Expert Practitioner Healthcare Scientist

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; United States; Remote; USD 73,000 - 99,000; Full time

Job summary

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a substantive Expert Practitioner Healthcare Scientist (Histological Dissection) to join Liverpool Clinical Laboratories. The role leads complex macroscopic dissection, supports diagnosis and research, and ensures compliance with ISO15189 and RCPath standards.

You will train Biomedical Scientists and junior medical staff, manage dissection room operations, and contribute to service development while maintaining high-quality

Qualifications

• Advanced expertise in histological dissection per RCPath guidance.
• Ability to manage dissection room operations and KPIs.
• Lead training of Biomedical Scientists and junior staff.

Responsibilities

• Independently dissect Category A-C specimens within scope.
• Provide expert scientific advice to clinical colleagues.
• Lead education and training of staff in sampling techniques.
• Coordinate tissue collection for research with governance compliance.

Skills

Dissection skills

Communication

Leadership

Education

HCPC registration as Biomedical Scientist or Clinical Scientist

MSc in relevant specialty

Member of Institute of Biomedical Science

Job description

Expert Practitioners perform complex scientific procedures, interpreting biological samples that support the diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of disease, including cancer. They dissect a wide range of histological specimens (Categories A-C) and selected Category D-E specimens in line with training and competence, while supporting the departmental cut‑up rota. They maintain and develop expertise throughout their career. The role includes managing specimen reception or dissection laboratories to ensure efficient workflow and high-quality service. Working with expert dissectors, advanced practitioners, and consultant pathologists, they uphold ISO15189 standards and lead training for biomedical scientists, laboratory technicians, and medical specialist trainees.

• 1. Undertake complex scientific procedures involving the examination, interpretation, and dissection of biological specimens to support the diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of disease and other pathological conditions.
• 2. Independently dissect the full range of Category A-C specimens and selected Category D-E specimens within approved competency and scope of practice.
• 3. Manage the day-to-day operation of the Cellular Pathology specimen reception and/or dissection laboratories, ensuring compliance with accreditation, regulatory, quality, and health and safety requirements.
• 4. Work collaboratively with Senior Management to provide specialist expertise, support service development, and maintain high-quality laboratory services.
• 5. Communicate complex scientific and medical information effectively with pathologists, surgeons, radiologists, and other healthcare professionals to support patient care.
• 6. Lead the education, training, assessment, and professional development of Biomedical Scientists, laboratory staff, and junior medical colleagues in specimen examination, dissection, and sampling techniques.
• 7. Contribute to departmental training programmes and workforce development initiatives.
• 8. Coordinate and manage the collection of tissue samples for research and other approved projects in accordance with governance requirements.

• 1. Independently assess, describe, sample, and dissect benign and malignant biopsies and surgical resections within the agreed scope of practice (Categories A-C and selected D-E specimens).
• 2. Provide expert scientific advice to clinical and medical colleagues to support diagnosis, treatment planning, and patient management.
• 3. Maintain expert-level dissection knowledge and practice in accordance with current Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath) guidance and professional standards.
• 4. Exercise professional judgement when selecting and adapting dissection procedures to ensure optimal specimen examination and sampling.
• 5. Support quality assurance, service improvement, and innovation within the department.

The Trust is committed to promoting a healthy work‑life balance and achieve fair, equitable and consistent practice. We welcome flexible working requests and will consider a variety of flexible working arrangements from day one of your employment. Not all roles are suitable for every flexible working opportunity all of the time. Flexible working options may include reduced hours, compressed hours, fixed shifts, time back in lieu and home working. The Trust is committed to promoting equality and diversity; we value the contribution of individual talent, skills, knowledge and experience and aim for a workforce demography representative of the local community. We encourage applicants from the following groups that are currently under-represented in our workforce black, Asian and minority ethnic, lesbian, gay, bisexual and Transgender (LGBTQ+), disabled, male and age 16-24. Trust policy requires that the cost of submitting & processing the successful applicant/s DBS application be recovered via salary deduction following start in post. The amount of £25.70 (standard disclosure) or £46.70 (enhanced disclosure) will be deducted from salary, in manageable monthly instalments for up to 3 months following commencement of employment. Bank posts require upfront payment. From April 2017, Skilled visa applicants and their adult dependant(s) will be required to provide a criminal record certificate from each country they have lived in consecutively for 12 months or more in the past ten years. Applicants requiring sponsorship may wish to determine the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship for this position by assessing themselves against the criteria on the gov.uk website - https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa. This organisation has a zero‑tolerance approach to the abuse of children, young people and vulnerable adults. All staff must ensure they adhere to the organisations safeguarding children and adults’ policy and comply with the Local Safeguarding Children and Adult Board procedures. Staff should be mindful of their responsibility to safeguard children and adults in any activity performed on behalf of the organisation in line with the requirements of statutory guidance and legislation. All employees (and volunteers)are expected maintain their safeguarding knowledge and skills by completing mandatory safeguarding training which includes understanding and recognising the signs of abuse and neglect and taking appropriate action. As an organisation, we have adopted the Merseyside Domestic abuse workplace scheme which supports our staff who are experiencing Domestic Abuse /any forms of sexual violence.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to communicate effectively with colleagues at all levels of the organisation.
• Demonstrates resilience and professionalism when dealing with complex, stressful, or distressing situations.
• Ability to maintain concentration and produce accurate, clinically focused work over extended periods.
• Commitment to quality improvement, patient safety, and continuous professional development.
• Ability to produce complex documentation, reports, and training materials with clarity and precision., Excellent communication skills
• Demonstrates a high level of resilience and ability to deal with distressing and stressful circumstances
• Able to maintain concentration for long periods of time in order to produce timely, accurate clinically focussed work
• Demonstrates excellent communication skills at all levels of organisation
• Able to write complex documents with clarity and precision, BMS Diploma of Expert practice in Histological Dissection
• HCPC registration as a Biomedical Scientist or Clinical Scientist
• MSc (or equivalent) in relevant specialty
• Member of the Institute of Biomedical Science

Desirable criteria

• Post-graduate management qualification or equivalent experience, Minimum 24 months dissection experience including benign and malignant resections
• Competency assessments for RCPath specimen types Cat A-C in all specialties demonstrated
• Evidence of training Biomedical Scientists and junior medical staff
• Experience of leadership and management within a Pathology setting, Evidence of comprehensive CPD portfolio in relevant specialty
• Up to date knowledge of Royal College of Pathologists guidelines for specimen dissection
• Up to date knowledge of Evidence based national and international patient care pathways
• Understanding of Health & Safety requirements in laboratory
• Understanding of up to date UKAS/ISO15189 or equivalent standards for medical laboratory accreditation, Advanced macroscopic tissue recognition and dissection skills
• Evidence of ability to order appropriate ancillary tests (e.g. fresh tissue collection)
• Able to produce high quality macroscopic descriptions for clinicians in all Trusts in a timely fashion meeting departmental KPI's
• Autonomy in dissection of comprehensive range of surgical specimens (Category A-C)
• Able to manage and prioritise the work of the dissection room.
• Assessment of the suitability of set procedures for any given specimen and using judgement to carry out alternatives.
• Able to organise own workload and do so under pressure
• Able to obtain appropriate biological control material, use of other specific control measures where appropriate and complete the validation of such material

Liverpool Clinical Laboratories (LCL) is seeking to appoint a substantive Expert Practitioner Healthcare Scientist (Histological Dissection) within LCL. This is an excellent opportunity to join the largest provider of specialist histological pathology services in Cheshire and Merseyside.

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust comprises Aintree University Hospital, Broadgreen Hospital & Royal Liverpool University Hospital.

We are part of NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group, formed on 1 Nov 2024 from the coming together of LUHFT and Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust. The Group was born from a shared aim to improve the care we provide our patients. UHLG is one of the largest employers in the region, with over 16,800 colleagues dedicated to caring for our communities - from birth and beyond. For the 630,000 people across Merseyside, we are their local NHS. We provide general and emergency hospital care, alongside highly specialised regional services for more than two million people in the North West. Aintree University Hospital is the single receiving site for adult major trauma patients in Cheshire and Merseyside and hosts a number of regional services including an award-winning stroke facility. Broadgreen Hospital is home to elective surgical, diagnostic and treatment services, together with specialist patient rehabilitation. Liverpool Women's Hospital specialises in the health of women and babies, delivering over 7,200 babies in the UK's largest single site maternity hospital each year. The Royal Liverpool University Hospital is the largest hospital in the country to provide inpatients with 100% single bedrooms and focuses on complex planned care and specialist services.

Note: Under current Home Office Immigration Rules we are currently unable to offer right to work visa sponsorship for Band 2 and 3 roles with a salary of less than £25,000 pa as they do not meet the UK Visas & Immigration criteria.