Weekend Receptionist: Victoria animal hospital

Description

Interview date: 8 & 9 October 2026

Application Deadline: 30 September 2026

Department: Veterinary Services

Location: Victoria animal hospital

Compensation: £27,973 / year

Contract: Permanent, part time (17 hours per week)

Salary: £11,323 plus £1,600 London Weighting Allowance per annum (FTE £27,973 per annum plus London Weighting Allowance)

Working pattern: Saturdays and Sundays. During induction, you will be required to complete some training shifts on weekdays.

Closing date: Wednesday 30 September 2026

Are you an experienced receptionist who thrives in a busy customer‑facing environment? Do you remain calm under pressure, enjoy helping people and have the confidence to support customers during challenging or emotional situations?

We're looking for a friendly, organised and resilient Weekend Receptionist to be the welcoming face of Blue Cross. As the first point of contact for visitors, clients and callers, you'll play a vital role in ensuring every interaction reflects our commitment to providing compassionate support to pets and their owners.

As weekend Receptionist, you will provide a professional and welcoming reception service, supporting a high volume of visitors, customers and telephone enquiries. Working in a fast‑paced environment, you'll balance front‑of‑house responsibilities with administrative tasks while ensuring customers receive a positive experience.

This role can be emotionally demanding at times, as you may support pet owners who are anxious, distressed or facing difficult circumstances. You'll need to be empathetic, resilient and able to communicate clearly while managing expectations professionally.

During your induction period, you will be required to attend a number of weekday training shifts to help you build the knowledge and confidence needed to succeed in the role.

What you will be doing

• Welcoming visitors and providing a professional and friendly reception service
• Acting as the first point of contact for customer enquiries, both in person and over the telephone
• Managing a high volume of calls and face‑to‑face enquiries
• Providing clear and accurate information to customers and visitors
• Processing bookings, appointments and administrative requests
• Maintaining accurate records using Microsoft Office and digital systems
• Supporting customers who may be upset, anxious or experiencing challenging circumstances
• Managing competing priorities while maintaining excellent customer service
• Working collaboratively with colleagues to ensure the smooth day‑to‑day operation of the service

About you

You'll be an experienced customer service professional who enjoys working with people and takes pride in delivering a positive customer experience. You'll be confident managing a busy reception environment, balancing multiple demands and communicating with empathy and professionalism.

You'll have strong organisational skills, be comfortable using digital systems and have the resilience to work effectively in an environment where conversations can sometimes be emotional or sensitive.

Essential qualifications, skills and experience

• Experience in a busy reception or front‑of‑house customer service role
• Experience handling a high volume of telephone and face‑to‑face enquiries daily
• Experience dealing with challenging, sensitive or emotionally charged customer interactions professionally and empathetically
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and remain organised in a fast‑paced environment
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to adapt to different people and situations
• Good administrative and IT skills, including experience using Microsoft Office and digital systems
• Demonstrable resilience and ability to work effectively in an emotionally demanding environment
• Ability to demonstrate, understand and apply Blue Cross values

Desirable qualifications, skills and experience

• Experience using appointment booking systems
• Experience working in animal welfare, veterinary, healthcare, charity or care environments
• Understanding of animal welfare issues and the challenges faced by pet owners

Blue Cross benefits

Our people are the most important part of delivering our purpose. If it were not for their amazing efforts and commitment, we would not be able to make the difference that we do today.

In return, Blue Cross wants to ensure we provide you with the best working environment we can. We want you to be happy working for us and will do everything we can to make sure you are.

Our generous benefits package includes:

• Full time equivalent of 38 days holiday rising to 43 with service (including Bank Holidays)
• Programmes for physical and mental wellbeing support
• Free access to GP via MetLife- 24/7 GP services, private prescriptions and more for you and your family
• Health cash plan
• Unlimited access to an employee assistance programme
• Pension scheme with enhanced employer contribution
• Professional fees paid with Continuing Professional Development and personal development support.
• Life assurance
• 20% discount on Pet Plan pet insurance
• Enhanced family friendly policies
• Recognition scheme
• Annual volunteer days
• Charity worker discounts across a variety of retailers

To read more about the benefits Blue Cross has to offer, please visit the 'why work for us' page on our website.

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