SYP - Call Handler and Dispatch Operator - Dec 22

Atlas Court, Sheffield
£24,552 - £26,958 plus Shift Allowance and Weekend Working Allowance
Permanent

Role:                     Call Handler and Dispatch Operator

Department:       Force Control Room

Location:              Atlas Court, Sheffield

Salary:                  £24,552 - £26,958 plus Shift Allowance and Weekend Working Allowance

Hours:                  37 hours per week

Contract Type:    Permanent

Applicants who have applied in the past six months, need not re-apply

Role Purpose:

This is an exciting opportunity to join South Yorkshire Police as a Call Handler and also to receive training for the role of a Dispatch Operator.  As part of a dedicated team, you will be the first point of contact for all types of contacts from the public and other agencies, including 999, 101, crime reports, intelligence and general enquiries including both telephone and electronic media. You will be responsible for identifying and assessing risk and make resolution and deployment decisions using a range of systems.  You will also allocate resources to incidents and support them in any radio transmissions. 

You will be part of the wider policing family helping to keep South Yorkshire safe as well as part of a team of great people.  Most people join the police service because they want to help others and make a difference to people’s lives.  Working in the Force Control Room, there is no doubt that you will be making a difference – every day.

If you are interested in joining the team, we’re looking for motivated people who are excellent team players with the ability to work unsupervised and use their own initiative.

Key Responsibilities:

  • Receive and critically assess all types of contacts including 999, 101 and other types of contacts, by telephone or online, from the general public, police and other agencies, maintaining high levels of customer service, manage customer expectations and meet national and organisational service level agreements and take appropriate response action.
  • Identifies the purpose and nature of each contact by eliciting relevant and sufficient information to enable an accurate and timely assessment of appropriate means of resolution.
  • Assesses risk and identifies the appropriate action to resolve or determine the appropriate agency, deployment grading and priority of contacts.
  • Manages customer expectations regarding the service that can be provided by giving advice and taking appropriate action.
  • Maintains accurate records of relevant information using appropriate systems to ensure an audit trail and to measure and improve performance.
  • Use a variety of applications and systems to maintain and update incident records, audit trails and resource availability to measure and improve performance.
  • Follow up contacts received to agree resolution and close down contact and file appropriately to meet organisational and national requirements.
  • Analyses and codes reported crimes to national guidance and files appropriate to enable accurate reporting of local crime statistics.
  • Act in adherence to all other legal frameworks, key working principles, policies and guidance relevant to the role.
  • Ensure that the Graded Response system is carried out correctly.
  • Operate the appropriate Airwave, UHF and VHF radio network, linked to operational patrols within the guidelines and procedures of the Force.
  • Deploy resources to incidents within the guidelines and procedures of the Force.
  • Operate message systems, fax and others including maintaining a watch on internal messages.
  • Have knowledge of all Contingency plans and implement when necessary.
  • Monitor CCTV IMAGES where appropriate.

Skills and experience:

Essential Criteria (You will need to evidence these on our application form):

  • Communication skills - ability to listen, empathise and provide support.
  • Communication skills – adapt language to meet the needs of different people/audiences.
  • Experience of information gathering and problem solving.
  • Able to utilise IT packages, systems and/or databases.
  • Able to appropriately prioritise and plan own work.
  • Ability to work under pressure, making logical and appropriate decisions.

Desirable Criteria:

  • Previous experience of working unsocial hours - shifts/weekends

Benefits:

We offer generous entitlements and supportive policies to enable a better work-life balance, some of which are listed below:

  • Generous annual leave allowance (starting at 29 days per year + bank holidays)
  • Flexible and hybrid working
  • Generous ‘family’ leave
  • Voluntary CPD Events for all staff to allow continuous development
  • Mentoring & Coaching Scheme
  • Paid Professional Subscriptions when relevant to role
  • Access to a range of occupational health facilities
  • Generous pension scheme
  • Employee assistance service (accessible 24/7)
  • Additional benefits for Westfield Health members
  • Cycle to work scheme
  • Sports and Social Club

Eligibility:

Applicants must meet the minimum requirement checkable history criteria, which must be taken into account for individuals applying to work with South Yorkshire Police in any capacity. A minimum checkable history of 3 years has been identified for this role and successfully undergoing recruitment vetting procedure is a pre-requisite of employment with South Yorkshire Police.

Appearance and Standards:

SYP is committed to striking a proportionate balance between self-expression and the need to maintain role sensitive professional standards in dress and appearance. Officers, staff and volunteers of South Yorkshire Police are permitted to have tattoos visible whilst on duty provided the tattoo is not considered to be unacceptable or otherwise inappropriate. Tattoos will be reviewed as part of the recruitment and selection process.  

South Yorkshire Police’s Key Values:

Please find attached information sheet on South Yorkshire Police’s Key Values. The force has a particular focus on three area, Fairness, Integrity and Trust. Under each of these three headings there are key behaviours we expect all employees to adhere to.

Further Information:

You will be based on Atlas Court, Sheffield which is located 5 minutes from Sheffield City Centre and Meadowhall.

You must be prepared to work shifts and bank holidays with the service operating 24/7, 365 days of the year.

Working a 24/7 shift pattern, full time or part time, attracts a salary of £24,552 - £26,958 (pro-rata for part time hours) and 20% shift allowance and weekend working taking the starting pay to approximately £32,800 (pro rata part time).

Please note the current shift pattern is under review.

Contact point for applicants: Familiarisation Event – Thursday, 15 December 2022.

A Familiarisation event will be held via MS Teams, on Thursday, 15 December 2022 at 6.00pm.  If you are interested in attending the event and discussing the role, please click on the link below to book yourself a place.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK

For further information about the role, please contact Jill Ford on 0114 2196724.  Please do not contact Jill for an application form.

Case Study – Harvinder

Please find attached a case study on one of the team in the Force Control room for more information on the role and what it is like to work within South Yorkshire Police.

Note to candidates:

If you successfully pass the short-listing stage, you will be invited to take an online assessment, the dates are scheduled to run from Friday, 6 January 2023 to Thursday, 12 January 2023.

If you successfully pass the online assessment, you will be invited to attend an interview.  Interviews are scheduled to take place shortly after the assessment, week commencing, Monday, 23 January 2023.

Should you be successful at the interview stage, the relevant internal or external pre-employment checks will commence, which will include force vetting clearance or review, prior to your course start date being agreed and you being appointed into your new role.  The training course start date is scheduled to commence in June and September 2023.

As part of your employment contract, you would be required to engage with routine audiometry (hearing) testing as part of the force health surveillance programme. This test would be provided through the force Occupational Health Unit (OHU).

Diversity & Inclusion:

South Yorkshire Police welcomes applications from under-represented communities.  For further information on diversity and inclusion within South Yorkshire Police, please visit the diversity and inclusion page:

https://www.southyorkshire.police.uk/sign-up/join-team-syp/diversity-in-the-force/

If you are from an underrepresented group and want to find out more about the support we can offer, please contact our dedicated team on positiveaction@southyorks.pnn.police.uk

Apply for the role:

To apply for the role, please click the ‘Apply’ button.

Closing Date: Sunday, 18 December 2022 at 23:55 pm.

Closing dates are not normally extended, other than in exceptional circumstances and agreement is made with the Talent Acquisition Manager, Recruitment and the Line Manager for the role.

Application Guidance:

Please find attached the Application guidance document to assist you with the completion of the application form. Please note you will be shortlisted against the evidence provided in this form so it is important that you complete all fields and provide details evidence of how you meet the criteria for the role and also when you have demonstrated good Public Service and acting with Integrity.

Public Service – The principles of respect and selflessness

As individuals and as part of a wider organisation, we have a responsibility to ensure that we act in the best interests of society as a whole. Improving the safety and wellbeing of the public underpins all that we do. We constantly think about how to create the best possible outcomes for those we serve and we take personal responsibility for delivering these. We show resilience and determination to overcome barriers and to provide the best outcome.  We are dedicated to work in the public interest, engaging and listening to their needs and concerns. We work to make sure that the public feel valued and engaged, which helps to build confidence in the police service. We are respectful to the needs and concerns of different individuals and groups.

Integrity – The principle of integrity

We understand and reinforce expectations of professional behaviour and openly recognise good and bad performance. We maintain the highest levels of professionalism, making sure that we always uphold the values and ethical standards of the police service.  We need to build and maintain confidence with the public, colleagues and partners if we are to deliver a modern and effective police service. Doing the right thing is about becoming a role model and upholding public trust.

This opportunity is closed to applications.