Job summary
Barts Health NHS Trust has a vision to be a high performing group of NHS hospitals, renowned for excellence and innovation and providing safe and compassionate care to our patients in east Londonand beyond.
We are seeking a strategic, forward-thinking leader to take responsibility for the delivery, assurance and continuous improvement of all decontamination services across our Trust. This critical role will ensure safe, compliant and high-performing decontamination services that directly support clinical excellence and patient safety.
This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of decontamination services within a complex and progressive NHS organisation.
Reporting to the PFI Programme Director the Group Decontamination Lead is responsible for overseeing and coordinating all decontamination processes across the Trust. You will lead the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of decontamination protocols to ensure the highest standards of hygiene and safety are maintained. This role involves managing teams, monitoring compliance with regulatory requirements, and collaborating with key stakeholders to reduce contamination risks and protect patients, staff and the wider community.
This role sits within the Estates and Facilities under Group Support Services
Proposed Interview date 23/10/2025
Main duties of the job
o Provide expert advice across the Trust on all matters relating to decontamination, including Sterile Services and Endoscopy Reprocessing. o Lead a team of specialist staff across multiple sites and be accountable for ensuring compliance with national legislation, HTM standards and ISO accreditation requirements.
o Leading the development and delivery of a Trust-wide decontamination strategy.o Overseeing compliance with HTM 01-01, HTM 01-06, ISO 13485 and other regulatory frameworks.o Manage multi-site decontamination services and leading on service transformation.o Providing assurance to the Executive Team, IPC, and Clinical Divisions.o Leading and developing specialist decontamination staff and Designated Persons.o Managing contracts, budgets and procurement for equipment and service provision.
About us
Barts Health is one of the largest NHS trusts in the country, and one of Britain's leading healthcare providers.
The Barts Health group of NHS hospitals is entering an exciting new era on our improvement journey to becoming an outstanding organisation with a world-class clinical reputation. Having lifted ourselves out of special measures, we now have the impetus and breathing space to chart a fresh course in which we are continually striving to improve all our services for patients.
Our vision is to be a high-performing group of NHS hospitals, renowned for excellence and innovation, and providing safe and compassionate care to our patients in east London and beyond. That means being a provider of excellent patient safety, known for delivering consistently high standards of harm-free care and always caring for patients in the right place at the right time. It also means being an outstanding place to work, in which our WeCare values and behaviours are visible to all and guide us in how we work together.
We strive to live by our WeCare values and are committed to promoting inclusion, where every staff member has a sense of belonging. We value our differences and fully advocate, cultivate and support an inclusive working environment.
We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates as they are underrepresented within Barts Health at this band.
Job description
Job responsibilities
We are dedicated to being an outstanding place to work and will work with you to get the best experience. We know flexible working is not a one size fits all and will mean something different to everyone. We are inclusive, so if you are interested in flexible working, please speak to the recruiting manager.
The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience, and knowledge required. For both documents, please view the attachment/s below.
Job description
Job responsibilities
We are dedicated to being an outstanding place to work and will work with you to get the best experience. We know flexible working is not a one size fits all and will mean something different to everyone. We are inclusive, so if you are interested in flexible working, please speak to the recruiting manager.
The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience, and knowledge required. For both documents, please view the attachment/s below.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Master's degree or equivalent qualification, or appropriate specialist qualifications with extensive relevant experience.
- Demonstrable specialist training or qualifications in decontamination or related technical disciplines (e.g., HTMs, decontamination processes).
Desirable
- Member of the Institute of Decontamination Sciences
- Member of IHEEM
- Authorised Person Decontamination
- Authorised Person Water Safety in Healthcare settings.
Experience
Essential
- Experience in managing staff and budgets.
- Experience in influencing people and effecting change.
- Robust track record in decontamination in an acute Trust environment.
- Experience in quality systems
- Demonstrate ability to deliver results when dealing with highly sensitive issues in a culturally complex environment.
- Experience of commissioning and managing contracts, managing, and aligning engagement with national policy.
- Evidence of continuous professional development to ensure up-to-date specialist knowledge across a range of specialism's
Desirable
- Evidence previous experience in a similar, senior, position within the NHS or Private sector
- Knowledge/experience in managing PFI contracts.
- Knowledge/use of HTM's
Knowledge
Essential
- Advanced theoretical and practical knowledge of a range of work procedures and practices, and knowledge related to decontamination and relevant hard FM disciplines; water safety and ventilation.
- Able to demonstrate a thorough understanding of NHS structures and current issues in the NHS.
- Detailed knowledge of European national standards/decontamination processing equipment, procedures, and documentation.
- Detailed knowledge of quality standards 93/42/EEC, ISOEN13485 & ISOEN 9001.
- Specialist training in decontamination and maintenance of equipment.
- Excellent understanding of QA systems and how they affect patient care.
- Excellent understanding of the decontamination policies and protocols required by the Department of Health.
Desirable
Skills
Essential
- Excellent interpersonal influencing and negotiating skills.
- Good understanding of legislation pertaining to Decontamination.
- Analytical and critical thinking ability.
- Ability to meet agreed objectives and work to tight deadlines.
- Knowledge of computer systems and willing to develop skills in databases and spreadsheets.
- Proven skills in researching and drafting strategy and policy documents.
- Ability to analyse highly complex facts and data which require interpretation and communicating.
- Customer focused and driven on by fulfilment in reaching high standards/quality.
- Flexible and pragmatic approach to problems and working practices.
- Empathetic and willing to use a range of communication skills to achieve goals.
- Ability to work on own initiative as well as plan and organise own and team's workload.
- Resilient and able to cope with emotionally demanding and distressing situations.
Other
Essential
- Ability to frequently travel between sites and to other locations.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Master's degree or equivalent qualification, or appropriate specialist qualifications with extensive relevant experience.
- Demonstrable specialist training or qualifications in decontamination or related technical disciplines (e.g., HTMs, decontamination processes).
Desirable
- Member of the Institute of Decontamination Sciences
- Member of IHEEM
- Authorised Person Decontamination
- Authorised Person Water Safety in Healthcare settings.
Experience
Essential
- Experience in managing staff and budgets.
- Experience in influencing people and effecting change.
- Robust track record in decontamination in an acute Trust environment.
- Experience in quality systems
- Demonstrate ability to deliver results when dealing with highly sensitive issues in a culturally complex environment.
- Experience of commissioning and managing contracts, managing, and aligning engagement with national policy.
- Evidence of continuous professional development to ensure up-to-date specialist knowledge across a range of specialism's
Desirable
- Evidence previous experience in a similar, senior, position within the NHS or Private sector
- Knowledge/experience in managing PFI contracts.
- Knowledge/use of HTM's
Knowledge
Essential
- Advanced theoretical and practical knowledge of a range of work procedures and practices, and knowledge related to decontamination and relevant hard FM disciplines; water safety and ventilation.
- Able to demonstrate a thorough understanding of NHS structures and current issues in the NHS.
- Detailed knowledge of European national standards/decontamination processing equipment, procedures, and documentation.
- Detailed knowledge of quality standards 93/42/EEC, ISOEN13485 & ISOEN 9001.
- Specialist training in decontamination and maintenance of equipment.
- Excellent understanding of QA systems and how they affect patient care.
- Excellent understanding of the decontamination policies and protocols required by the Department of Health.
Desirable
Skills
Essential
- Excellent interpersonal influencing and negotiating skills.
- Good understanding of legislation pertaining to Decontamination.
- Analytical and critical thinking ability.
- Ability to meet agreed objectives and work to tight deadlines.
- Knowledge of computer systems and willing to develop skills in databases and spreadsheets.
- Proven skills in researching and drafting strategy and policy documents.
- Ability to analyse highly complex facts and data which require interpretation and communicating.
- Customer focused and driven on by fulfilment in reaching high standards/quality.
- Flexible and pragmatic approach to problems and working practices.
- Empathetic and willing to use a range of communication skills to achieve goals.
- Ability to work on own initiative as well as plan and organise own and team's workload.
- Resilient and able to cope with emotionally demanding and distressing situations.
Other
Essential
- Ability to frequently travel between sites and to other locations.
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.
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).
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.
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).
