Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Senior Biomedical Scientist - Chemical Pathology

The closing date is 18 July 2025

Job summary

This role is an opportunity for an experienced Biomedical Scientist to join the Great Western Hospitals Chemical Pathology section within Blood Sciences department in a Senior role.

The post holder will join a team of dedicated professionals working to deliver high quality test results and excellent care to patients across Swindon and the surrounding area. The Great Western Hospitals Blood Science department handles over 6 million test requests per year and offers a large repertoire of tests for our patients.

The post holder will act as senior support to the staff within the Chemical Pathology department, providing their expertise guidance in tasks such as troubleshooting analytical equipment and helping maintain the workflow through the section. A primary focus for this post is to provide training and quality support for the department. Strong leadership skills, experience in training staff and an understanding the IBMS Registration and Specialist portfolios will be essential to achieve success in this role. This post is one of three senior roles within Chemical Pathology and the post holder will work alongside the other seniors to lead the department and the junior staff members.

Main duties of the job

It will be expected that the post holder will manage their time well to be able to deliver the workload, under guidance from the Laboratory Manager. It will be important to balance the time spent supporting staff through training, completing quality work such as incident investigations, audits, document control, etc and helping on the bench depending on the current needs of the department.

There could be a requirement to cover occasional out of hours shifts to maintain the service during times of extreme staffing shortages. These will be minimised and shared between all senior staff in the department.

The successful candidate will be an experienced HCPC registered Biomedical Scientist with deep knowledge of clinical biochemistry. An MSc in biomedical sciences or clinical biochemistry or similar will be an advantage.

This post is focused towards providing training support for staff completing IBMS registration/specialist portfolios and supporting the departmental quality management system. Time should be managed to effectively deliver all training related work, contribute significantly to the audit and incident investigation work and support staff on the bench to complete routine work.

About us

Our STAR values - Service, Teamwork, Ambition and Respect - are a golden thread running through everything we do. These values serve as a guiding principle, driving us towards our vision of delivering great joined up services to our local community. Whether at home, in the community, or within the hospital, our goal is to empower individuals to lead independent and healthier lives.

Details

Date posted

08 July 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£46,148 to £52,809 a year per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

249-7140054

Job locations

Great Western Hospital

Marlborough Road

Swindon

SN3 6BB


Job description

Job responsibilities

It will be expected that the post holder will manage their time well to be able to deliver the workload, under guidance from the Laboratory Manager. It will be important to balance the time spent supporting staff through training, completing quality work such as incident investigations, audits, document control, etc and helping on the bench depending on the current needs of the department.

There could be a requirement to cover occasional out of hours shifts to maintain the service during times of extreme staffing shortages. These will be minimised and shared between all senior staff in the department.

The successful candidate will be an experienced HCPC registered Biomedical Scientist with deep knowledge of clinical biochemistry. An MSc in biomedical sciences or clinical biochemistry or similar will be an advantage.

This post is focused towards providing training support for staff completing IBMS registration/specialist portfolios and supporting the departmental quality management system. Time should be managed to effectively deliver all training related work, contribute significantly to the audit and incident investigation work and support staff on the bench to complete routine work.

There is opportunity for an enthusiastic scientist to become involved in a range of projects ongoing within the laboratory to bring improvement to the overall department.

The successful candidate should be able to successfully communicate with a wide range of staff groups, both internal and external, and successfully manage potential barriers to communication to achieve positive outcomes to discussions.

Job description

Job responsibilities

It will be expected that the post holder will manage their time well to be able to deliver the workload, under guidance from the Laboratory Manager. It will be important to balance the time spent supporting staff through training, completing quality work such as incident investigations, audits, document control, etc and helping on the bench depending on the current needs of the department.

There could be a requirement to cover occasional out of hours shifts to maintain the service during times of extreme staffing shortages. These will be minimised and shared between all senior staff in the department.

The successful candidate will be an experienced HCPC registered Biomedical Scientist with deep knowledge of clinical biochemistry. An MSc in biomedical sciences or clinical biochemistry or similar will be an advantage.

This post is focused towards providing training support for staff completing IBMS registration/specialist portfolios and supporting the departmental quality management system. Time should be managed to effectively deliver all training related work, contribute significantly to the audit and incident investigation work and support staff on the bench to complete routine work.

There is opportunity for an enthusiastic scientist to become involved in a range of projects ongoing within the laboratory to bring improvement to the overall department.

The successful candidate should be able to successfully communicate with a wide range of staff groups, both internal and external, and successfully manage potential barriers to communication to achieve positive outcomes to discussions.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • IBMS accredited Biomedical Sciences degree (or equivalent approved by the IBMS)
  • HCPC registration as a biomedical scientist

Desirable

  • Specialist portfolio in Biochemistry
  • Master's degree in Biomedical Sciences or related subject (or equivalent)
  • Health and Safety training
  • Quality management training

Experience

Essential

  • Experience working and communicating as part of a diverse team
  • Experience working in a clinical laboratory in biochemistry
  • Strong team leader
  • Prepared to work with biological materials and a variety of sample types

Desirable

  • Experience managing staff
  • Experience conducting appraisals for staff members

Knowledge

Essential

  • A good standard of written and spoken English is required to be able to undertake the relevant duties
  • Specialist knowledge of main techniques within clinical biochemistry
  • Good IT skills and knowledge of Microsoft Office software packages
  • A good communication skills

Desirable

  • A high level of commitment and drive to improve
  • Knowledge of IT architecture used in running complex analytical equipment and laboratory information systems (LIMS)
Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • IBMS accredited Biomedical Sciences degree (or equivalent approved by the IBMS)
  • HCPC registration as a biomedical scientist

Desirable

  • Specialist portfolio in Biochemistry
  • Master's degree in Biomedical Sciences or related subject (or equivalent)
  • Health and Safety training
  • Quality management training

Experience

Essential

  • Experience working and communicating as part of a diverse team
  • Experience working in a clinical laboratory in biochemistry
  • Strong team leader
  • Prepared to work with biological materials and a variety of sample types

Desirable

  • Experience managing staff
  • Experience conducting appraisals for staff members

Knowledge

Essential

  • A good standard of written and spoken English is required to be able to undertake the relevant duties
  • Specialist knowledge of main techniques within clinical biochemistry
  • Good IT skills and knowledge of Microsoft Office software packages
  • A good communication skills

Desirable

  • A high level of commitment and drive to improve
  • Knowledge of IT architecture used in running complex analytical equipment and laboratory information systems (LIMS)

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

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Great Western Hospital

Marlborough Road

Swindon

SN3 6BB


Employer's website

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


Employer details

Employer name

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Great Western Hospital

Marlborough Road

Swindon

SN3 6BB


Employer's website

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


Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Laboratory Manager

Kirk Allott

kirk.allott@nhs.net

Details

Date posted

08 July 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£46,148 to £52,809 a year per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

249-7140054

Job locations

Great Western Hospital

Marlborough Road

Swindon

SN3 6BB


Supporting documents

Privacy notice

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust's privacy notice (opens in a new tab)