Senior Quality Assurance/Quality Control(QA/QC) Officer (Microbiology)

Job summary

Have you got the enthusiasm, knowledge and experience to take up this exciting challenge? We are looking for a Specialist Quality Assurance Officer to cover maternity leave until 30th March 2026.

We require you to be responsible for the supervision of the Quality Assurance (QA) officers and assistants, under the guidance of the Head of Pharmacy Quality Assurance (HPQA) and QC Lead Microbiologist..

As a Senior Quality Assurance / Quality Control (QA/QC) Officer you will manage the running of the QA Microbiology Laboratory, such that an efficient system of workflow through the department is maintained.

You will also manage and be responsible for routine and non-routine sampling and testing (e.g. physical and microbiological environmental monitoring and TVC testing), trending, and investigations, to maintain MHRA regulatory compliance in a licensed aseptic and non-sterile production facility.

Internal applicants currently employed by ESNEFT will be offered on a secondment basis only. This will need to be discuss with your current line manager.

Main duties of the job

Investigate/root cause microbiological Out-of-Limit (OOL) or unusual results. Undertake trending and routine reporting of microbiological status of facilities.

Manage the training/proficiency testing of relevant staff including assistants, students, technicians and pre-registration pharmacy graduates in Microbiological laboratory techniques and the principles of Quality Assurance.

Manage the recruitment, development and appraisal of the Quality Assurance staff.

Maintain the cross site Microbiological Reporting System (MRS).

Manage SLAs with external companies with regards microbiological testing.

Develop and validate microbiological enumeration test methods for raw materials and finished products.

About us

We are ESNEFT and we provide hospital and community health services to almost one million people across east Suffolk and north Essex. Our dedicated staff deliver care from acute hospitals in Colchester and Ipswich, community hospitals, surgeries, community clinics and in patients' own homes.

We are one of the largest NHS organisations in England, employing more than 12,000 staff.

We pride ourselves on supporting our staff. We offer a wide range of training and development opportunities, as well as flexible working options.

Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offer a variety of services.

Our philosophy is that Time Matters to everyone. Across the Trust, we concentrate on improving the things we do and removing those which cause time delays for our staff and patients.

We are investing in our commitment to Time Matters with a partnership with leading electronic patient record (EPR) supplier Epic. This digital transformation will bring what's widely regarded as the world's best EPR system to ESNEFT, transforming life in hospital for staff and patients.

If you are passionate about patient care and want to develop your skills and knowledge, then we want to hear from you.

Find out about living and working here - www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkPu7HphU8A

Employer details

Employer name

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Colchester Hospital

Turner Road

Colchester

CO4 5JL

Employer's website

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

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Employer details

Employer name

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Colchester Hospital

Turner Road

Colchester

CO4 5JL

Employer's website

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

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