Senior Assistant Healthcare Scientist in Microbiology

A Vacancy at East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust.

**Please note this vacancy is only open to staff currently working in Kent and Medway Pathology Network (KMPN)**

Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust

Medway NHS Foundation Trust

Applications from candidates in other NHS trusts will not be considered.

We are looking for a Senior Assistant Healthcare Scientist within Microbiology at William Harvey Hospital. Candidates will be highly motivated, enthusiastic and educated to level 3 qualification or above (A-levels or equivalent). You will also have a keen eye for detail along with the ability to work efficiently. This Band 3 role is permanent and full-time 37.5 hours per week.

The post-holder will work in all sections of Microbiology and undertake duties to support Biomedical Scientists in the diagnosis of infectious disease.

We currently hold UKAS Accreditation, and are an IBMS training laboratory.This is an exciting opportunity to join the Pathology team at the Trust and to help shape future strategy and services for our local population.

The laboratory is open 7 days per week, with core hours covering 8.30am to 5pm. We are looking for applicants to cover a range of shifts including 1:4 weekends, bank holidays, and Late shifts working until 7pm, but are open to flexible working options within the core hours (no night working).

The role is based within Microbiology to support Biomedical Scientists in the specimen reception, and preparation and examination of biological samples. The post-holder will use a wide range of analysers and manual laboratory techniques. You will contribute to quality management and improvement, through production of high-quality results and maintaining ISO 15189 accreditation. You are flexible, able to prioritise and manage your time effectively, and able to remain calm under pressure. You possess good keyboard skills, a high level of accuracy, and are a good team player with a flexible approach to working.

Duties include

· To be actively involved in the induction and training of new staff in serology reception, data entry duties and telephone enquiries.

· To raise orders on Business World and NHS Supply Chain.

· To liaise with Suppliers to deal with queries regarding goods (e.g. damage, shortage, non-delivery).

· To enter patient information onto the Pathology Laboratory Information Management System to ensure patient information is accurate and available in a timely manner.

Before applying, we encourage you to review the Trust’s vision, mission and values. The Supporting Information Section in your application should reflect your understanding of the Trust’s Values and associated Behaviours. You will be expected to provide us with examples from work experience and / or personal life which demonstrate these values and behaviours.

We are one of the largest hospital trusts in England, with five hospitals and community clinics serving a local population of around 800,000 people. Our vision is 'great healthcare from great people'. Everything we do is guided by our values: 'People feel cared for, safe, respected and confident that we are making a difference’. We have a new way of working at East Kent Hospitals, called 'We care'. It's about empowering frontline staff to lead improvements day-to-day. We're looking for compassionate people to be part of our improvement journey for the patients, families and carers we care for every day.

Kent and Medway Pathology Network

Kent and Medway Pathology Network is a formal partnership of seven laboratories across three pathology services in four acute Trusts. Our 1000 colleagues provide services across the health and care sector to a population of nearly 2 million.

We are at an exciting point of our network development with a recommendation to form a joint venture across the four Trusts leading transformation. Our projects including single IT solutions, procurement and digital projects, to ensure our services are able to meet growing demand for our service users, patients and communities.

KMPN

You will have a fantastic opportunity to grow your career in KMPN. We are developing a network academy, a platform for all network education and training from apprenticeships to advanced clinical and scientific qualifications with a single faculty making best use of our talented educators and trainers. You will not be expected to work at sites outside of EKHUFT. However, there will be opportunities for collaborative working within the network.

Please scroll down to access the full Job Description and Person Specification located in ‘Documents to download’.

If you have further queries please don’t hesitate to contact the line manager using the contact details below.

Applications for this role should be written by the applicant. If artificial intelligence (AI) programmes are used then the application may be rejected due to this document being an important part of the assessment process. This does not prevent applicants seeking appropriate support with applications should they need to for the purposes of any declared disability.

Kindly note that visa sponsorship is not available for this role. Please note that if you require a Certificate of Sponsorship to work in the UK you must declare this on your application form, even if you currently have a certificate of sponsorship or a work permit for another role and are already working in the country. Please note we are only able to sponsor candidates on a Skilled Worker Visa applying for BMS roles Band 6 and above.

This advert closes on Thursday 23 Jul 2026