Lead Anatomical Pathological Technician

West Northamptonshire Council; Northampton; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

West Northamptonshire Council is seeking a Lead Anatomical Pathological Technician to lead the newly established County Mortuary. You will oversee daily operations, ensure HTA compliance and high quality service delivery, and work with the Coroners, pathologists and police to support bereaved families and partner organisations.

You will lead a multidisciplinary team, shape operating procedures, drive continuous improvement and set the culture for excellence from the outset.

Qualifications

• Diploma/Level 4 Diploma as stated above.
• Membership of the Association of Anatomical Pathology Technology required.
• Previous management experience in a senior mortuary role is essential.
• Experience working within a THA-compliant environment is expected.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day operation of the County Mortuary, ensuring HTA compliance and governance.
• Oversee audits, inspections, SOPs and service delivery standards.
• Provide technical expertise across post-mortem services and collaborate with key stakeholders.
• Develop systems, quality frameworks and process improvements for service development.

Education

Diploma in Anatomical Pathology Technology or Level 4 Diploma in Healthcare Science (Anatomical Pathology Technology)

Membership of the Association of Anatomical Pathology Technology

Previous management experience in a senior mortuary role

Job description

About the role

At West Northants Council, it's about our people and the difference they make. As Lead Anatomical Pathological Technician, you'll take a pivotal leadership role within our County Mortuary, ensuring the delivery of a high-quality, compassionate and compliant service that supports bereaved families, HM Coroner and partner organisations across Northamptonshire.

This is a rare opportunity to join a new mortuary facility at an exciting stage of its development and play a leading role in shaping how the service evolves for the future. Working closely with the Coroners and County Mortuary Service Manager, you'll have the opportunity to influence operational practices, develop systems and processes, support service growth and help establish a culture of excellence from the outset.

Combining operational leadership with advanced technical practice, you'll act as a key professional lead, helping to maintain Human Tissue Authority standards, drive continuous improvement and support the delivery of adult and paediatric post-mortem services, forensic examinations, CT post-mortems, viewings and identifications.

What will you be doing?

You'll lead and manage the day-to-day operation of the County Mortuary, ensuring compliance with Human Tissue Authority requirements, quality standards and relevant legislation. Acting as the Mortuary's Person Designate, you'll be responsible for maintaining robust systems, overseeing audits and inspections, developing standard operating procedures and ensuring the highest standards of governance, risk management and service delivery are achieved.

Alongside your leadership responsibilities, you'll undertake and oversee complex post-mortem examinations, provide technical expertise across the service and work closely with HM Coroner, pathologists, police, NHS Trusts, funeral directors and other key stakeholders. You'll play a leading role in service development, emergency planning, infection control, tissue donation processes and business continuity arrangements, helping to ensure the mortuary remains responsive, resilient and fit for the future.

As part of a new mortuary facility, you'll have a unique opportunity to help shape and develop the service from an early stage. Working closely with the Coroners and County Mortuary Service Manager, you'll contribute to the ongoing development of systems, quality frameworks, operational procedures and service standards, helping to establish best practice and create a modern, high-performing mortuary service for the future.

A key aspect of the role is leading and developing a multidisciplinary team of Anatomical Pathology Technicians, apprentices and Mortuary Support Officers. You'll create a culture of professionalism, learning and continuous improvement while ensuring staff are supported, trained and equipped to deliver exceptional standards of service.

About you

You're an experienced Anatomical Pathology Technician with a strong track record of leading mortuary services and managing teams within a Human Tissue Authority compliant environment. You bring extensive technical expertise, including advanced autopsy techniques, alongside the leadership skills required to motivate teams, manage performance and drive service improvement.

You will hold the Diploma in Anatomical Pathology Technology or Level 4 Diploma in Healthcare Science (Anatomical Pathology Technology), or an equivalent recognised qualification, alongside membership of the Association of Anatomical Pathology Technology. Previous management experience is essential, as is experience working within a senior mortuary role with responsibility for quality assurance, compliance, training and operational delivery.

You'll be a confident communicator who can build strong relationships with stakeholders and support families with sensitivity, compassion and professionalism. Resilient and adaptable, you'll thrive in a demanding environment while maintaining the highest standards of care, dignity and respect. Above all, you'll share our THRIVE values and our commitment to delivering an outstanding service for the communities we serve.

Our benefits

You can also see our full list of employee benefits on our careers site here: Why you should work for us | West Northamptonshire Council.

About us

At West Northants Council, it's about our people. People who thrive with ambition, bubble with new ideas, demand better ways of working, caring about every detail, and who never shy away from a challenge. Our culture is a gateway for new experiences. A place to forge new opportunities. To empower you in your career and unite you with like-minded people.

Our vision is 'to make West Northants a great place to live, work, visit and thrive'. We truly stand by this and work hard every day to make this a reality. Our corporate values, THRIVE, stand for: Trust, High Performance, Respect, Innovate and Empower, they underpin everything we do and how we deliver services.

We are committed to ensuring diversity, equality, equity, and inclusion is woven into the fabric of WNC and everything we do, to enable all colleagues to develop and maximize their full potential. We are a disability confident employer, a member of the Armed Forces Covenant, and a Care Leaver Covenant partner.

The following film was created by us to communicate our intentions - watch WNC colleagues explain what DEI means to us.

If you need additional support or reasonable adjustments during the application process, including needing the job description in another format or language, please email [e-mail] for support.

Please note we reserve the right to close the advert early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications, so we recommend applying as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

West Northants Council, where careers thrive.