Consultant Clinical Scientist

Job responsibilities

At Synnovis, we are currently shaping the future of pathology services by creating a world-leading Hub and Spoke pathology network with our NHS partners. A large part of this modernisation will involve moving 70% of our services to a purpose built, state of the art Hub laboratory in the heart of London. For now, the job you are applying for will be based at one of our hospital sites however, from 1 April 2024 our people and services will start to move to our Hub laboratory in Blackfriars, Southwark, SE1, with some work remaining in refurbished essential services laboratories across our hospital network, focusing on the rapid turnover of urgent tests. Please do ask your recruiting manager if you wish to find out more.

The post holder will provide scientific leadership and work closely with Service Operations Service Leads/Transformation lead, Principal Clinical Scientist, Strategic Clinical Leads in Microbiology and Virology, Operations Managers and Biomedical Scientists to ensure provision of a high-quality diagnostic Infection Sciences service.

Main Duties and Responsibilities Provide professional leadership for scientists at all levels in the service line. This will include providing direction on planning and developing strategies to improve service delivery excellence. Lead your specialised area providing an advanced level of clinical and scientific expertise, including advising and guiding clinicians. Perform highly complex and specialised scientific work using your expertise. Communicate using highly developed skills obtained through specific training to large groups of disparate people such as multidisciplinary meetings or conferences, imparting highly complex specialist information informing decisions to treat patients in both verbal and written form. Communicate to clinical colleagues and other healthcare professionals, providing and receiving highly complex and sensitive clinical information to and from professional colleagues. Day-to-day management and organisation of team of scientific employees in your area, ensuring that standards are met and performance is appropriately managed. Provide expert level of technical and operational knowledge to the laboratory services in Synnovis. This means being responsible for and ensuring that specialist training is delivered to scientific and support staff and other healthcare professionals. This could take the form of mentoring or carrying out development needs analysis. Initiate and coordinate research, innovation and service development activities. Publish and present research findings and activities at regional and national level. Use professional judgement in advising clinicians on appropriate investigations to perform on individual patients, the scientific and clinical interpretation of complex results and appropriate future patient investigations and/or management. Provide expert operational and technical knowledge to perform specialist analytical procedures that are complex or technically difficult to ensure high likelihood of success. Use instances like these as opportunities to teach and develop others through your experience. Analyse and interpret results including making judgement calls on complex cases and performing necessary actions on the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), ensuring all Information Governance (IG) requirements are met. Lead in the strategic development of the analytical service. Manage the introduction and implementation of new techniques, equipment and tests to realise patient and corporate benefits. Conceive, initiate and oversee the implementation of new techniques, equipment, and tests, including all verification and validation work, following extensive research in field of expertise. Where necessary this will include analysing clinical trial samples. Be an ambassador for your area of expertise, undertaking relevant research, presenting at conferences and seminars to share developments, innovations and training; this includes supervising MSc /PhD and medical students on research projects. Clinical supervision of Specialty Trainees when they are on the hub clinical authorisation desk. Provide mentorship to clinical scientists wishing to take up FRCPath part 1 and 2 examination in microbiology or virology. In conjunction with the Quality team, act as final escalation point, providing expert insight and instigate investigations such as root cause analysis to determine and establish corrective action. Supervise the monitoring, reporting and actions of errors, hazards, incidents and EQA/IQC failures logged in the CAPA module of Q-Pulse. Ensure compliance with all legislative and quality requirements of regulatory directives, accreditation bodies, and local management including:Care Quality CommissionUKASSynnovis policies and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)Any other body in area of responsibility. Provide training and support to employees in the development of scientific expertise, knowledge and professional development, including the safe use of highly complex and sensitive equipment. Define scientific and technical operational policies and procedures in collaboration with the relevant Clinical Lead, Service Delivery Manager, and Operations Manager. Review and authorise relevant documents, including clinical authorisation guidelines (CAG) / patient pathways, SOPs, COSHH and risk assessments in line with the ISO 15189 standard. Provide information during audits and support the delivery of progress reports against agreed KPIs. This can include delivering challenges to workforce planning, risks to service delivery etc. Ensure all Synnovis policies and procedures are implemented and maintained, and where necessary propose policy and service changes including those which may impact and benefit other service lines. Authorise the introduction of new scientific equipment and consumables. Review laboratory assets to ensure alignment with national standards and corporate objectives. Participate in recruitment by supporting shortlisting, interviewing, and onboarding activities, when required. Attend, and where required, chair regular departmental meetings and contribute to effective communication within the department. Deputise for senior management including attendance at meetings, as required. Take part in CPD activities which will include providing input on complex cases to ensure that your practices and knowledge are always relevant and up to date to your specific area.

Qualifications

Essential

• First or second-class honours degree in relevant scientific subject or Healthcare Science
• MSc in relevant scientific subject
• HCPC State registration as a Clinical Scientist
• Higher professional qualification, for example: PhD/Doctor of Clinical Science
• FRCPath Part 1 and 2 in medical microbiology or medical virology [by examination and not by publication]
• Cand/or completed HSST or equivalence programme
• Evidence of Continuous Professional Development (CPD)

Desirable

• Quality or Management qualification

Experience

Essential

• Experience as a registered clinical scientist with a detailed working knowledge of Infection Sciences (Microbiology, mycology & virology)
• Significant expert discipline specific practical experience
• Research and development in relevant field and evidence of publications and presentations at a national level
• Coaching, co -ordinating and day -to -day management of a scientific team
• Education of physiology, pathology, and scientific principles relevant to specialism at an expert level
• Providing instruction to junior medical professionals e.g. doctors in training
• Significant experience in and ability to cascade training in analysis, interpretation and technical validation of routine, complex and specialist results
• Acting as owner for escalation and communication to internal and external service users in the event of quality/ analyser/assay failures
• Resolving troubleshooting activity for highly technical and precision equipment and assays
• Using Laboratory Information Management Systems
• Maintaining quality systems

Desirable

• Project management
• Membership of committees at directorate level or above

Skills & Knowledge

Essential

• Ability to use current trends to establish advancements in current practice in field of expertise
• Awareness, participation, and impact in current issues within Pathology locally and nationally
• Expert degree of skill, knowledge and judgement where interpretation of results can be highly subjective
• Intervention in requesting additional tests, where appropriate, to expedite the diagnostic process and providing clinically relevant scientific advice
• Able to establish and maintain effective networks with professional, clinical and managerial colleagues in the broader pathology space
• Well-developed physical skills, demonstrable ability to use precision equipment and consumables
• Ability to troubleshoot and train those who use the Laboratory Information Management Systems
• Ability to manage effectively in a dynamic environment with multiple conflicting priorities
• Ability to translate highly complex information to colleagues at all levels including colleagues, clinicians and external parties
• Ability to maintain focus and concentration for extended periods of time and intricate investigations
• Implementation of policies and procedures for specialised area in reference to ISO/UKAS

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. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).