Call Operator

We are looking for Call Operators to work on the Crisis Line/111 Mental Health Option service. The service is a 24/7 mental health crisis line for anyone who may be in crisis and in urgent need of help with their mental health.
This role is suitable for individuals with experience working into support roles within both acute, inpatient and crisis services.
All work is telephone based working out of our office base in Worthing. You will be trained trained in a specific triage tool, to be utilised alongside your existing skills, to support callers and where necessary escalate to a clinician or signpost to services across Sussex.
For this role you will be required to work a mixture of shifts.
Our Current shifts patterns are Early (07:00-15:00), L1 (13:00-21:00), L4 (16:00-00:00), Night (20:45-07:15)
Increased rates of pay for unsocial hours (some weekend and evening work) as set out under the Agenda for Change (AfC) guidelines.
You will be joining a friendly, supportive and dedicated team responding to Sussex-wide callers. The service is free and is available to anyone of any age who is concerned about their own mental health or that of a relative or friend. This includes carers and healthcare professionals.
The line is staffed by a team of experienced mental health clinicians and operators. Although we are not a counselling service, all our staff will listen and help callers to identify and clarify their immediate problems and to explore ways of coping or suggest alternative avenues of help.
To be successful in this role you will share our passion, desire and empathetic approach to supporting people of all ages with complex mental health needs, who are often experiencing crisis. The ideal candidate would:

• Be experienced in risk assessment and management
• Be comfortable working in a fast-paced and varied role
• Have ability to work autonomously

It would also be desirable if you had a background within urgent care/ crisis/ liaison service(s).
Being a 24/7 service, having a team who are open to flexibility with working patterns is essential as the Call Operator role will include some weekend and evening work. As mentioned, this does however bring with it increased rates of pay for unsocial hours. We try really hard to make sure your shifts work for you while also ensuring we can effectively run the 24/7 service.
Location: The role is situated at Swandean, Worthing (BN13 3EP). More information about the site and travel information can be found: click here
Features of the site include: staff break rooms, free ample parking, Café in Meadowfield Hospital on site.
Flexible Working: We know that a positive work/life balance brings about huge health-related benefits, which has a positive impact on the care we provide. Please speak to us about flexible working, for example, part time hours, flexible start/finish times or anything else.
Key Benefits: Excellent NHS Pension, Generous holiday entitlement (starting at 27 days + 8 bank holidays), Access to a host of NHS discount schemes (Blue Light Card, Health Service discounts, discounted petrol etc.), Free parking on-site, Access to full psychological support, via our internal wellbeing team, Excellent supervision programmes, with ongoing opportunities for training and development.
To be successful in this role you will share our passion, desire and empathetic approach to supporting people of all ages with complex mental health needs, who are often experiencing crisis.
Requirements:
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
Competent IT skills
Experience of working with people with Mental Health needs
Comfortable working in a fast-paced and varied and demanding role
Ability to work flexible hours; to include evenings, weekends and nights
Able to work autonomously
Ability to travel and work from an office based in Worthing, Sussex as and when required. We hope to secure further SPFT bases across Sussex in the future
It would also be advantageous have a background within urgent care/ crisis/ liaison service(s)
Flexibility with working patterns to include some weekend and evening work is essential. This does bring with it increased rates of pay for unsocial hours as set out under the Agenda for Change (AfC) guidelines.
For further details / informal visits contact:
Name
Philipa Kerr
Job title
Service Manager
Email address
philipa.kerr@spft.nhs.uk
Telephone number
07747 456060
Additional contact information
Lynda Mullins, SMHL Lead - lynda.mullins@spft.nhs.uk
Debbie Murray, Clinical Lead - debbie.murray@spft.nhs.uk