Tissue Bank Travelling Technician - College of Medicine and Health - 106859 - Grade 5

University of Birmingham; Park Central; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading global university is seeking a dedicated professional to oversee the procurement and processing of human samples for biomedical research. The role involves identifying eligible patients, adhering to legal requirements, and maintaining meticulous records in a fast-paced, ethical environment. Successful candidates will have practical experience within an NHS setting, strong communication skills, and attention to detail. The university offers generous benefits including 40 days of holiday and development opportunities.

Benefits

40 days paid holiday

Occupational sick pay

Pension scheme

Flexible working arrangements

Subsidised nursery services

Qualifications

• Experience working within the NHS and understanding ethical issues around human samples.
• Familiarity with health and safety requirements relating to biological samples.
• Good level of basic computing and technical skills.

Responsibilities

• Identify eligible patients for projects and trials.
• Collect samples while ensuring compliance with relevant policies.
• Maintain accurate records and electronic tracking logs.

Skills

Attention to detail

Communication skills

Ability to work under pressure

Education

Practical experience within the NHS environment

Driving license and access to a vehicle

Tools

Laboratory equipment

Job description

Overview

The main role of the post holder is delivery of the core services provided by the Human Biomaterials Resource Centre (HBRC) and other key facilities. The HBRC is an HTA‑licensed human sample biorepository operating as part of the College's Research Office.

It is a quality‑controlled environment regulated and operated in an HTA‑compliant manner. The post holder will undertake the procurement, processing, and release of appropriately consented, quality assured, annotated biomaterials for biomedical research from patients in a wide range of disease settings.

This will involve the identification and recruitment of appropriate patients in a variety of clinic settings (and on occasion, health volunteers), potentially obtaining informed consent, sample collection and handling according to project protocols and HBRC Standard Operating Procedures, and completion of the necessary records and electronic tracking logs.

The role requires accurate, contemporaneous administration associated with sample tracking, and paperwork therefore forms a substantial portion of the role.

Responsibilities

• In association with clinical and surgical staff, identification of eligible patients for a variety of projects/trials using different sources of information such as clinic and surgical lists, patient health records/NHS Trust information systems and records from MDT meetings.
• The post holder will be expected to work according to the requirements of the UK Policy Framework for Health and Social Care Research, to Caldecott Principles, and in a manner compliant with the Human Tissue Act 2004.
• Attendance at clinics/operating theatres/cellular pathology departments, across several local NHS sites, in order to receive consent and collect the appropriate samples. The post holder will perform this task with a degree of autonomy and in an integrated way with clinical staff to ensure minimal disruption to the patient treatment pathway. SOPs will be followed for collection, transfer and any subsequent processing of samples within the HBRC to ensure sample integrity. The entire process will be Human Tissue Act compliant and will be carried out in a manner compliant with the Human Tissue Act (HTAct), Data Protection Act 2018 (GDPR), and Good Clinical Practice (GCP).
• To complete, accurately and contemporaneously, the necessary records and electronic tracking logs relating to sample consent, receipt, processing, storage, release and clinical data annotation.
• To process samples (e.g. tissue culture/sectioning/staining) as required and according to level of training.
• To contribute to the Quality Management System within the HBRC and other areas, assisting with review of SOPs, risk assessments and COSHH assessments; contributing to internal/external audit procedures and regulatory inspections; undertaking basic housekeeping matters within facility laboratories, including monitoring and maintenance of equipment.
• To uphold compliance with all University and local Health & Safety policies, including risk assessments and manual handling, reporting any breaches or non‑compliance to the relevant manager.
• To adopt a proactive attitude to assisting with and implementing carbon reduction and energy saving measures where practicable.
• To support equality and values diversity, moderating own behaviour to avoid unfair discriminatory impact or bias on others.
• Any other duties within the HBRC commensurate with the grade and skill base of the post holder as directed by the HBRC General Manager and Tissue Services Manager, and laboratory managers.
• The HBRC is a team of 15 staff comprising a general manager (to which this post ultimately reports), quality/operations manager, tissue services manager, data entry officer, clinical study co‑ordinators, histology coordinator, and various technical staff. This post has no line management or supervisory responsibilities.
• The HBRC is self‑funding and charges for the services it delivers. The post‑holder's activities will be directly contributing to this income but will have no budgetary responsibility.
• The HBRC provides services for many biomedical research groups (up to 50 at any one time). The majority are based locally within the University or neighbouring NHS Trusts, but a proportion are external and/or commercial.
• It is a requirement for both HTA and GCP compliance that all procedures within the HBRC are carried out according to strict Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) which comply with all current regulations, legislation and governance arrangements surrounding the research use of human tissues and handling of clinical trial samples/data, and with Health and Safety regulations. Accurate, contemporaneous administration associated with sample tracking therefore accounts for a substantial portion of the role.

Planning and Organising

• The post holder will be expected to manage their own time effectively in order to meet specific project needs in a timely and regulatory compliant manner and to ensure continuity of service. This role requires careful planning on a daily/weekly basis and may also need to plan ahead for several months.
• Work schedules and priorities are reassessed by the HBRC team on a daily basis, with weekly coordination meetings and fortnight team briefs providing a supervisory element. The post holder may need to prioritise their own work schedules with limited direct supervision according to the objectives set by more senior staff within a particular service area.
• Elements of the service are unpredictable and within these areas the post holder will need to be reactive.

Problem Solving and Decision Making

• Without reference to others:
• Prioritisation of own work on a daily/weekly basis, liaising with senior staff.
• Ordering/replacing consumable reagents and plastics.
• Operation of equipment.
• Meeting personal deadlines.
• After consulting with others:
• Evaluation and monitoring some aspects of service delivery.
• Helping develop and coordinate the implementation of solutions.
• Resolving problems that may have not been encountered previously.
• Remedy of equipment failure or breakdown.
• Referred to someone else:
• Issues relating to patient confidentiality, HTA compliance, GCP compliance, Health and Safety.
• Complaints.

Qualifications and Experience

• Practical experience of working within the NHS environment, and a good understanding of the ethical and regulatory issues surrounding human sample collection and use for research (e.g. Human Tissue Act 2004, UK Policy Framework for Health and Social Care Research, Good Clinical Practice, Data Protection Act/GDPR).
• A driving licence is essential as well as access to and use of own vehicle for the performance and delivery of the role.
• Attention to detail and ability to maintain accurate records under pressure.
• Familiarity with technologies associated with handling human samples.
• Experience of working within a biomedical environment, and general laboratory experience.
• Familiarity with health and safety requirements/policies relating to biological, chemical, liquefied gases and manual handling.
• Good level of basic computing and technical skills.
• Good communication skills and ability to treat all work as confidential.
• Courteous and patient, with a positive service attitude.
• Ability/willingness to work outside of normal hours occasionally, to comply with hospital COVID requirements, and an ability to complete multiple trips per day, either on‑site or between sites.
• Understands importance of equality and diversity in the workplace. Able to identify and respond to equality and diversity issues in line with relevant policies and procedures.
• Post holder will be trained in all aspects of HBRC activity and the regulations surrounding the collection and storage of human samples for research.

Benefits & Working Conditions

The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university. We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success.

We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector‑leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential. With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide‑range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University.

We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate. We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work. Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working.

In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries.

The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site. On campus we have a state‑of‑the‑art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.

You can find out more about the benefits of working for the University of Birmingham. We believe there is no such thing as a "typical" member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations.

We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website.