Principal Clinical Scientist in Biochemistry

Transformation Unit; Ashford; Hybrid; GBP 58,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Principal Clinical Scientist in Biochemistry (Band 8a) to lead the clinical and technical management of the biochemistry service across multiple sites, with governance and training responsibilities.

The role requires Part 1 FRCPath, MSc in Clinical Biochemistry, and HCPC registration, with opportunities for on-call duties and professional development within a large NHS pathology network.

Qualifications

• Must hold Part 1 FRCPath and MSc in Clinical Biochemistry.
• HCPC registration as a clinical scientist is required.
• Part 2 FRCPath and ongoing professional development are expected.
• Teaching certificate and evidence of management training are advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Lead the clinical and technical management of the specialist biochemistry section.
• Undertake method development and develop clinical guidelines.
• Provide clinical liaison and contribute to on-call rota with appropriate remuneration.
• Participate in quality management and training of staff in clinical sciences.

Skills

HCPC registered clinical scientist

Biochemistry expertise

Leadership/management

Clinical liaison/on-call

Method development

Education

Part 1 FRCPath

MSc in Clinical Biochemistry

Part 2 FRCPath

Registration with HCPC

PhD

Teaching certificate

Job description

Main area Clinical Scientist (Biochemistry) Grade Band 8a Contract Permanent: Substantive Hours

• Full time
• Flexible working

37.5 hours per week (Required to work at all East Kent acute hospital sites.) Job ref 344-4968DBH

Employer East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site William Harvey Hospital Town Ashford Salary £57,528 - £64,750 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 23/11/2026 23:59

Principal Clinical Scientist in Biochemistry

Band 8a

Job overview

**Please note this vacancy is only open to staff currently working in Kent and Medway Pathology Network (KMPN)**

Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust

Medway NHS Foundation Trust

Applications from candidates in other NHS trusts will not be considered.

East Kent Hospitals requires a principal clinical scientist to join our dynamic team of three consultants, two principal (including this post), two senior, and two STP clinical scientists. We are looking for experienced, enthusiastic and motivated applicants for this permanent full-time post. You should possess part 1 FRCPath, an MSc in Clinical Biochemistry, and have registration as a clinical scientist with the HCPC.

The Trust has three acute hospital sites each with a laboratory (William Harvey Hospital at Ashford, Kent and Canterbury Hospital at Canterbury and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital at Margate). The post-holder will be based in Ashford, however, across site working will be required at the Canterbury site and occasionally Margate. The pathology service is an actively engaged member of the Kent and Medway Pathology Network which aims to modernise and harmonise the way pathology services are delivered across Kent and Medway.

Main duties of the job

The post-holder will lead the clinical and technical management of the specialist biochemistry section of the service and will be expected to undertake method development and develop clinical guidelines. The post-holder will provide clinical liaison, including working as duty biochemist, and participate in the on-call rota (following attainment of full FRCPath) with appropriate remuneration. They will contribute to quality management, and the training of both clinical scientists and biomedical scientists. There are regular Kent and Medway journal club and clinical meetings which all clinical scientists attend.

Our laboratories provide a wide range of diagnostic tests with some specialised services provided on one or more of our sites. The Trust serves a population of approximately 700,000, making it one of the largest trusts in the UK and the laboratory processes over 11 million biochemistry and immunology tests annually. The Department of Pathology employs 380 WTE staff and has an annual budget of approximately £42 million. All primary care work from East Kent is processed at the Ashford laboratory. The laboratory has UKAS ISO15189: 2022 accreditation, and is accredited for clinical scientist and biomedical scientist training.

Working for our organization

We are one of the largest hospital trusts in England, with five hospitals and community clinics serving a local population of around 800,000 people. Our vision is 'great healthcare from great people'. Everything we do is guided by our values: 'People feel cared for, safe, respected and confident that we are making a difference’. We have a new way of working at East Kent Hospitals, called 'We care'. It's about empowering frontline staff to lead improvements day-to-day. We're looking for compassionate people to be part of our improvement journey for the patients, families and carers we care for every day.

Kent and Medway Pathology Network

Kent and Medway Pathology Network (KMPN) is a formal partnership of seven laboratories across three pathology services in four acute Trusts. Our 1000 colleagues provide services across the health and care sector to a population of nearly 2 million.

We are at an exciting point of our network development with a recommendation to form a joint venture across the four Trusts leading transformation. Our projects including single IT solutions, procurement and digital projects, to ensure our services are able to meet growing demand for our service users, patients and communities.

A single LIMS solution will go live across the network in the next 12 months. The contract for a single Kent and Medway managed service has recently been awarded.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Person specification

Qualifications and Training

• Good honours degree (1st or 2nd class)
• Part 1 FRCPath
• MSc in Clinical Biochemistry
• Registration with the HCPC as a clinical scientist
• PhD
• Teaching certificate
• Evidence of management training/qualification
• Part 2 FRCPath

Skills and Experience

• Extensive experience as a HCPC registered clinical scientist in a clinical biochemistry hospital laboratory.
• Experience of teaching staff
• Good oral and written communication skills
• Good interpersonal skills and ability to work as part of a team
• Good negotiation and influencing skills
• Good supervisory and management skills
• Research and innovation skills
• Teaching skills
• Ability to manage, and adapt to, change
• Able to identify and pursue own educational development
• Attention to detail and computer literate with excellent IT skills i.e. MS packages: Word, Excel and PowerPoint
• Planning abilities, with good organisational and time-management skills.
• Ability to decipher documents and complex information including charts, statistical data and figures.
• Ability to work independently
• Work experience in a variety of clinical and research environments
• Proven and extensive peer‑reviewed publication record

Knowledge

• Wide knowledge of clinical biochemistry
• Clinical governance agenda
• Understanding of quality management systems, accreditation and knowledge of quality standards
• Health and safety awareness
• Budgetary awareness
• Document management control

Personal/professional attributes

• Ability to manage and adapt to change
• Able to identify and pursue own educational development
• Attention to detail and computer literate with excellent IT skills i.e. MS packages: Word, Excel and PowerPoint
• Planning abilities, with good organisational and time-management skills
• Ability to decipher documents and complex information including charts, statistical data and figures
• Ability to work independently

Other requirements

• To be aware of and adhere to the Trust’s Vision, Mission and Values

There are lots of great opportunities at East Kent Hospitals, where staff are caring and put patients first, innovation flourishes and you can develop your career. We’re on an exciting journey of transformation. With a local Medical School at the centre of our community, a focus on research, clinical leadership and making our trust a rewarding and friendly place to work,
there’s never been a better time to join us. To find out more about east Kent visit our website. The Trust fully supports the SAS Doctors Charter and is committed to their development through its CPD Framework.

We have a relocation policy for eligible candidates, parking available at Trust sites but we encourage other options, like car sharing or public transport.

The Trust is committed to supporting flexible working to fulfil our pledge as part of The Trust’s People Strategy to help staff to achieve a healthy work/life balance. Please speak with your Recruiting Manager for further information on how this can be managed alongside department expectations and requirements.

The ability to converse easily and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for all customer facing roles.

Most positions require a Disclosure and Barring check and will be exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Posts working regularly or unsupervised with children or vulnerable adults require an enhanced check.

Applicants for eligible roles requiring Skilled Worker sponsorship must meet UK Visas and Immigration eligibility criteria.

We operate a no-smoking policy on all our sites and grounds.

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 Dr Helen Holt Job title Consultant Clinical Scientist Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 01233 616025 Additional information

Dr Sally Stock, Head of Service and Clinical Director of Pathology at email address [e-mail]