Senior Receptionist


Company:	NHS Jobs
Salary:	£28,500
Hours:	Full-time
Location:	Dorking, RH4 2AA
Job type:	Permanent
Posting date:	5 Aug 2026
Closing date:	23 Aug 2026

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Summary

Please note: This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship, and the successful candidate must have an existing right to work in the UK. JOB SUMMARY The Senior Receptionist is responsible for supporting the Lead Receptionist in the day-to-day management and coordination of reception services across all DHC outpatient locations. Acting as deputy to the Lead Receptionist, the post holder will provide operational leadership to the reception team, ensuring high standards of patient service, administrative efficiency, and compliance with departmental procedures. The role combines hands-on reception duties with supervisory responsibilities, including staff support, rota coordination, training, performance monitoring, and ensuring reception functions are delivered effectively and consistently. The Senior Receptionist will act as the first point of escalation for more complex patient enquiries and service issues, exercising initiative, judgement, confidentiality, and diplomacy when resolving concerns. In the absence of the Lead Receptionist, the Senior Receptionist will oversee reception operations, allocate workloads, monitor performance indicators, and ensure appropriate staffing levels are maintained to support the smooth and effective delivery of outpatient services. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE POST Support the Lead Receptionist in the day-to-day supervision and coordination of the reception team. Act as deputy for the Lead Receptionist during periods of absence, annual leave, or when off-site. Allocate daily responsibilities and monitor workload distribution to ensure efficient service delivery. Provide guidance, support, and coaching to reception staff to promote high performance and development. Assist with recruitment, induction, training, and competency assessments for new and existing team members. Support the completion of probation reviews, one-to-one meetings, appraisals, and development plans. Monitor staff attendance, punctuality, and compliance with departmental procedures, escalating concerns where appropriate. Assist in identifying training needs and opportunities for professional development. Produce and maintain team rotas, ensuring adequate staffing levels and reception cover across all DHC locations. Investigate incidents and record findings on the incident reporting platform. Coordinate adjustments to rotas to accommodate annual leave, sickness absence, training, and service requirements. Monitor reception performance against departmental KPIs and support improvement initiatives where required. Support the Lead Receptionist in reviewing patient feedback, complaints, and service performance metrics. Proactively contact patients to fill vacant clinic appointments, utilising waiting lists and cancellation lists to maximise clinic capacity and minimise unused appointment slots. Ensure reception processes comply with organisational policies, information governance requirements, and local procedures. Where required, act as a receptionist, which consists of: Being first point of contact for clinicians, staff, patients, carers, and service providers. Management of appointment bookings, cancellations, and rescheduling. Handling escalated patient concerns and complex enquiries. Maintaining accurate patient records. Answering incoming calls and responding to requests for information. Processing departmental mail. Attending relevant meetings and training sessions. Undertaking any other duties appropriate to the grade and nature of the role. WORK SETTING AND REVIEW To manage own workload efficiently and effectively on a daily basis. Maintain confidentiality at all times. Make decisions pertaining to the smooth and efficient running of DHC Operations, where necessary referring problems to senior management via the quickest route possible. Be able to work with a degree of autonomy. Work with a continuous improvement mindset. Work to objectives as set by the DHC Board of Directors. CONFIDENTIALITY The post holder must maintain the confidentiality of information about patients, staff and DHC business in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and Caldicott principles.

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