Head of Scientific Safety Policy

Job summary

This unique role is placed at the centre of the policy-making process that ensures the safety of blood, tissues, cells and organs provided for transfusion and transplantation across the UK. The post holder will be an experienced post-doctoral scientist with a proven record of scientific writing and effective communication to both specialist and lay audiences, stakeholder engagement, collaboration, and organising committee work. The role provides an unparalleled opportunity to work with colleagues in all four UK blood and tissue services and all four UK governments by providing secretariat support to expert committees that advise government.

Note: This role does provide a hybrid-working option. You will be assigned a base location which could be one of NHSBT main centres/blood centres, which will be confirmed after the final interview and mutually agreed upon with the line manager during the verbal offer stage.

Main duties of the job

In this role, you will lead the preparation, presentation and approval of scientific papers for SaBTO and JPAC, providing subject matter expertise and high-quality secretariat support to committee Chairs and members. Working with internal and external stakeholders, you will play a key role in developing and implementing safety policies for the UK Blood and Tissue Services. Key responsibilities include:

1. Supporting the DHSC Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (SaBTO) by producing policy papers, reports and summaries, and assisting with work plans and meeting agendas.

2. Providing scientific leadership in producing policy papers for the UK Blood Services Joint Professional Advisory Committee (JPAC) and its Standing Advisory Committees, working closely with committee Chairs and the Scientific Publishing Manager.

3. Co-ordinating activity related to blood, tissue and organ safety and ensuring effective liaison between decision-making bodies.

4. Acting as secretary for the joint NHSBT/SaBTO Donor Organ Risk Assessment (DORA) working group and the NHSBT Therapeutic Products Safety Group.

5. Developing expertise in JPAC and SaBTO safety frameworks and supporting project teams in applying them.

6. Producing reports for Blood Service Boards and the DHSC as required.

The role requires travel, irregular hours and occasional overnight stays with advance notice.

About us

It takes all types of people to deliver the kind of service that saves and improves lives. At NHS Blood and Transplant, youll join a team of more than 6,000 people who are making a genuine difference to communities, families, friends, relatives and more across the UK. We play a unique and special role in the NHS by helping people do something extraordinary- donate blood, blood products, organs, tissues, or stem cells to save someone in need. Our three core values are what set us apart. They guide and inspire everything we do. By being caring, expertly meeting the needs of our patients and our people, and accepting nothing less than the best quality, we can do extraordinary work and help our people to do something extraordinary in their career, too. Three small words, one big difference - Caring, Expert and Quality. Together we'll save and improve more lives than ever. You will join us on our journey to create an inclusive workplace and aim to reflect the diverse communities we work with, and we positively encourage applications from all sectors of the community.