Working for Our Organisation

North Bristol NHS Trust employs over 12,000 staff providing healthcare to the residents of Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and North Somerset. We are a center of excellence in a range of services and major specialities. Our vision is to provide exceptional healthcare, personally delivered.

Detailed Job Description and Main Responsibilities

• To apply highly specialist scientific skill and expertise in diagnostic laboratory genetics including troubleshooting of assays and techniques both existing and in development.
• To ensure that the service is effective and current by regular literature review.
• To implement laboratory procedures for sample receipt, processing, IQC, analysis, checking, interpretation, preparation of reports (both standard and complex) and reporting of results.
• To be responsible for the accuracy, timeliness, and appropriateness of a variety of routine and non-routine highly specialised genomic tests.
• To correctly interpret and explain results with advice on further action for patient or family members, including calculation of risk and use of appropriate online resources, literature, and databases as appropriate, within relevant professional guidelines and subject to supervision from senior staff.
• To contribute to appropriate multidisciplinary team meetings to give a professional opinion on clinical cases.
• To communicate scientific data and results at local, national, and international meetings and in the scientific literature under the overall direction of senior staff.
• Authorisation of a subset of clinical and administrative reports, as directed by senior staff.
• To work with the team to ensure achievement of and adherence to the standards required of a UKAS accredited Laboratory, in close liaison with the Quality Lead and Quality Manager and under the direction of the Head of Section and ultimately the Head of Department.
• To participate and lead with medium-term service development and enhancement under the overall direction of more senior staff.
• To undertake continued training and development and to acquire, improve, and apply new skills to ensure safe, efficient, and effective service delivery and to comply with the appropriate CPD scheme.
• The post holder is encouraged to work towards further qualifications (e.g., FRCPath).

Person Specification

Education/Training

Essential criteria:

• First or second-class BSc honours Degree in biological science or equivalent
• Health and Care Professions Council Registration (Clinical Scientist)
• Evidence of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and ongoing training in laboratory genetics
• Completion of Scientist Training programme/Postgraduate Certificate in Genomics/Cytogenetics/Molecular genetics or equivalent
• Higher qualification to MSc or recognised equivalent level

Desirable criteria:

• FRCPath part 1.

Work Experience

Essential criteria:

• Comprehensive experience and knowledge of Clinical Laboratory genetics
• Experience of Research and development projects and presentation at meetings/conferences

Desirable criteria:

• Experience of Staff Training and Supervision
• Experience of R&D
• Experience of presentation of information at internal and/or external scientific meetings

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities

Essential criteria:

• IT literate and familiar with relevant informatics/bioinformatics resources
• Theoretical and Practical knowledge of genetic techniques and their clinical applications.
• Attention to detail and good organisational skills

Additional Information

• As an equal opportunities employer, we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels.
• We commit to investing in and caring for all our staff, supporting you in maintaining and improving your health and wellbeing, as well as your career development through management and training support.
• BFT is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults.
• To comply with Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016, all applicants must be able to speak fluent English to an appropriate standard which will be assessed at interview.
• If you require sponsorship for a visa to work in the UK, please check your eligibility under the UKVI points-based system.
• The Trust uses electronic new starter forms on Trac to collect personal details. Information collected is securely stored and used to set up the employee record on the ESR HR system.
• By applying for this post, you are agreeing to Bristol NHS Foundation Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.
• Please be aware of scams – unless specified above, we will only communicate with you via @recruit.trac.jobs or nhs.net e-mails and we will never ask you for any payments.

Important

• Please note that if you apply for a position with this Trust, you may be contacted via Trac or via email. This includes invites for job interviews. We therefore recommend that you regularly check your Trac account and email accounts. We may also contact you by texting the mobile number, if provided, on the application form.
• Due to the high number of applications that are received for some posts, we may close this vacancy before the advertised closing date. Therefore, please apply for this post as soon as you can, if you are interested and you meet the requirements of the Person Specification.
• Only those candidates who clearly demonstrate how they meet the person specification will be shortlisted for this job.
• As a guide, interviews should usually take place within 3 weeks of the closing date.
• When providing employment reference details, please provide correct work-related email addresses so references can be sought promptly when we are looking to progress your application. Your referee must all be known to you in a line manager or professional lead capacity.