Mortuary Service Manager

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust; Chesterfield; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Development opportunities

On-going support from recruitment to加入

Job summary

UHDB NHS Foundation Trust is recruiting a Mortuary Service Manager to lead the Derbyshire Pathology mortuary network across Chesterfield and UHDB sites. You will ensure safe, respectful, and compliant mortuary services, maintaining HTA licensing and UKAS accreditation while guiding a skilled team of Anatomical Pathology Technologists.

You will drive service improvement, governance, workforce development and strategic planning to support the evolving pathology network and patient care.

Qualifications

• Level 3/Certificate in Anatomical Pathology Technology or equivalent
• Level 4/Diploma in Anatomical Pathology Technology or equivalent
• Demonstrable experience managing mortuary services
• Management or leadership qualification or equivalent experience

Responsibilities

• Ensure delivery of high-quality, safe and efficient mortuary services
• Lead and develop a team of Anatomical Pathology Technologists and support staff
• Oversee HTA licensing, UKAS accreditation, health and safety compliance
• Drive service governance, audits, incident investigations and improvement actions
• Collaborate with clinical teams, bereavement services, coronial services and funeral directors

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Stakeholder management

Mortuary practice knowledge

Education

Level 3 /Certificate in Anatomical Pathology Technology

Level 4 / Diploma in Anatomical Pathology Technology

Demonstrable experience managing mortuary services

Management or leadership qualification

Job description

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.

If you wish to be considered under this scheme, please indicate this within your application.

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 Service Manager – Derbyshire Pathology

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced and motivated Mortuary Service Manager to lead and develop mortuary services for Derbyshire Pathology across both Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust.

Working closely with the Designated Individuals at each Trust, Clinical Directors and the senior management team, you will ensure the delivery of safe, effective and compassionate services for deceased patients and their families, whilst maintaining compliance with Human Tissue Authority (HTA) standards, UKAS accreditation requirements and relevant legislation.

The successful candidate will lead service improvement, quality assurance, workforce development and business planning activities, ensuring mortuary services are fit for the future and responsive to the needs of the populations we serve. This is an excellent opportunity to shape the future direction of a multi-site mortuary service within a progressive pathology network.

This role requires a highly organised and proactive leader with excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, capable of working across organisational boundaries to deliver a consistently high standard of mortuary service throughout Derbyshire Pathology.

Main duties of the job

You will be responsible for ensuring the delivery of high-quality, safe and efficient mortuary services, maintaining compliance with HTA licensing requirements, UKAS standards, health and safety legislation, and local and national policies.

The role will lead and support a team of Anatomical Pathology Technologists and support staff across the network, providing effective workforce planning, recruitment, training, appraisal, performance management and staff development. You will foster a culture of continuous improvement, professional excellence and compassionate care.

You will manage service quality, governance and risk arrangements, leading audits, inspections, incident investigations and corrective actions. Working collaboratively with clinical teams, bereavement services, pathology consultants, coronial services, funeral directors and Trust support departments, you will ensure an effective and seamless service is delivered across all sites.

The post holder will contribute to strategic planning and service development, identifying opportunities for innovation and service improvement. You will lead the development and implementation of policies, procedures and business continuity plans to support service resilience and regulatory compliance.

Closing date of applications: 4 October 2026

Interview date: 15 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

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.

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

Skilled worker: Health and Care Visa

Read about the Health and Care Visa for employing overseas nationals (excluding Irish citizens) under the points-based immigration system.

Person specification

Education, Training and Qualifications

• Level 3 / Certificate in Anatomical Pathology Technology.
• Level 4 / Diploma in Anatomical Pathology Technology.
• Demonstrable experience managing mortuary services
• Management or leadership qualification or equivalent experience

Experience & Knowledge

• Expert knowledge of Anatomical Pathology Technology
• Significant knowledge of human resources policies and procedures.
• In depth understanding of the ISO15189:2022 accreditation, Human Tissue Authority and Health and Safety legislation.
• Significant experience in a senior supervisory role in a mortuary setting
• Experience of managing change.
• PC and Microsoft Office skills.

Communications and interpersonal skills

• Effective influencing and motivational skills

Skills and Ability

• Detailed understanding of advanced mortuary practice and post mortem procedures

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.

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IMPORTANT INFORMATION

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.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

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.

Name Stacey O'Brien Job title Deputy General Manager Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 01246 514726 Additional information

We’d love to hear from you! If you have any questions about the role, team, or working environment, feel free to get in touch for an informal chat. Speaking with us before applying is completely optional, but it can help you decide if this opportunity is the right fit for you.