Deputy Manager and Technical Lead

Main area Renal/Leslie Brent Laboratory Grade Band 8a Contract Fixed term: 12 months (End date 13/12/2027) Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week Job ref 290-MIC-2231

Site Hammersmith Hospital Town London Salary £66,274 - £73,496 pa inclusive Salary period Yearly Closing 13/09/:59

Fulfil your potential in hospitals that make history:

Charing Cross, Hammersmith, St Mary's, Queen Charlotte's & Chelsea and Western Eye.

With five world-renowned hospitals, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust is full of opportunity if you are looking to develop your healthcare career.

We are an NHS Trust of approximately 16,000 people, providing care for over a million and a half patients from north west London and beyond every year.

We have a rich heritage and an ambitious vision for the future of our patients and local communities.

With our partners, Imperial College London, and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, we form Imperial College Academic Health Science Centre, one of 6 academic health science centres in the UK, working to ensure the rapid translation of research for better patient care and excellence in education.

We are proud of our heritage in innovation and we are early adopters of new insights in technologies, techniques and treatments for improving health.

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced and highly motivated Biomedical Scientist to join our Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) Laboratory as a Band 8a Technical Lead and Deputy Laboratory Manager on a 12-month fixed-term maternity cover contract.

This is a key leadership role within a specialist clinical laboratory service, providing technical expertise, operational management support, and professional leadership to the TDM team. The successful candidate will work closely with the Laboratory Manager to ensure the delivery of a high-quality, responsive and patient-focused service, supporting the monitoring of immunosuppressants, and other therapeutic drugs.

The post holder will provide day-to-day technical leadership, lead service development initiatives and contribute to strategic planning to ensure the laboratory continues to meet accreditation standards and evolving clinical needs.

Main duties of the job

• Communicate service issues, incidents, risks, and potential service failures to the Laboratory Manager and/or Laboratory Director.
• Liaise with laboratory staff, clinicians, service users, educational bodies, professional organisations, and NHS partners to support service delivery, training, and workforce development.
• Participate in departmental, laboratory, clinical, and management meetings, providing specialist advice, feedback, updates, and recommendations.
• Possess specialist knowledge of therapeutic monitoring of immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory drugs, pharmacokinetics, pharmacology, renal disease, and transplantation, supported by MSc-level education and advanced specialist training.
• Ensure the accuracy, quality, and authorisation of laboratory results.
• Exercise professional judgement regarding assay performance, quality assurance, IQC failures, equipment faults, maintenance activities, and service continuity.
• Coordinate the day-to-day operation of the laboratory, including staff allocation, workload prioritisation, and rota management to meet turnaround times.

Working for our organisation

At Imperial College Healthcare you can achieve extraordinary things with extraordinary people, working with leading clinicians pushing boundaries in patient care.

• Benefits include career development, flexible working and wellbeing, staff recognition scheme.
• Make use of optional benefits including Cycle to Work, car lease schemes, season ticket loan or membership options for onsite leisure facilities.

We are committed to equal opportunities and improving the working lives of our staff and will consider applications to work flexibly, part time or job share. Please talk to us at interview.

Environmental sustainability
Climate change and poor air quality is a health emergency that harms people's health and wellbeing and widens health inequalities. The Trust is also committed to reducing its impact on the environment by reducing our greenhouse gas emissions to Net Zero by 2045. All our employees have a role to play, and we have an active green network that supports staff to act in ways that ensures that our services are efficient, sustainable and reduce our impact on the environment .

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required.

For both overviews, please view the Job Description attachment with the job advert.

Person specification

• BMS accredited honours degree in Biomedical Sciences or IBMS equivalent.
• HCPC registration as a Biomedical Scientist or Clinical Scientist.
• MSc or equivalent postgraduate qualification in Biomedical Science, Clinical Science, Analytical Science, Pharmacology or related discipline.
• Evidence of significant Continuing Professional Development (CPD).
• Specialist post-registration training in Therapeutic Drug Monitoring and/or LC/MS.
• Fellowship or higher professional membership of IBMS or equivalent.
• Management qualification or leadership programme

Experience

• Significant post-registration experience in a clinical diagnostic laboratory.
• Extensive experience of LC/MS operation, troubleshooting, maintenance and assay optimisation.
• Experience of Therapeutic Drug Monitoring services.
• Experience of staff supervision, training and competency assessment.
• Experience of quality management systems within an accredited laboratory.
• Experience of audit, quality improvement and service development.
• Experience participating in recruitment and performance management processes.
• Experience of assay development, validation/verification and implementation.
• Ability to critically evaluate scientific literature and apply findings to practice.
• Experience participating in research, audit or quality improvement projects.
• Experience within a specialist renal/transplant laboratory or equivalent
• Experience of introducing new technologies into clinical service.
• Experience of chairing meetings
• Experience of presenting at departmental meetings

Skills/knowledge/ abilities

• Expert knowledge of Therapeutic Drug Monitoring principles and practice.
• Advanced knowledge of LC/MS theory and application in clinical diagnostics.
• Knowledge of pharmacokinetics and pharmacology of immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory drugs.
• Detailed understanding of quality assurance, IQC, EQA and laboratory accreditation requirements.
• Knowledge of UKAS ISO 15189 standards.
• Knowledge of laboratory health and safety, COSHH and risk management requirements.
• Thorough understanding of NHS governance and clinical risk management.
• Ability to provide technical leadership within a specialist LC/MS laboratory.
• Ability to develop, validate and implement complex analytical methods.
• Expert interpretation of complex analytical, pharmacokinetic and clinical data.
• Advanced problem-solving and troubleshooting skills in LC/MS and TDM services.
• Competent in laboratory information systems, statistical software and data analysis tools.
• Ability to manage laboratory workflow and prioritise workload to maintain service delivery.
• Specialist knowledge of transplantation medicine and immunosuppression management.
• Knowledge of laboratory information system development and integration.
• Experience using specialist statistical software.

Right to work

If you need sponsorship to work in the UK, please visit the Home Office website for information on sponsorship and visa status before you fill in your application form. Due to recent changes in the UK immigration rules which affect Skilled Worker Visas, Global Business Mobility, Higher Skill Level and Increased Salary Thresholds, please ensure that you are able to meet the requirements to live and work in the UK before applying. Further information about eligibility is available on UK Visas and Immigration - GOV.UK

We operate a joint recruitment hub across the North West London Acute Provider Collaborative Group. As part of this, your application and personal data may be shared with partner trusts within the group for recruitment and workforce purposes, in line with general data protection regulation (GDPR).

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.