring timely submission
Monitor staff attendance and requirements for additional hours.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

NVQ Level 2 Supervisory Management or equivalent experience
NVQ Level 2 Customer Service or equivalent experience

Desirable criteria

ECOL or equivalent
Foundation in Health and Safety

Knowledge & Experience

Essential criteria

Large scale organisation switchboard / call centre experience
Basic Computer Skills
Principles of Risk Management

Desirable criteria

Understanding of the Care Quality Commission role

Skills

Essential criteria

Excellent Communication Skills
Provision of a Customer Focused service
Ability to motivate a Team
Ability to instruct less qualified staff/ promote life Iong learning in the workplace
Understanding of other services and our impact on them
Ability to lead change

Other

Essential criteria

Office based across sites
Varied deadlines and adhoc pressures
Ability to work under pressure
24/7 rota in operation
Weekend and Bank Holiday Working
Cross site cover

Thank you for considering an application to work for Mersey West Lancashire NHS Trust. MWL is an exciting and forward-thinking NHS Trust who are one of the best places to work for in England.

Given sometimes we receive a high volume of applications to work for us, please be aware, that we may close a vacancy earlier than stated should a sufficient number of applications be received from which a shortlist can be confirmed. Therefore, you are advised to apply at your earliest convenience.

The Trust may contact you during the recruitment process for your feedback on your experience. We always aim for continuous improvement in our practice.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

We actively cultivate a professional environment of fairness, equality, dignity, and respect for all individuals. We welcome individuals from all backgrounds and value the unique skills, perspective and experience you bring. We are grounded in the belief that diversity enhances our collective strength, fostering innovation and excellence within our workforce. We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion/belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.

As a Disability Confident Leader, we commit to offering an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job (the essential criteria) listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.

If you are having difficulty completing an online application, or require any disability reasonable adjustments, to the application process, please contact [email protected]

We also commit to offering an interview to all armed forces veterans who meet the minimum criteria for the job (the essential criteria) listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.

The Trust operates anonymous shortlisting where no personal information about you, including your name or personal details are shared with the recruiting manager. No equality information is shared at any time during the recruitment process with the recruiting manager or other people involved in the decision-making process.

The equality monitoring information you provide is used in the following situations: to review our recruitment practices; where a job is limited to a specific person to verify their eligibility to apply; and to offer disability reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab)

Following the recent update on UK immigration policy for those on a Health and Care Visa or Skilled Worker Visa, please click here to check your eligibility before applying for this post as we may be unable to provide sponsorship.

eVisa Update

For successful candidates on selected work and study visa routes, who have completed and paid for their applications will no longer receive a visa vignette in passport as evidence of their permission to enter the UK.

Instead, you will be issued with an eVisa only, which is accessed by creating a UKVI account.

Before travelling to the UK, we advise applicants to:

Create a UKVI account
Link their current passport
Access their eVisa straightaway to check all details. Incorrect information should be reported as soon as possible using the following link: https://www.gov.uk/report-error-evisa
Understand how to generate an eVisa share code

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

If this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 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.

Please note if applicable, applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment.

If you have not already done so, you are therefore encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service to which a small annual fee of £13 per year applies.

Flexible Working

We actively support flexible working patterns throughout MWL. Changes made to the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook mean that:

All employees have the right to request flexible working from day one of employment.
There is no limit on the number of requests they can make.
Employees have the right to make requests, have them considered, regardless of the reason.

At Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, we will consider requests for flexible working. We would also encourage you to also discuss flexible working options at interview stage.

Working for Team MWL

Staff recognition is especially important to us; as well as performance reviews and appraisals, we recognise staff through Employee of the month. 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.

The Trust is a non-smoking across all our sites. Failure to follow this rule could lead to disciplinary action. For more information, see the Smoke Free NHS website.

You must ensure that your application, including personal statements and behaviour examples, are truthful and factually accurate. Please note plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own.

The Trust will not accept applications which are found to be AI generated and will check all applications against AI detection software.

Additional Information

Before applying, we encourage you to review the Trusts Values and Behaviours which are We are KIND, We are OPEN, We are INCLUSIVE, which can be found here.

An applicant guide to help and support you with your application and what to expect during your recruitment journey can be accessed in the supporting documents.

Good luck with your application. We hope to welcome you to Team MWL very soon.