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Job summary

Main area
Administration
Grade
Band 3
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref
364-A-9486
Employer
Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
1 Hospital Road
Town
Colchester
Salary
£24,937 - £26,598 per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
09/11/2025 23:59

Employer heading

Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust logo

Administration Assistant/Receptionist

Band 3

Our Trust cares for more than 100,000 patients at any one time across our community health, mental health and learning disability services across Essex and parts of Bedfordshire and Suffolk. 

We want you to be part of our journey of transformation, where our patients and their families are at the heart of everything we do and to achieve our vision to be the leading health and wellbeing service in the provision of mental health and community care.

You’ll be part of a Trust where you will be supported to be your authentic self and be the best you can be, where we will help you to grow, develop and thrive. 

The Trust is recognised by the University of Essex and is a top provider of apprenticeships for people looking to be an assistant practitioner, senior health care support worker (CAP). Our trailblazing CAP apprenticeship won a national HSJ Award.

We are also recognised as a Veteran Aware Trust and holder of gold accreditation from the Ministry of Defence Employment Recognition Scheme. Our services are highlighted as an exemplar of good practice, producing the best care for more than 3.500 armed forces veterans in the past seven years. 

We have been shortlisted and won national awards. We are an inclusive organisation and Level 3 Disability Confident Leader Trust.

We are constantly innovating and looking for new ways to deliver care, such as using technology to enhance patient care and working with partners to launch new services such as the Basildon Mental Health Urgent Care Department, virtual hospitals and falls response cars.  

Join us and you’ll do the best work of your life – and make a difference to other people’s lives. What we do together, matters.

Job overview

We are looking for an experienced, organised and adaptable person to work in the admin team for the North East Essex IAPT service.  We are a primary mental health service offering talking therapy for people presenting with depression, anxiety and other mental health issues. The job is based at Hospital Road in Colchester

As the admin team for Therapy for You, we are responsible for taking and processing referrals to our service. As the first port of call for people needing help, we are proud to give great service to people and make them feel reassured. A lot of our work is based on the phone, so we need someone who can give great first impressions. We are a small, supportive and welcoming team supporting a large team of therapists.

Main duties of the job

Some of the main responsibilities and duties include but are not limited to: Taking self-referrals on the phone, processing professional referrals, booking assessments and treatments and dealing with queries – both by phone and by email. 

Working for our organisation

Valuing you. Recognising your dedication. At EPUT, we look after you. 

  • Receive supervision and support to help you fulfil your potential.
  • Join an inclusive EPUT community and connect with others through engagement events and equality or champion networks.
  • If you need help, we provide mental health and wellbeing services, occupational health advice and counselling.
  • We run recognition awards to recognise staff's hard work and dedication.

Benefits

  • 27 days holiday, plus bank holidays, rising to 33 days after 10 years’ service.
  • Excellent pension of up to14.5% of your pensionable pay.
  • Staff discounts include Blue Light Card, NHS discount offers, and staff benefits.
  • £8K relocation package if you move to Essex to join us
  • Season ticket loans are interest-free to cover the cost of travelling to and from work via tram, rail, or bus.

Work that wraps around your needs

  • Flexible working: available from day one for most roles.
  • Job share: Applications for job shares are welcomed.

 

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

  • Answering incoming calls – to answer queries, take self-referrals.
  • Monitoring the contact centre inbox including passing on queries, putting referrals onto system, calling people to take their referrals following their enquiries to the service, booking telephone assessments.
  • Monitoring the sickness inbox in order to process therapist cancellations.
  • Helping the waiting list team with patient allocations, booking first treatment appointments, updating the waiting list accordingly.
  • Booking interpreters for telephone assessments that require them – and for treatment sessions when requested by therapists.
  • Dealing with the batch printing.
  • Take minutes at meetings when required – most notably the monthly service meeting.
  • Booking wellbeing calls.
  • Processing Access to Records requests.
  • Printing and posting therapist materials as and when requested by clinicians.
  • Preparing and distributing contact lists – for internal staff and for outside agencies and GPs.

Person specification

Education/Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • • Good standard of general education
  • • IT skills equivalent to RSA2, NVQ2 or relevant experience of Microsoft Word Packages

Job Related

Essential criteria
  • • General administration
  • • Ability to communicate both verbally and in writing routine information
Desirable criteria
  • • Proven experience of working in the NHS in a clerical role

Knowledge

Essential criteria
  • • Literate in IT/Computer Skills
  • • Good oral communication skills based on fluency on the English Language
  • • Ability to assist both patients and clinical colleagues with non-clinical information relating to community appointments
  • • Methodical organised approach to work with good attention to details
  • • Ability to use Microsoft Word Packages
Desirable criteria
  • • Knowledge of Trust ITT Systems and Software Packages, including Iaptus and SYSTMONE

Personal Qualitities

Essential criteria
  • Customer focussed, calm, empathetic and diplomatic

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Apprenticeships logoNo smoking policyMenopause Friendly EmployerPositive about disabled peopleAge positiveDisability confident leaderImproving working livesArmed Forces Covenant Gold AwardMindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.Essex Family Friendly Employers

Applicant requirements

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Jane Davidson
Job title
Admin Hub Lead
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
07583 138294
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