Essential Services Laboratory Manager - Princess Alexandra Hospital

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a dedicated and capable manager at the Essential Services Laboratory (ESL) at the Princess Alexandra Hospital (PAH) Harlow site.

Leading a large team of staff and working closely with the Clinical staff, the post holder will have responsibilities for managing the overall operations and service delivery of the ESL and all associated services whilst the service undergoes transformation as part of the ongoing Herts and West Essex (HWE) pathology redevelopment programme.

The ESL Manager is a very important position within Health Services laboratories (HSL) and we are looking to appoint an innovative, hardworking, and committed individual who is keen to work with the wider team to embed an improvement culture, support and further develop our services in line with the commissioned hub-and-spoke pathology service Target Operating Model (TOM).

The ESL service at PAH site is UKAS accredited against ISO 15189:2012 standards and the onsite services includes Specimen Reception, Haematology, Biochemistry, Haemostasis, Blood Transfusion and Cellular Pathology. The service provision is 24/7 for all onsite disciplines excluding Cellular Pathology.

Main duties of the job

The post-holder will work very closely with the Senior Operations Management of HSL and PAH Trust, as well as relevant clinical staff, in all aspects of the service, focusing on managing operational performance and supporting the delivery of excellent patient care for the PAH NHS Trust. HSL has a strong track-record of research and development, working closely with the clinical teams.

The ESL has approval for registration and specialist training, supported by our education faculty and training officers. We are looking for a dynamic individual with enthusiasm and drive who will provide inspirational leadership. You will be fully supported in this key senior position by our quality management, human resources, and operational teams.

About us

At HSL we offer a variety of excellent staff benefits including:

1. Training and development opportunities supporting professional development
2. Annual salary review - No banding restrictions: As we are a private company we are not restricted by salary bandings and so are able to negotiate appropriate salaries based on experience. This also means that annual salary reviews do not hit a band ceiling.
3. Discounted gym membership - we have a corporate gym membership scheme with Better Gyms
4. Cash healthcare plan - cash back on a variety of healthcare costs including dentist and opticians
5. Sick Pay Entitlement - 5 paid days in the first year of employment, 20 days thereafter
6. Permanent Health Insurance and Death in Service Cover
7. Life Assurance - providing salary continuation for long term illness (six months qualifying period)
8. Employee Assistance Programme - supporting staff wellbeing
9. Season Ticket Loan Scheme - interest free loan for the cost of annual travel ticket
10. Perkbox - Access to additional staff perks and benefits such as high street discounts
11. Company Pension Scheme - company and staff contributions which increase with service
12. Competitive annual leave allowance - 28 days

Job responsibilities

Main Duties: To include, but not be restricted to, the following:

1. To take management responsibility for the operations and service delivery for the Essential Services Laboratory, including line management of the Heads of Department.
2. To be the site lead and senior point of contact for the Trust covering all services offered by HSL at Princess Alexandra Hospital Harlow site and have oversight of work referred from Princess Alexandra Hospital Harlow site to other sites within Group and externally.
3. To maintain a collaborative and productive relationship with the local HWE Contract Manager, Clinical Leads and Consultants.
4. To work with the Quality Management Group to ensure that the ESL meets all requirements for UKAS, MHRA, CQC and other applicable standards. To ensure expected service quality is met at all times, including continuous review of all technical procedures and establishment of effective quality control and quality assurance procedures.
5. To ensure staff fully understand contracted KPIs and service standards and that each service section meets and continuously improves on these. To use data to drive the improved performance of the laboratories from Group systems such as Tableau, Q-pulse, Sonic Learn.
6. To be responsible for the organisation and performance of analytical testing to ensure the correct reporting to the ordering practitioner within contracted target turnaround times.
7. To provide leadership, motivation, and direction to ensure provision of a high quality, clinically safe laboratory service.
8. To review and where appropriate, develop operational policies and procedures to ensure effective and efficient working practices.
9. To ensure that senior management is aware of issues concerning service delivery including shortfall, service pressures and to propose remedial action.
10. To implement processes, policy, contracts etc. as required by the HSL senior management team.

Person Specification

Experience

• Able to manage, develop, co-ordinate and provide complex laboratory services.
• Sufficient knowledge to be able to liaise with Heads of Service to analyse and trouble-shoot complex technical, operational, and analytical problems.
• Experience in validation and introduction of new techniques and equipment.
• Extensive knowledge of maintaining an accredited service, including UKAS/MHRA/CQC registrations and IBMS training standards.
• Evidence of continuing professional development.
• Experience in training laboratory staff and assessing competence.
• Able to demonstrate advanced quality assurance principles and practice.
• Experience of achieving and maintaining a service through UKAS / MHRA / CQC assessment and surveillance.

Qualifications

• Honours (first or second class) degree in Biomedical Science or relevant alternative
• Relevant Masters degree, IBMS Higher Specialist Diploma or equivalent experience
• Current Health & Care Professions Council registration

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.

Depending on experience Up to £75,000 DOE