Medical Laboratory Assistant

NHS; Sheffield; On-site; Full time

Job description

Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust

Join Our Team - Where every detail matters

Are you looking for a role where your careful approach and organised contributions have a meaningful impact? Where your ability to follow guidance and organise your workload helps achieve reliable results? Join our genetics laboratory team and contribute to important diagnostic services that support healthcare and improve patient experiences.

As part of our dedicated 'dry' analysis and reporting team, you'll help ensure the smooth processing of diagnostic samples alongside our partner laboratories who deliver the 'wet' lab work.

Why You Belong Here

At our lab, collaboration and learning is important. You'll work with dedicated professionals—genetic technologists, scientists, and healthcare experts—all united by a shared goal: delivering reliable, high-quality laboratory services. Your contributions will help ensure that urgent clinical requests and time-sensitive samples are handled with the utmost care.

If you're passionate about science, committed to careful work, and eager to make a difference, this is the place for you!

Interviews to be held: 13th & 14th May

Main duties of the job

You will report into a Senior Genetic Technologist, and you will:

1. Verify, book, and dispatch diagnostic samples to our partner laboratories
2. Log samples in our Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS)
3. Prepare images for technical analysis

What We're Looking For

• Experience in a laboratory or healthcare setting performing technical tasks
• A focus on accurate details, even under fluctuating workload
• Ability to work precisely while handling sensitive data

About us

At Sheffield Children's, our purpose is clear: to provide healthier futures for children and young people. Our three strategic aims are:

• Brilliant Place to work
• Leaders in Children's Health

We work with local, regional, and national partners to provide physical and mental healthcare across acute and community settings. Many of our clinicians are amongst the best in their field, recognised nationally and internationally for their expertise.

As well as having enormous pride in what we do, we are a friendly, welcoming, and motivated NHS Trust who are guided by our CARE values: Compassion, Accountability, Respect, and Excellence. Our nearly 4000 colleagues live these values, ensuring kind and compassionate care that makes patients and their families feel safe and at home.

As we approach our 150th anniversary in 2026, we remain committed to enhancing our reputation in children's health leadership, improving the experiences of both patient and colleagues, and focusing on our communities and population health.

Sheffield Children's provides great benefits to support your wellbeing, with excellent annual leave and pension schemes, health programmes, and exclusive discounts—helping you succeed at work and beyond.

Job responsibilities

For more information on the main responsibilities for this post, please refer to the job description and person specification.

Please note that Sheffield Children's uplift pay to meet the Real Living Wage, which is £12.60 per hour.

Diversity Statement

At Sheffield Children's, we are committed to creating an inclusive environment that celebrates diversity and supports everyone's success. We prioritise Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in our recruitment practices, creating a welcoming space for people of all backgrounds, including ethnic minorities, individuals with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ members.

Recognising that inclusivity is an ongoing effort, we review our processes and welcome feedback to enhance our practices. A diverse team strengthens our organisation and the quality of care we deliver. For ideas on how we can improve, please contact our Recruitment Manager at [e-mail]. Together, we're building a workplace where everyone belongs.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Level 3 qualification such as 2 A levels NVQ 3, or level 3 apprenticeship or experience as below

Experience

• Experience working either in a laboratory or a healthcare setting performing technical tasks e.g. image review.
• Experience updating systems and processing administrative tasks promptly and skilfully, with precision and accuracy, following standard operating procedures (SOPs).
• Experienced in assessing and prioritising work based on urgency and service needs.
• Experience working in a UKAS accredited laboratory (ISO 15189 compliant)
• Experience using Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS)

Knowledge and Skills

• Understanding of laboratory processes, including sample handling, pre-processing, and dispatching
• Computing skills, including the ability to use email and internet
• Knowledge of health and safety, safeguarding, information governance and data protection standards
• The ability to sustain a high level of attention to detail during fluctuating workload and interruptions
• The ability to suggest improvements to existing processes, and maintain quality standards
• Knowledge of laboratory protocols for sample handling and labelling
• Written and verbal expertise to communicate with laboratory professionals, genetic technologists and internal colleagues
• Knowledge of shipping regulations for biological samples
• Knowledge of quality indicators for selecting images for karyotyping

Personal Attributes

• Ability to manage, prioritise, escalate and organise personal workload while collaborating with team members to meet shared goals and deliver an excellent service

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.

Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust

Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust