Job summary
We are looking for an enthusiastic, experienced, radiotherapy linac engineer to lead and manage the engineering service at Chelsea for the technical support of specialised radiothearpy treatment and imaging equipment. to join the Physics and Engineering team at the Chelsea branch of the Hospital, in a permanent position. Applicants should have at least 10 years experience in this field. The candidate should combine hands-on technical expertise with line-management, service planning and operational governance to deliver high-quality, safe patient care and to support controlled introduction of new technology. Some support of radiotherapy networks, IT and computing will be expected of the post holder.The Radiotherapy Department at Chelsea has 4 Varian Truebeams providing VMAT, SRS, SABR, CBCT and fff delivery. Additional equipment includes HDR BRachytherapy. A Cyberknife radiosurgery unit is in clinical use. External beam treatment planning systems include Eclipse,Brachyvision, Raystation, Multiplan, Oncentra and BrainLab.
For informal visits and further enquiries, contact Margaret Bidmead, Head of Physics on 020 78082506 or Rollo Moore , Head of QC and Dosimetry on 020 7 8082508
Main duties of the job
Lead and manage the Radiotherapy Engineering service to ensure safe, reliable and resilient technical support for specialised radiotherapy treatment and imaging equipment. The aim of this service is to maximise the availability of radiotherapy equipment for clinical use. Combine hands-on technical expertise with line-management, service planning and operational governance to deliver high-quality, safe patient care and to support controlled introduction of new technology. Act in accordance with the Royal Marsden values: Pioneering Change; Working Collaboratively; Striving for Excellence; Showing Compassion.
About us
The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust is a world-leading cancer centre. Our role is to offer our patients the best cancer care available anywhere in the world, and to continue to make a global contribution to finding better ways of diagnosing and treating cancer. We employ over 4,500 staff in a diverse range of careers including nursing, medical, science, radiography, pharmacy, occupational therapy, finance and administrative services. We have two hospitals - one in Chelsea, London, and one in Sutton, Surrey - as well as a Medical Daycare Unit in Kingston Hospital.
At The Royal Marsden, we deal with cancer every day, so we understand how valuable life is. When people entrust their lives to us, they have the right to demand the very best. That's why the pursuit of excellence lies at the heart of everything we do.
At the heart of the hospital is our dedicated team. We offer a stimulating and dynamic working environment, a wide range of staff benefits, learning and development opportunities and clear career pathways. There are opportunities to work flexibly across a range of areas and specialities and we welcome flexible working requests from point of hire to support employees work life balance. We are looking for employees who aspire to excellence, share our values and can play a crucial role in our on-going achievements.
Job description
Job responsibilities
For further information on this role, please see the attached detailed Job Description and Person Specification
- The Postholder is Head of the Radiotherapy Engineering section.
- To be responsible for managing the provision and development of the Departments Radiotherapy Engineering Service. To provide specialist expert advice in all areas of engineering as applied to radiotherapy.
- To be responsible for managing and monitoring engineering aspects of maintenance, repair, installation, acceptance and commissioning of new treatment equipment, satisfying optimum standards of operation and meeting agreed clinical handover deadlines. To exercise appropriate judgement and technical knowledge for optimising the beam parameters for such commissioning procedures.
- To be responsible for managing and monitoring engineering aspects of installation, servicing and repair of auxiliary equipment to the radiotherapy treatment units, such as (but not limited to) chillers and air compressors.
- To work as part of multidisciplinary teams to plan and develop the clinical radiotherapy service.
- To be responsible for maintaining and updating as necessary the engineering processes framework of the ISO 9001 system. To ensure the engineering team adheres to this framework.
- To work alongside the Head of Radiotherapy Treatment delivery and other clinical scientists; bringing complimentary skills and knowledge to ensure safe delivery of state-of-the-art radiotherapy. This is a specialist role, with the freedom to act within broad operational policies.
- To support research and development by leading projects in the field of engineering and radiotherapy equipment applications. To provide support to all associated development activities.
- To promote collaboration and maintain excellent relationships with the equipment manufacturers, the ICR mechanical workshop and any other external stakeholders.
- To keep abreast of the rapid development of treatment equipment design and advanced radiotherapy systems.
Job description
Job responsibilities
For further information on this role, please see the attached detailed Job Description and Person Specification
- The Postholder is Head of the Radiotherapy Engineering section.
- To be responsible for managing the provision and development of the Departments Radiotherapy Engineering Service. To provide specialist expert advice in all areas of engineering as applied to radiotherapy.
- To be responsible for managing and monitoring engineering aspects of maintenance, repair, installation, acceptance and commissioning of new treatment equipment, satisfying optimum standards of operation and meeting agreed clinical handover deadlines. To exercise appropriate judgement and technical knowledge for optimising the beam parameters for such commissioning procedures.
- To be responsible for managing and monitoring engineering aspects of installation, servicing and repair of auxiliary equipment to the radiotherapy treatment units, such as (but not limited to) chillers and air compressors.
- To work as part of multidisciplinary teams to plan and develop the clinical radiotherapy service.
- To be responsible for maintaining and updating as necessary the engineering processes framework of the ISO 9001 system. To ensure the engineering team adheres to this framework.
- To work alongside the Head of Radiotherapy Treatment delivery and other clinical scientists; bringing complimentary skills and knowledge to ensure safe delivery of state-of-the-art radiotherapy. This is a specialist role, with the freedom to act within broad operational policies.
- To support research and development by leading projects in the field of engineering and radiotherapy equipment applications. To provide support to all associated development activities.
- To promote collaboration and maintain excellent relationships with the equipment manufacturers, the ICR mechanical workshop and any other external stakeholders.
- To keep abreast of the rapid development of treatment equipment design and advanced radiotherapy systems.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Bachelor's Degree in a relevant subject or equivalent Higher Diploma plus specialised engineering skills
Desirable
- IPEM Diploma or equivalent in Medical Physics/Medical Engineering
Registration
Desirable
- Registration as a Clinical Scientist or on the RCT
- Eligibility for registration as a Clinical Scientist or on the RCT
Scientific Technical Skills
Essential
- At least 10 years' experience and knowledge of radiotherapy equipment covering preventative maintenance, servicing, inspection, fault repairs and safety.
- Knowledge and experience of Microsoft Desktop & Server Operating Systems, sufficient to carry out maintenance and user support. Knowledge and experience to maintain and support PC based systems and networks.
- Knowledge and experience of techniques employed to measure the performance and radiological safety of complex radiotherapy treatment machines and imaging equipment.
- Specialist knowledge and practical experience, including manufacturer's training on radiotherapy equipment including RF generation, HT generation & high vacuum systems, multi-leaf collimation, X-Ray generation, kV and MV imaging modalities, and computer systems and networks
- Experience in computer system administration, knowledge of networks, sufficient to maintain and support systems.
- Knowledge and practical experience of quality assurance procedures
Desirable
- At least two years applying workshop technology to patient-critical equipment and techniques in healthcare.
Clinical
Essential
- High level of understanding of patient and staff risks arising from equipment failure
- Good understanding of clinical radiotherapy techniques and the demands these place on treatment machines
Managerial
Essential
- Knowledge and experience of management issues
- Able to exercise own initiative when dealing with issues within own specialist area of competence.
- Able to prioritise and manage own work and that of others in line management chain
Desirable
- Knowledge of employment procedures and practices.
IT Skills
Essential
- Able to use Excel, Word etc to set up documents, spreadsheets and extract information
- Able to set up and manage the acquisition, structure and networking of information.
Desirable
- Experience of non-Windows based operating systems e.g. Unix
Mental
Essential
- Able to concentrate when subject to unpredictable working patterns.
- To be self-motivated and maintain concentration for prolonged periods when engaged in complex machine breakdowns
- To prioritise tasks efficiently when presented with challenging workloads
- Able to deal with complex and stressful situations while maintaining a calm and professional standard.
- Able to deal with occasional distressing circumstances (e.g. working under pressure around patients when machines suffer breakdowns in Radiotherapy)
Communication
Essential
- Able to communicate highly complex information clearly to other professional groups
- Able to train groups of other multi-disciplinary professional staff
- Able to deliver teaching and training on complex subjects
- Able to deal with complex and unpredictable situations
Physical
Essential
- Able to use engineering and hand tools for equipment adjustment/assembly, requiring highly developed manual dexterity
Desirable
- Able to lift medium/heavy weights on occasion (e.g. lead shielding) within constraints of safe working practices
- Able to work at height or in awkward positions
Environmental
Essential
- Understanding of hazards and precautions needed with: 1.Ionising radiation 2.Lasers 3.Electrical hazards, including high voltage 4.Mechanical Hazards 5.Chemicals
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Bachelor's Degree in a relevant subject or equivalent Higher Diploma plus specialised engineering skills
Desirable
- IPEM Diploma or equivalent in Medical Physics/Medical Engineering
Registration
Desirable
- Registration as a Clinical Scientist or on the RCT
- Eligibility for registration as a Clinical Scientist or on the RCT
Scientific Technical Skills
Essential
- At least 10 years' experience and knowledge of radiotherapy equipment covering preventative maintenance, servicing, inspection, fault repairs and safety.
- Knowledge and experience of Microsoft Desktop & Server Operating Systems, sufficient to carry out maintenance and user support. Knowledge and experience to maintain and support PC based systems and networks.
- Knowledge and experience of techniques employed to measure the performance and radiological safety of complex radiotherapy treatment machines and imaging equipment.
- Specialist knowledge and practical experience, including manufacturer's training on radiotherapy equipment including RF generation, HT generation & high vacuum systems, multi-leaf collimation, X-Ray generation, kV and MV imaging modalities, and computer systems and networks
- Experience in computer system administration, knowledge of networks, sufficient to maintain and support systems.
- Knowledge and practical experience of quality assurance procedures
Desirable
- At least two years applying workshop technology to patient-critical equipment and techniques in healthcare.
Clinical
Essential
- High level of understanding of patient and staff risks arising from equipment failure
- Good understanding of clinical radiotherapy techniques and the demands these place on treatment machines
Managerial
Essential
- Knowledge and experience of management issues
- Able to exercise own initiative when dealing with issues within own specialist area of competence.
- Able to prioritise and manage own work and that of others in line management chain
Desirable
- Knowledge of employment procedures and practices.
IT Skills
Essential
- Able to use Excel, Word etc to set up documents, spreadsheets and extract information
- Able to set up and manage the acquisition, structure and networking of information.
Desirable
- Experience of non-Windows based operating systems e.g. Unix
Mental
Essential
- Able to concentrate when subject to unpredictable working patterns.
- To be self-motivated and maintain concentration for prolonged periods when engaged in complex machine breakdowns
- To prioritise tasks efficiently when presented with challenging workloads
- Able to deal with complex and stressful situations while maintaining a calm and professional standard.
- Able to deal with occasional distressing circumstances (e.g. working under pressure around patients when machines suffer breakdowns in Radiotherapy)
Communication
Essential
- Able to communicate highly complex information clearly to other professional groups
- Able to train groups of other multi-disciplinary professional staff
- Able to deliver teaching and training on complex subjects
- Able to deal with complex and unpredictable situations
Physical
Essential
- Able to use engineering and hand tools for equipment adjustment/assembly, requiring highly developed manual dexterity
Desirable
- Able to lift medium/heavy weights on occasion (e.g. lead shielding) within constraints of safe working practices
- Able to work at height or in awkward positions
Environmental
Essential
- Understanding of hazards and precautions needed with: 1.Ionising radiation 2.Lasers 3.Electrical hazards, including high voltage 4.Mechanical Hazards 5.Chemicals
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.
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.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
