Job responsibilities
General Management
- Take the lead for the service or wider functions or strategies whilst representing the Head of Life Sciences and/or Laboratory Director.
- Support the Head of Life Sciences and/or Laboratory Director in the development of a culture which enables staff to deliver high quality support service.
- To respond flexibly to Service, Division and/or Board ad hoc queries and service pressures, providing the service in line with local and NCL wide escalation procedures.
- To possess highly developed, advanced specialist scientific skills, and use these to drive innovation and improvement of the unit.
- To provide scientific advice and act as a resource both internally and externally.
- Must develop and improve scientific expertise, which may be via Continuing Professional Development (CPD) within an appraisal and/or competency programme.
- Maintain your Registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
- Maintain UKAS accreditation
- Work within NSOPS service specification
Strategic Management
- To support the Head of Life Sciences in the development and implementation of the Services Annual Management and Operational Plan. Specifically, to ensure that the plans are delivered within financial resources.
- To support the Head of Life Sciences in the development and implementation of business cases for new developments/innovations.
- Contribute to the on-going review of services, supporting Service Managers in identifying and consulting with key stakeholders on changes to achieve improved patient care and key performance targets.
- Support the Head of Life Sciences in communicating service changes/plans to external stakeholders and within Cellular Pathology, reassuring and motivating staff to engage directly in any review and the development of services.
- To attend and represent the Service at key external meetings (both NCL and NHSE) as required.
- As part of the Oriel planning for the Tissue Centre work and plan staff strategy alongside the Head of Life Science and Eye Bank Chief Biomedical Scientist
- Assist with the design and development of the Tissue Centre in Oriel
Performance Management
- Accountable for the operational management, organisation and delivery of all targets, effectively liaising with clinicians, administrative staff and colleagues in other departments and directorates where necessary.
- Responsible for the operational management and delivery of the Cellular Pathology Service offered by the Moorfields Department of Eye Pathology, located in the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology.
- Ensure the provision of appropriate and timely data collection for the Service activity to support capacity and demand analysis, and the ongoing development of a Service Strategy and Operational Plan.
- Implement the agreed processes for monitoring and managing performance activity, identifying when performance falls below set standards. Analyse and interpret a range of options in highly complex situations, making judgments and deciding upon corrective action to ensure performance targets are achieved. Seek support from the Head of Life Sciences where corrective action has been unable to rectify shortfalls in performance.
- Monitor the performance of the Service, providing written performance reports and communicating the findings of these reports at meetings as required. Manage cancer tracking cases, ensuring compliance with local and national targets.
Financial Management
- Deliver delegated Financial Plans, ensuring financial viability, and ensure that systems are in place to maximise income, control expenditure and to deliver cost improvements.
- Specifically, the post holder will have delegated financial responsibility for the specific Service budget.
- To comply with the Trusts Standing Financial Instructions as outlined. To have responsibility for purchasing goods and equipment up to a financial limit of £5K per item.
- To be managerially responsible for the physical assets of the Service, including managing an Asset Register of approximately £1m in collaboration with the Trusts EBME team.
Staff Management
- To be responsible for the management of all scientific and administration staff who support the Service, including Biomedical Scientists, Medical Laboratory Workers (including Tissue Centre Technicians and Assistants) and Clinical Administrators through established channels of accountability. To provide and receive highly sensitive information requiring highly developed skills in situations such as sickness meetings, disciplinary processes, grievance matters and recruitment and selection of staff.
- Provide effective, professional, managerial leadership and co-ordination to all staff groups, with specific accountability for all non-clinical staff/registered staff.
- Analyse the service activity and the required resource to ensure the appropriate staffing skill mix for the delivery of service. To liaise closely with other Chief and Senior Biomedical Scientists within the Trust to ensure staffing resources between sections are deployed flexibly and with maximum efficiency across all areas.
- To implement change within services. To act as a change agent and role model to challenge, motivate and overcome barriers to improve the effectiveness of the service
- Ensure the implementation of performance reviews and continuous professional development for non-clinical staff.
- Ensure that staff reporting directly to the post holder have clearly defined responsibilities and accountability and are working within agreed objectives and service plans - assessed annually in line with the Trusts Appraisal policy.
Quality and Safety
- Improve the effectiveness of the services by working with the Divisional Management to ensure Clinical Standards, Education, Audit and Research and Development are pursued in line with the Trusts Strategy
- To ensure that relevant national policy guidance/targets in relation to Quality and Safety are implemented and adhered to within the departments.
- To occasionally undertake audit and research and feed back to relevant Divisional and other relevant boards and forums.
- To review existing policies and procedures on an on-going basis and ensure effective implementation within the Department. To develop and implement new policies as required.
- To be proactive in the generation and updating of all Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and associated documentation.
- To act as the Quality Manager and adhere to the standards from ISO 15189:2022 within service delivery. Understand and apply change control processes and general quality management procedure, including document control, training, competence assessment and audit.
- To assist in the implementation and development of new and existing techniques and the validation steps commensurate with those methodologies.
- Organise investigations into untoward incidents and complaints in line with Trust Policy, closing incidents and responding to complaints appropriately within agreed timescales and ensuring that prompt corrective action is taken to improve services.
- Implement effective risk management strategies, thus improving staff safety and reducing unnecessary costs and financial liabilities to the Trust.
- To ensure that Health and Safety and COSHH standards are complied with within all relevant sections. To utilise Tendable and participate in inspections and audits of premises and ensure actions are taken where necessary and within deadlines.
Responsibility- Information Resources
- Undertake relevant training for electronic information systems in place (and under development) and be familiar and proficient with the use of the information technology systems within the unit.
- To have an active e-mail account.
- To ensure that information technology is not used for nefarious activities.
- Ensure the continued compliance with both National and International Information Governance requirements and legislation.
- Maintain patient records to the standard always demanded by the DEP and to ensure that RCPath guidance is adhered to always.
