Lead DR/RP Clinical Scientist (XR08)

NHS; Leeds; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A major UK hospital trust is seeking an experienced Clinical Scientist to serve as a lead Medical Physics Expert in the Radiological Physics and Radiation Protection Service. This role requires managing quality assurance programs, advising on diagnostic equipment, and participating in staff training. Candidates are encouraged to apply if they are working towards MPE/RPA status. The position offers opportunities for professional development and involvement in innovative technical projects in a large teaching hospital environment.

Qualifications

• Experience in performing QA procedures in Diagnostic Radiology.
• Experience in teaching and training of scientific and clinical staff.
• Experience in approvals of research ethics processes.
• Supervisory experience of other staff.

Responsibilities

• Act as lead Medical Physics Expert for Diagnostic Radiology.
• Provide expert advice on equipment specification and QA.
• Assess patient doses in various situations.
• Participate in training of operators in radiation protection.
• Liaise with clinicians for research and development projects.

Skills

Quality assurance procedure development

Training scientific and clinical staff

Research ethics approval experience

Directing and supervising others

Travel and transport bulky equipment

Education

HCPC Registration as Clinical Scientist

Certification as Radiation Protection Adviser under IRR17

Certification as Medical Physics Expert under IR(ME)R17

PhD

Tools

Diagnostic Reference Levels Management Systems

Image analysis software (e.g. ImageJ)

Job description

Weare looking for an experienced and enthusiastic Clinical Scientist to act asa permanent additional member of staff to replace someone who is leaving theRadiological Physics and Radiation Protection Service (RPRPS).

Thepost holder will act as a lead MPE/RPA for specified customers/areas of workas well as being involved in all other aspects of the sections work.

Candidateswith less experience who are working towards gaining MPE/RPA status inDiagnostic Radiology are encouraged to apply as training and support will beavailable (subject to an amended job description and salary band).

RPRPSis part of the Medical Physics and Clinical Engineering Department at LeedsTeaching Hospitals NHS Trust, one of the largest hospital trusts in thecountry. We provide scientific, technical and radiation protection advice andmeasurement services for ionising and non-ionising radiation across West& North Yorkshire.

Thedepartment is an established training centre for clinical scientists beingaccredited and having trained for all of the National School for Health CareScience Scientific Training Programme specialisms in medical physics.Recently we also achieved accreditation to train under the Higher ScientificSpecialist Training scheme. We hold BSI ISO9001 accreditation and haverecently implemented Qpulse quality management system software.

Expected ShortlistingDate

13/01/2026

Planned InterviewDate

22/01/2026

Main duties of the job

Thepost holder will be involved in supporting radiology and other departmentsfrom the purchase of new equipment and software until the equipment isdisposed; using patient dose management systems (Qaelum and Teamplay) foraudit and optimisation purposes including the setting and review of localDiagnostic Reference levels; optimising the performance of radiographicequipment across all modalities including state of the art hybrid imagingunits and advising on the use of AI. Practically, this work will includeevaluating and testing x-ray equipment, requiring high precision measurementsas well as developing new protocols and procedures.

Thepost holder will develop and participate in promoting the radiationprotection safety culture to assess and improve legislative compliance withIRR17 ensuring the safety of staff and public, providing MPE/RPA advice tothe Trust and for our external contracts including the provision of nationaland local radiation approvals for research studies.

Thepost holder will participate in the teaching and training commitments of thesection including scientific staff and clinical staff in addition to FRCRteaching.

Itis expected that the post holder will maintain up to date CPD training andrecords, registration with HCPC and accreditation as an MPE/RPA.

Aswe support two major hospital Trusts in the nearby area alongside our own,the posts require travel to additional sites.

About us

LeedsTeaching Hospitals NHS Trust is one of the largest teaching hospitals in theUK. Although our new hospital build has been delayed, we are continuing toupgrade our equipment to transform clinical services and develop anInnovation District for Leeds. This post is an opportunity to join anexpanding team of scientists and technologists who will support this work.

RPRPSprovides scientific, technical and radiation protection advice andmeasurement services for ionising and non-ionising radiation to a number ofNHS Trusts in West & North Yorkshire and private clients.

MedicalPhysics and Engineering operates under a BSI registered ISO 9001:2015 QualityManagement System, has an extensive research portfolio and opportunities forcollaboration with the University of Leeds and other organisations forresearch and technical development/innovation.

LeedsTeaching Hospitals is committed to our process of redeploying 'at risk'members of our existing workforce to new roles. As such, all our job advertsare subject to this policy and we reserve the right to close, delay or removeadverts while this process is completed. If you do experience a delay in theshortlisting stage of the recruitment cycle, please bear with us while thisprocess is completed, and contact the named contact if you have anyquestions.

Job responsibilities

Act as the lead Medical PhysicsExpert to Diagnostic Radiology departments served by RPRPS, having specificresponsibility for particular areas/customers as agreed with the Head ofService/Clinical Scientist ServiceManager/s and as part of this role to:

Play a significant role in theoptimisation of the radiation protection of patients and other individualssubject to exposures including the application and use of diagnosticreference levels

Provide expert advice on equipmentspecification and the installation design of new diagnostic x-ray facilitiesand equipment

Provide expert advice and lead on thedesign and implementation of quality assurance programs for diagnostic x-rayequipment including acceptance testing

Assess patient doses in a variety ofcomplex situations. Use expert knowledge to determine relevant parameters,derive effective radiation doses and advise on radiation risks andappropriate courses of action;

Provide expert advice on theselection of suitable equipment required to perform radiation protectionmeasurements

Assist in the investigation ofaccidental or unintended x-ray exposures to patients and advise the Trust andits clients on the requirements for the notification of incidents to theenforcement authorities and liaise with these authorities on behalf of theTrust and its clients

Participate in the training ofoperators, practitioners and other staff in relevant aspects of radiationprotection and IR(ME)R compliance;

Provide advice to the Trust/clientsrelating to compliance with the IR(ME) regulations;

Perform the necessary assessment ofsubmissions for ethical approval of research studies both nationally andinternally.

Perform duties as a designatedoperator under the IR(ME) regulations.

To fully participate and complywith the requirements of the sections ISO9001:2015 quality management systemincluding taking responsibility for writing process and procedures for theirown areas of work and for staff under their supervision;

Participate in the training ofClinical Scientists and Clinical Technologists and other scientific staffincluding STP/PTP trainees. Responsible for trainee competency assignment andassessment.

Participate in formal training andteaching programmes and courses (including preparation and presentation oflectures) for healthcare professionals on all areas of Radiation Protectionand Radiological Physics including:

Fellowship of the Royal College ofRadiologists

Post/Undergraduate teaching forUniversity of Leeds students

Staff training under IRR17 andIRMER17 (e.g. RPS courses)

To be responsible for carrying outevaluation, research and development, and for initiating, directing andcarrying this out in the post holders areas of responsibility; to improvethe clinical practice and the understanding of diagnostic radiological physicsand diagnostic radiology technology.

To liaise with clinicians, otherphysicists, etc. to support and participate in the Directorate andDepartments research and development programme, with the aim of continuousimprovement of the clinical service.

To publish novel and interestingwork in internationally recognised journals, and present at national andinternational conferences

To line manage and/or mentorscientists as determined by the Head of Service/Clinical Scientist ServiceManager(s)

To supervise other scientists,technologists, other staff groups, research assistants and research studentsfrom time to time.

Person Specification

Skills & Behaviours

• Describe your experience in performing and developing QA procedures in different Diagnostic Radiology modalities.
• What experience do you have in teaching and training of scientific and clinical staff?
• Describe your experience in the approvals of research ethics processes.
• What experience do you have in directing and supervising the work of others?

Additional Requirements

• Are you able to travel independently and transport bulky equipment to remote sites?

Experience

• Which modalities do you have experience at an expert level in radiological physics?
• What experience do you have in using or developing specialist image analysis software (e.g. ImageJ macros)?
• What experience do you have in staff recruitment / interviewing / appraisal skills?

Qualifications

• HCPC Registration as Clinical Scientist
• Have you got Certification as Radiation Protection Adviser under IRR17 within the field of diagnostic radiology?
• Have you got Certification as Medical Physics Expert under IR(ME)R17 within the field of diagnostic radiology?
• What experience do you have working at or towards qualified Medical Physics Expert or Radiation Protection Advisor level in Diagnostic Radiology?
• What management or supervisory experience do you have?
• PhD

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.