Specialist Biomedical Scientist

Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust; Manchester; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job description

Employer: Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust

Location: Manchester, United Kingdom

Salary: Competitive

Closing date: 24 Apr 2025

Job summary

Would you like to join the largest and most forward-thinking NHS Trust in the UK? Biochemistry has invested in training and staff development, appointing a dedicated Training Lead to support and deliver all aspects of academic courses from certificates of achievement, registration, specialist and higher specialist IBMS portfolios, apprenticeships, and leadership and management qualifications. The department also has dedicated funding to support MSC's, top-up modules, or IBMS Certificates of Expert Practice. Due to our vast array of services from Routine Roche automation, Specialist Chemistry, Paediatric and Newborn screening, and UKAS accredited Point of Care, we pride ourselves on growing our own and enabling opportunity across all our sites to develop staff and provide a strong and sustained service for the future.

We currently have two vacancies at our Oxford Road site for Band 6 Biomedical Scientists with experience in Biochemistry; Band 5 would also be considered. Candidates must be in possession of an IBMS specialist portfolio in Clinical Biochemistry or equivalent to be appointed at Band 6.

Main duties of the job

The Directorate of Biochemistry is across 4 sites, and all sites have state-of-the-art equipment including the largest fully automated Roche tracking system in Europe incorporating Roche 8100/p612 pre-analytic systems, Roche 702, 801, and Roche Pro analysers.

Our Specialist Chemistry sections at Oxford Road and Wythenshawe sites boast internationally renowned specialised assays comprising of Waters, Thermo, and Sciex Mass Spectrometry instruments using highly advanced analytical methods plus various other techniques such as HPLC, RIA, ELISA, Calculi Analysis, and other manual assays.

The post holder will act as a registered Biomedical Scientist providing scientific services to patients as an aid to clinical diagnosis. The successful candidate will be required to participate in the 24/7 out of hours rota and undertake a wide range of complex analytical procedures, performing a range of manual, semi-automated, and automated tests using scientific knowledge and experience to comment upon and validate results in line with ISO 15189.

Suitable candidates will require Biochemistry experience post-registration and have experience of working out of hours. Candidates must be in possession of an IBMS specialist portfolio in Clinical Biochemistry or equivalent to be appointed at Band 6; however, candidates working towards their specialist portfolio will be considered for appointment at Band 5.

About us

MFT is one of the largest NHS Trusts in England with a turnover of £2.8bn and is on a different scale than most other NHS Trusts. We're creating an exceptional integrated health & social care system for the 1 million patients who rely on our services every year.

Bringing together 10 hospitals & community services from across Manchester, Trafford & beyond, we champion collaborative working & transformation, encouraging our 30,000 workforce to pursue their most ambitious goals. We set standards that other Trusts seek to emulate, so you'll benefit from a scale of opportunity that is nothing short of extraordinary.

We've also created a digitally enabled organisation to improve clinical quality, patient & staff experience, operational effectiveness & driving research and innovation through the introduction of Hive; our Electronic Patient Record system which launched in September 2022.

We're proud to be a major academic Research Centre & Education provider, providing you with a robust infrastructure to encourage and facilitate high-quality research programmes. What's more, we're excited to be embarking on our Green Plan which sets out how MFT continues to play its part in making healthcare more sustainable.

At MFT, we create and foster a culture of inclusion and belonging, provide equal opportunities for career development that are fair, open, and transparent, protecting your health and wellbeing and shaping the future of our organisation together.

Job responsibilities

To find out more about the key responsibilities and the specific skills and experience you'll need, take a look at the Job Description & Person Specification attachments under the Supporting Documents heading. So that you're even more equipped to make an informed decision to apply to us, you'll need to take time to read the Candidate Essentials Guide that sits with the Job Description and Person Specification. This document provides you with details about the Trust, our benefits and outlines how we care for you as you care for others. Most importantly, it also contains critical information you'll need to be aware of before you submit an application form.

Diversity Matters

MFT is committed to promoting equality of opportunity, celebrating, and valuing diversity and eliminating any form of unlawful discrimination across our workforce, ensuring our people are truly representative of the communities we serve. All individuals regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation are encouraged to apply for this post. As an inclusive employer, we are here to support you. If you have any special requirements to help you with your application, email our team at [e-mail]. We're looking forward to hearing from you!

Person Specification

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

• Evidence of post-registration speciality training, in accordance with IBMS guidelines or equivalent.
• Extensive post-registration experience in Biochemistry as a BMS Practitioner (band 5).
• Have extensive working knowledge of laboratory areas, including both practical and theoretical knowledge of the various methods employed.
• Also to demonstrate a sound understanding of the basic physiology, pathology and scientific principles relevant to Clinical Biochemistry.
• Able to operate and maintain complex automated and semi-automated equipment.
• Display experience and competency in all laboratory areas.
• Able to contribute to assessing and suggesting changes to laboratory operating procedures.
• Demonstrate a sound knowledge and application of quality systems, with particular reference to ISO/UKAS.
• Knowledge of Laboratory IT programmes and good keyboard skills.

Desirable

• Development of special interest and expertise in one or more areas of the laboratory, for example audit, quality, R&D, safety, training, Automated Biochemistry, Toxicology, Immunoassay or LC-MS.
• Knowledge of common IT programmes such as Word / Excel.

Qualifications and Knowledge

Essential

• HCPC Registration within Biomedical Science.
• IBMS approved Biomedical Sciences Degree or Equivalent in relevant discipline.
• Evidence of CPD in accordance with HCPC.
• Completed IBMS Specialist Diploma, or appropriate short courses or individual learning programs, or evidence of equivalent knowledge and experience.

Skills

Essential

• Evidence of working as part of a team.
• Good communication skills including ability to communicate with peers and senior staff and clinical users of service.
• Well-developed physical skills, especially in the manipulation of pipettes and other laboratory equipment. Also must be adept and precise when handling samples etc.
• Able to work unsupervised, to organise workload, and to organise and train less qualified, or less experienced staff.
• Able to demonstrate a high degree of skill and knowledge, where result interpretation can be highly subjective.
• Able to prioritise analytical work and plan day-to-day organisation of area of work.

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration.

Employer details

Employer name

Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
Address

Oxford Road Campus

Oxford Road

Manchester

M139WL

Employer's website