Optometry Liaison Specialist in Coventry

Main area Optometry within Ophthalmology Grade NHS AfC: Band 4 Contract Permanent Hours Part time - 22.5 hours per week (0800 - 1600, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday) Job ref 218-AC-B4-8383144

Site University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire Town Coventry Salary £28,392 - £31,157 per annum pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 05/11/2026 23:59 Interview date 17/11/2026

Job overview

To provide a specialised, comprehensive and confidential administrative and secretarial service supporting the effective delivery of the Optometry Department. The postholder will act as the central administrative liaison for the Optometry service, providing advice, coordinating patient and service enquiries, and ensuring key administrative processes are managed in accordance with Departmental, Trust and National requirements.

The role has particular responsibility for the day-to-day administration of the Contact LensService, including invoice processing and payments; coordinating patient access and enquiries across Optometry; administering HES vouchers; and coordinating student and professional placements. The postholder will work closely with the Optometry clinical team and other relevant services to support efficient service delivery and a high-quality patient experience.

Please be advised that sponsorship is not eligible for this post.

Please be advised the interviews for this post will provisionally take place on 17/11/2026. Please note that this also subject to availability.

Main duties of the job

• Act as the first point of contact for the Optometry Service, responding to and coordinating a wide range of enquiries.
• Coordinate the specialist Contact Lens Service, including ordering clinical contact lenses, processing documentation, maintaining databases, and arranging patient appointments and deliveries.
• Manage HES spectacle voucher claims, audits, invoicing, and payments in collaboration with Finance colleagues and community optometrists.
• Coordinate student and professional placements, including placement schedules, honorary contracts, communications, and associated financial processes.
• Handle a high volume of telephone enquiries professionally and sensitively, using sound judgement to resolve issues independently and escalating clinical matters appropriately.
• Manage incoming correspondence, draft routine communications, and ensure work is completed accurately and within agreed deadlines.
• Organise and support departmental meetings, including scheduling, minute-taking, action tracking, and communication of key outcomes.
• Develop and improve administrative systems and processes to enhance efficiency, responsiveness, and service delivery.

Working for our organisation

University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, rated as good by the Care Quality Commission, is one of the largest teaching Trusts in the UK.

We are extremely proud of our employees across our hospital sites, with high quality patient care at the heart of everything we do.

Boasting some of the most modern facilities in Western Europe, the Trust is renowned for being at the forefront of research and innovation as part of its blossoming reputation as a worldwide leader in healthcare.

By joining our exciting journey, you will form part of a passionate, talented team and will be able to access a wide range of learning and development opportunities. There has never been a better time to join our team.

The Trust is committed to building an organisation that makes full use of the talents, skills, experience, and different perspectives available in our diverse society. We want everyone to feel they are respected, valued, can achieve their potential and receive the most appropriate and relevant care. We will create an environment where the equality and human rights principles of fairness, respect, equality, dignity and autonomy are promoted and are part of the organisation's core values.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Acting as the central point of contact for the Optometry Team, responding to and coordinating queries relating to the service
• Supporting the day to day coordination and administration of the Contant lens service. This includes ordering of clinical contact lenses through external companies. Processing of relevant paperwork attributed to the order and facilitation of internal checking processes. Ensures delivery of lenses to patients and any associated appointments. Maintains databases for ordering and invoicing. Liaison with Finance/Procurement to ensure payment of invoices in a timely manne
• HES Vouchers – central point for spectacle voucher reclamation, auditing and invoicing of payments to community optometrist. This is in liaison with the Finance department
• Facilitator of student and professional placements, including placement dates, communication with students and relevant teams. Ensure coordination of honorary contracts and invoices, ensuring payment is received
• Manage extensive and often complex telephone enquiries relating to all Optometry services, responding sensitively and professionally within a highly interruptive environment. Use specialist knowledge and judgement to resolve queries independently, escalating to an Optometrist only where clinically necessary, and appropriately prioritising urgent matters
• Manages incoming mail and prioritises accordingly. Deals promptly with any mail that needs no supervision from the Head Optometrist/Deputy Head.
• Composes routine correspondence on own initiative or on brief instructions as to the content and ensures the satisfactory completion of work within deadlines
• Coordinate and arrange internal and external meetings on behalf of the Head and Deputy Head of Optometry, liaising with staff across the Trust and external organisations as required. Attend meetings to take accurate minutes, ensuring actions are clearly recorded, communicated, monitored and followed through to completion. Maintain awareness of current departmental issues and priorities, ensuring key personnel receive relevant and timely information
• Take responsibility for the ongoing development and review of administrative systems and processes within the remit of the post. Proactively identify areas for improvement and implement appropriate changes to improve efficiency, responsiveness and the effective delivery of the Optometry service.

For further details please see the attached job description.

Qualifications

• ECDL or equivalent NVQ3 in Administration or equivalent Key Skills in Maths and English or equivalent

Experience

• Experienced Administration Officer with substantial administrative experience Experience of maintain financial records Decision making and resolving complex work related issues
• Experience in a customer facing role

Knowledge

• Thorough working knowledge of Microsoft Office packages i.e. Outlook, Word, Excel Excellent understanding of general office working procedures
• Awareness of current issues within the NHS Knowledge of hospital systems – Revenue Cycle and Powerchart

Skills

• Ability to establish, maintain and formulate a database of statistical information Ability to analyse and interpret statistics using appropriate IT systems Ability to accurately complete mathematical equations Excellent organisational skills Good presentation skills Sound decision making skills Excellent level of verbal and written communication Able to use judgement and initiative to provide information and support Able to apply tact and sensitivity to establish trust and confidence Empathetic approach to managing and resolving enquiries Able to compose and transcribe minutes, correspondence and reports Commitment to learning and to motivate others to learn and develop

Commitment to Trust Values and Behaviours

• Evidence of demonstrating the Trust Values (Compassion, Openness, Pride, Partnership, Improve, Learn and Respect) and the associated Values in Action behaviours in the workplace. For posts with managerial responsibility only Evidence of promoting equality, diversity and inclusion, and ensuring fair and equitable practices throughout your work experience. Evidence of promoting a culture which helps individuals live behaviours aligned to our Trust Values (Compassion, Openness, Pride, Partnership, Improve, Learn and Respect)

To ensure that we provide world-class patient care, UHCW recruits people that can demonstrate the Trust’s Values and Behaviours in their everyday life. Therefore, if you are invited to interview, you will be undertaking a Values Based Interview/Assessment, which explores not only what you do but how and why you do it.
Before applying, we encourage you to review the Trust’s Values and Behaviours which can be accessed on the right side of this page under the job description.
The Supporting Information Section in your application should therefore reflect your understanding of the Trust’s Values and associated Behaviours. You will be expected to provide us with examples from work experience and/or personal life which demonstrate these values through your behaviour.

The Trust is committed to Equal Opportunities within the workplace. All vacancies will be considered for Job Share unless otherwise stated. All applicants who have a disability and who meet the minimum criteria for the job will be interviewed. Where a post has an overwhelming response, this Trust may use random selection in order to reduce numbers to interview, any disabled applicants will automatically be guaranteed an interview and will be exempt from this process.

In submitting an application form, you authorise University Hospital Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust to confirm from your previous or current NHS employer and other prior employers; previous NHS service details and personal data held about you, including Occupational Health data (inoculations and screening tests). This data will be transferred using NHS Electronic Staff Record and third-party systems via an automated process and only used for the purposes of obtaining and maintaining accurate employment records, should you be appointed to the post.

UHCW NHS Trust, by virtue of its Green Plan, is committed to ensuring that the way we provide services minimises the impact on the environment and the future health of the public e.g. zero waste to landfill, reducing our carbon footprint and increasing our recycling and reuse percentages.

If you are successful at interview you will receive a conditional offer of employment and we’ll ask you for information so that we can carry out pre-employment checks. You must successfully complete all pre-employment checks to progress to a final unconditional offer.

We must confirm the identity of our staff and their right to work in the United Kingdom. We will ask you to submit proof of your identity and right to work documents via a secure digital platform approved by the Home Office, named TrustID. Alternatively, you may be asked to attend our office with original documents.

Depending on you level of exposure with patients you may be required to undertake a Standard or Enhanced DBS. The cost of this check will be charged to you and will be deducted from your salary over the first 3 months of employment at the current rate.

All correspondence will be sent by email; please check your account regularly including your Junk/SPAM folders

Employer certification / accreditation badges

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.

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