Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trusts

Reception & Automation Lead

The closing date is 16 July 2025

Job summary

The Blood Sciences Department within NUH deals with up to 8,000 patient samples per week and up to 70% of patients will have samples that are dealt with by Blood Sciences. All of these specimens will first arrive in Specimen Reception. The post holder will act as the lead for the Reception and Automation within the Blood Sciences Specimen Reception area, with responsibility for the output of the reception area at either City or QMC campus on rotation. This will include having responsibility and oversight of the day-to-day activities carried out by staff, staff supervision and training, roster and rota production, general leadership duties, human resource functions, troubleshooting, error and incident investigation and act as the point of contact for the department. The Post holder will be expected to learn and gain competency in the required laboratory processes. The post holder will also have key involvement in improvement and efficiencies within the reception area.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will be required to:

  • Supervise staff and take overall responsibility for the Medical Laboratory Assistants and Associate Practitioners
  • Be responsible for the output of the Specimen Reception areas
  • Oversee the required HR functions, including recruitment, selection and monitoring of Medical Laboratory Assistants and Associate Practitioners in areas of responsibility
  • Liaise regularly with line manager and other professional and scientific staff regarding the operation of the reception areas, including the reporting of problems, issues and performance
  • Plan the work of the reception areas including staff rosters, prioritisation of workload and troubleshooting problems
  • Be actively involved in the design and implementation of Reception areas processes, suggesting improvements to practice where appropriate
  • Manage and train (in association with the Training Lead) Medical Laboratory Assistants and Associate Practitioners to perform sample reception duties including the receipt, barcode labelling and preparation of sample analysis
  • Deliver team huddles and ensure communication within the team and beyond
  • Have responsibility for the Track system and ensure it is managed on a day-to-day basis and issues and downtimes are reported and correctly documented
  • Ensure the Reception areas and Track system fulfil the requirements of ISO:15189:2022 and work with the department Quality team to ensure maintenance of United Kingdom Accreditation Service Accreditation

About us

With over 19,000 staff, we are one of the biggest employers in the city with a central role in supporting the health and wellbeing of our local population. We play a leading role in research, education and innovation.

Come and join our wonderful team at NUH. We are big believers in diversity and welcome new ideas to help develop our team in order to deliver world class healthcare to the vast patient populations we serve. With endless personal development opportunities available, at NUH we will endeavour to turn your job into a career!

We particularly welcome applications from people who identify as Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, or Disabled, as we are striving to be better represented at NUH.

Details

Date posted

02 July 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 6

Salary

£37,338 to £44,962 a year per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

164-7235915

Job locations

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

Department of Blood Sciences, QMC campus and City Campus

Nottingham

NG72UH


Job description

Job responsibilities

See above for main duties and attached job description and person specification for finer details of the role.

Job description

Job responsibilities

See above for main duties and attached job description and person specification for finer details of the role.

Person Specification

Training and Qualifications

Essential

  • Degree or equivalent relevant experience in a science, technology or engineering related subject
  • Evidence of managerial / supervisory training

Desirable

  • Able to demonstrate knowledge or experience of healthcare systems or equivalent

Communication and Relationship skills

Essential

  • Able to communicate concisely, effectively and clearly with good interpersonal skills

Analytical and Judgement skills

Essential

  • Able to make judgements regarding complex facts or situations that require analysis, interpretation and comparison of a range of options

Desirable

  • Experience of troubleshooting appropriate laboratory instrumentation

Planning and organisation skills

Essential

  • Able to plan own work activities and those of supervised staff
  • Able to plan, change and communicate changes at short notice

Physical skills

Essential

  • Requires highly developed physical skills including accurate eye to hand coordination

Experience

Essential

  • Supervision of non-registered staff, apprentices & students
  • Previous experience in Pathology with experience and knowledge of specialist Pathology techniques
Person Specification

Training and Qualifications

Essential

  • Degree or equivalent relevant experience in a science, technology or engineering related subject
  • Evidence of managerial / supervisory training

Desirable

  • Able to demonstrate knowledge or experience of healthcare systems or equivalent

Communication and Relationship skills

Essential

  • Able to communicate concisely, effectively and clearly with good interpersonal skills

Analytical and Judgement skills

Essential

  • Able to make judgements regarding complex facts or situations that require analysis, interpretation and comparison of a range of options

Desirable

  • Experience of troubleshooting appropriate laboratory instrumentation

Planning and organisation skills

Essential

  • Able to plan own work activities and those of supervised staff
  • Able to plan, change and communicate changes at short notice

Physical skills

Essential

  • Requires highly developed physical skills including accurate eye to hand coordination

Experience

Essential

  • Supervision of non-registered staff, apprentices & students
  • Previous experience in Pathology with experience and knowledge of specialist Pathology techniques

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).

Additional information

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).

Employer details

Employer name

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trusts

Address

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

Department of Blood Sciences, QMC campus and City Campus

Nottingham

NG72UH


Employer's website

https://www.nuh.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trusts

Address

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

Department of Blood Sciences, QMC campus and City Campus

Nottingham

NG72UH


Employer's website

https://www.nuh.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Specimen Reception Manager

Dean Saggers

d.saggers@nhs.net

01159249924

Details

Date posted

02 July 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 6

Salary

£37,338 to £44,962 a year per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

164-7235915

Job locations

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

Department of Blood Sciences, QMC campus and City Campus

Nottingham

NG72UH


Supporting documents

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