Mortuary Officer

UHDB; Chesterfield; Sur place; GBP 21 000 - 25 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Mortuary Officer for Derbyshire Pathology at the Chesterfield site on a fixed-term basis. The role involves administering, reception and operational tasks to support the Mortuary Service, ensuring dignified handling of deceased persons and accurate data entry in hospital IT systems.

The successful candidate should have 4 GCSEs including science, experience in healthcare or with deceased persons, and must be physically

Qualifications

• Good general education (4 GCSEs including science)
• Experience in healthcare or with deceased persons desired
• Ability to lift/manoeuvre deceased persons; physically fit

Responsabilités

• Provide administrative, reception and operational support within the Mortuary Service
• Ensure respectful admission, care and release of deceased persons
• Maintain confidentiality and data entry into hospital IT systems

Connaissances

Interpersonal skills

Communication

Empathy

IT literacy

Data entry

Physical fitness

Formation

GCSEs including science

Outils

NHS IT software

Description du poste

As a trusted organisation at the heart of our communities, we recognise the important role we can play in supporting the public, patients, our own people and local partners in achieving the best of health for the local population and the communities in which they live by providing Exceptional Care Together.

Our fundamental Values of Compassion, Openness and Excellence underpin how we intend to work as a Trust and the associated behaviours are becoming embedded in all aspects of how we work.

With over 14,000 members of staff you can expect huge variety and new opportunities every day! Our staff go above and beyond and take pride in caring for our patients.

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust is fully committed to promoting inclusion, equality, diversity and human rights in employment and delivery of its services. The Trust is committed to providing an environment where all employees, patients, carers and visitors experience equality of opportunity by means of understanding and appreciating the value of diversity.

As a Trust we promote an inclusive environment and welcome applications from a diverse pool of talent and backgrounds. All individuals are valued and given every opportunity to succeed based on merit.

The Trust actively encourages applications from members of our Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities. These groups are under-represented in our organisation, and it’s important to us that our workforce reflects the diversity of our communities as much as possible.

Armed Forces and Disability Confident guaranteed interview scheme

To further support the pledges in the Armed Forces Covenant and to make a positive contribution to support ex-armed forces personnel (veterans) make the transition to civilian life, the Trust has introduced a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for veterans who meets the essential criteria set out in the person specification, to help them overcome barriers to find civilian employment. The scheme will operate for all external recruitment.

The Trust is a Disability Confident Employer and committed to both employing and retaining people with disabilities. This commitment is to guarantee an interview for any candidate that has disclosed a disability under the Equality Act 2010 and who meets the essential criteria set out in the person specification. Reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 will be considered upon request.

if you are blind or visually impaired and require application material in an alternative format- such as Braille, large print, audio or accessible electronic formats oryou require support/adjustments with your application please contact the recruitment team on 01332 788466

The Trust is proud to be a signatory of the Care Leavers Covenant and is committed to supporting care-experienced people into employment.

Applicants who identify as a care leaver and who meet the essential criteria for the role, as detailed in the person specification, will be guaranteed an interview.

Join us and help make a real difference to our Trust.

Here’s more about the role and what we’re looking for;

Job overview

Mortuary Officer - Derbyshire Pathology - Chesterfield Site

An exciting opportunity has arisen within Derbyshire Pathology for a well-organised and compassionate individual to join the Mortuary Team on a fixed-term basis.

The successful candidate will be a well organised individual toprovide administrative, reception and operational support within the Mortuary Service, ensuring the respectful admission, care and release of deceased persons.

Working as part of the Mortuary Team, the post holder will assist Anatomical Pathology Technologists and other colleagues in delivering a safe, secure and efficient service, maintaining the dignity of the deceased and supporting the needs of bereaved families, HM Coroner and Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Main duties of the job

The successful candidate will be expected to show a high degree of professionalism, have a compassionate, empathetic and mature attitude and be vigilant of the strict confidentiality policy required for the post.

Applicants must have a good general education (4 GCSE’s including a science) and have experience of working in a healthcare setting or similar surroundings, and/or with deceased persons. They will need to be physically fit and able to lift/manoeuvre deceased persons with and without the use of mechanical aids. There will be frequent exposure to unpleasant and distressing circumstances and dealing with deceased persons on a daily basis. They must have a good knowledge of computers, (Microsoft packages) and keyboard skills to enable data entry into hospital IT systems (training on IT systems will be given)

The successful applicant must be trustworthy, reliable and able to demonstrate strong interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate in difficult and emotional situations with empathy and professionalism with all stakeholders and be approachable and supportive to all levels of staff and bereaved families in a non-judgemental and discreet manner. (Stakeholders include, but are not limited to, the bereaved, ward staff, clinicians, funeral directors, coroner’s office, police etc.)

Closing date of applications: 15 October 2026

Interview date: 29 October 2026

Working for our organisation

As a trusted organisation at the heart of our communities, we recognise the important role we can play in supporting the public, patients, our own people and local partners in achieving the best of health for the local population and the communities in which they live by providing Exceptional Care Together

Our fundamental Values of Compassion, Openness and Excellence underpin how we intend to work as a Trust and the associated behaviours are becoming embedded in all aspects of how we work.

In return we will offer:

• Development opportunities, both professional and leadership development
• On-going support from recruitment to when you join our team and beyond.
• Staff benefits including employee assistance programme, discounted gym membership, onsite fitness classes, car schemes

Key Facts:

• We see on average 4810 OP appointments a day.
• We are the 4th busiest Trauma & Orthopaedic outpatients department in England – an average of 2077 per week.
• An average of 1115 patients are seen in A&Es across our network every day – 3rd largest in the country.
• Our hospitals admit an average of 195 emergency patients daily.
• Last year we undertook almost 33,700 planned surgical operations in our 57 operating theatres.
• We are one of only 7 Trusts nationally with more than 50 operating theatres.
• We carry out more than 140 elective procedures each working day.
• UHDB is a research active University Hospital with a large and varied portfolio of clinical trials and research opportunities for all staff.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see attached Job description and Person Specification.

UHDB is committed to fair and transparent recruitment. We welcome authentic applications that reflect your own skills, experience and motivations for the role. While we understand that candidates may use AI tools for grammar, formatting or accessibility purposes, applications that appear to be substantially AI‑generated may be subject to additional review. If this applies to your submission, we will let you know and may ask for clarification. Please ensure your application accurately represents your experience and is written in your own words.

Important visa information: Due to UK Home Office immigration rule changes effective from 22 July 2025, applicants sponsored under Occupation Code 6131 (Nursing Auxiliaries and Assistants) may not be eligible to bring dependants under the Skilled Worker route if their Certificate of Sponsorship is issued on or after this date. Applicants are responsible for understanding how these rules apply to their individual circumstances. The Trust cannot provide immigration advice. Further information is available on the Skilled Worker visa: Your partner and children - GOV.UK

Your application (for shortlisting purposes) is assessed based on the Person Specification in the job advert (below).

Person specification

Education

• Good basic general education, including science (4 x GCSE grade C or above – including a science)

Experience & Knowledge

• Experience of working with people in sensitive and emotional situations.
• Experience of working in a healthcare setting with multi-disciplinary teams across organisational boundaries.
• A commitment to life‑long learning and undertaking personal development opportunities.
• Knowledge of the special requirements of various faith groups and respect for equality and diversity of issues around formalities following a death.

Skills & Ability

• Strong interpersonal skills demonstrating the ability to communicate in difficult and emotional situations with empathy and professionalism with all stakeholders.
• Ability to work as part of a team and organise fluctuating workload around competing priorities.
• Good communication and organisational skills
• Ability to work methodically
• Competent in the use of NHS IT software systems and handling sensitive personal identifiable data.

Communication & Interpersonal Skills

• Adaptable/flexible
• Proactive and self‑motivated
• Approachable and supportive to all levels of staff and bereaved families in a non‑judgemental and discreet manner.
• Ability to maintain a calm manner in a range of challenging and emotive circumstances.
• Ability to communicate with other professional groups in the Trust

Our Trust aims to provide the highest quality care to patients within Derbyshire and South East Staffordshire and we want the very best people to work with us.

Follow us on Twitter @UHDBTrust or find us on Facebook & LinkedIn - UHDBTrust

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

If we receive a high number of applications for this position we reserve the right to withdraw the post before the closing date, therefore it is advisable that you apply as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

At UHDB , we offer different ways to work flexibly to each and every one of our colleagues, many of whom already work flexibly at all sites of the Trust.

For our roles we are open to discussing the possibility of part-time/ reduced hours/ compressed hours/ flexible start and finish times/ fixed/flexible shifts/annualised hours/ term time hours/ hybrid working – working partly in the trust/partly at home.

Why don’t you talk to us at interview about the flexibility you would like to explore and what it means to you, and we will discuss what’s possible for the job and team, and the opportunities we might be able to create together.

We can’t promise to give you exactly what you want, but we do promise to work with you to look at all the available options.

Most of our posts are subject to a DBS check, however having a criminal record will not necessarily bar you from obtaining a position. Please be aware that all new employees starting work with us will be charged for the cost of their DBS check, if it is required for their role.

All correspondence relating to your application will be sent to you via our trac.system account. Please ensure that you regularly check your emails; this includes junk/spam, as your security settings may not recognise the sender.

Anyone from outside of the UK (excluding from the Republic of Ireland) will need permission from UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) to work in the UK and may also need entry clearance before travelling here.

UKVI is responsible for managing migration. To obtain a visa or entry clearance, you will need to meet certain requirements and demonstrate you have the right the work in the UK via:

• the points-based immigration system
• the EU settlement scheme
• eVisa

During the course of its employment activities, University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust collects, stores and processes personal information about prospective, current and former staff.

Our Privacy Notice includes applicants, employees (and former employees), workers (including agency, casual, honorary and contracted staff), volunteers, trainees and those carrying out work experience – please refer to our Privacy Notice available on our Trust website: https://www.uhdb.nhs.uk/information-governance

UHDB is committed to fair and transparent recruitment. We welcome authentic applications that reflect your own skills, experience and motivations for the role. While we understand that candidates may use AI tools for grammar, formatting or accessibility purposes, applications that appear to be substantially AI‑generated may be subject to additional review. If this applies to your submission, we will let you know and may ask for clarification. Please ensure your application accurately represents your experience and is written in your own words.

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.