NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE HOSPITALS NHS CHARITY
47,810 - 54,710 per year
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, Ashford
Full-time
1st October 2025

Job summary

Employer heading

Senior Biomedical Scientist in Microbiology

Band 7

Job overview

We are looking for 2 enthusiastic, visionary BMS with extensive Microbiology experience to join our team as a Senior Biomedical Scientist (Band 7). These are 2 full-time, substantive vacancies. Suitable candidates must be HCPC registered and hold a Level 7 qualification in a relevant subject (see JD for more details). This role requires full participation in the 7-day working and out of hours on call rotas.

The Microbiology service, centralised on one site at the William Harvey Hospital, provides a wide range of bacteriology, virology, molecular, parasitology and mycology diagnostic tests for all our acute sites and community services, totalling approximately 600,000+ samples per year.

We are a fully ISO 15189 accredited service and are recognised by the “IBMS” and the “National School for Healthcare Science” for training. We are a dynamic diverse team currently training Trainee Biomedical Scientists, Trainee Clinical Scientists, Senior and Consultant clinical scientists, Senior Clinical Fellows and apprentices at several levels.

Microbiology at EKHUFT is known for its inclusivity, support and open friendly culture. The philosophy of the department is to invest in and develop the staff, strive for excellence, and to have a forward thinking and ambitious Service and quality Improvement plan. We are supporting new and exciting career pathways and roles, such as dual registration as a clinical scientist.

Main duties of the job

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.

Working for our organisation

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.

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 roles Band 6 and above.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

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.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • Is a HCPC registered Biomedical Scientist
  • Masters level (Level 7) qualification in a relevant subject, which could be a Master of Science degree (MSc) or IBMS Higher Specialist Diploma or IBMS Fellowship examination or 60 credits in a postgraduate qualification(s) in relevant professional subjects.
Desirable criteria
  • Clinical Microbiology Masters which could feed into HSST
  • Suitability for Clinical Scientist HCPC registration
  • Relevant and recognised training (Learning and development or Quality management qualification e.g. PostGrad Certificate, IBMS extended practice certificate, Biomed online learning module

Skills and Experience

Essential criteria
  • Extensive experience of working in an ISO accredited laboratory
  • Supervisory skills and ability to train other staff.
  • Specialist knowledge across a range of work procedures and practices underpinned by sound theoretical knowledge in Microbiology and Virology, molecular techniques.
  • Extensive experience with the analytical and technical skills required to undertake the work within Microbiology
  • Ability to communicate technical information and results to other health professionals and be able to use telephone and email
  • Evidence of participation in continuous professional development
  • Experience of molecular techniques
  • Highly developed IT skills and conversant with Microsoft word processing, spreadsheet and presentation applications, use of LIMS
Desirable criteria
  • Highly developed teaching and training skills, being able to effectively communicate with various grades of staff of differing intellectual abilities including medical staff and from differing professional backgrounds.

Personal & professional attributes

Essential criteria
  • Highly developed interpersonal, communication and organisational skills with a keen eye for detail
  • Ability to work as part of a team and develop effective relationships but also able to work on own initiative
  • Highly developed interpersonal, communication and organisational skills with a keen eye for detail

Knowledge

Essential criteria
  • Considerable and up to date knowledge of current practices and advances in Microbiology and Virology
  • Specialist knowledge across a range of work procedures and practices underpinned by sound theoretical knowledge in Microbiology and Virology, molecular techniques.
  • Understanding of general developments in the NHS and how these affect Pathology services generally.
Desirable criteria
  • Detailed knowledge of UKAS Accreditation, ISO 15189 standards and other quality management systems and processes

Other

Essential criteria
  • To be aware of and demonstrate the Trust’s Vision, Mission, Values and behaviours.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

  • Name
  • Rachael Arkley
  • Job title
  • Head Biomedical Scientist and service manager
  • Email address
  • rachael.arkley@nhs.net
  • Telephone number
  • 01233 616760

List jobs with East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust in Health Science Services or all sectors

Senior Biomedical Scientist in Microbiology - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE HOSPITALS NHS CHARITY | Work In Charities