University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
An opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic and motivated individual to join our expanding laboratory team at the NIHR / Wellcome Trust Birmingham Clinical Research Facility (CRF) as a Research Technician. The CRF provides a high-quality clinical environment in which patients and healthy subjects can participate in research programmes safely according to robust, ethically approved trial protocols.
The post holder should have good interpersonal skills to collect samples from a clinical environment and be able to communicate effectively with clinical or scientific staff about subsequent processing, storage and shipping. The sample pathway through the laboratory needs to be accurately catalogued, so an attention to detail is required.
The role often requires the spinning then aliquoting of samples, with less frequent cell isolation (e.g., PBMCs). Lab experience using basic equipment such as centrifuges and pipettes is desirable.
Current working pattern is 08:00 to 16:00 or 10:00 to 18:00 Mon-Fri, but during busy times some flexibility might be required.
Applicants should be educated to GCSE standard or equivalent in English Language and Mathematics and possess excellent numeracy and written/verbal communication skills. Demonstrable experience of Microsoft packages is required.
Main duties of the job
Working as part of the CRF Laboratory Team, the post holder will have knowledge of a range of pre-analytical procedures and will be responsible for receiving biological samples from clinical trials and studies, and carry out any pre-analytical processing, storage or shipping in accordance with the study specific laboratory manual.
Good communication skills are required when talking to clinical delivery teams or external stakeholders such as Central Laboratories and couriers. The role also requires researching governance issues such as patient confidentiality, informed consent, data protection, and Good Clinical Practice guidelines. Attention to detail is essential to ensure samples are labelled correctly and their custodianship recorded accurately, and auditing is carried out correctly.
General duties will include participating in daily, monthly, and weekly laboratory maintenance and equipment checks. Assist in creating the weekly laboratory work schedule by accurately recording patient visits and ordering transport couriers and dry ice when required.
In return, we can offer you continued professional development in a varied and interesting setting, and the opportunity to make a valuable contribution to the smooth delivery of research studies.
About us
We are recognised as one of the leading NHS Foundation Trusts in the UK. Our vision is to Build Healthier Lives, and we recognise that we need incredible staff to do this.
Our commitment to our staff is to create the best place for them to work, and we are dedicated to:
* Investing in the health and wellbeing of our staff, including a commitment to offering flexible working where we can;
* Offering our staff a wide variety of training and development opportunities, to support their personal and career development objectives.
UHB is committed to ensuring that our staff are treated fairly and feel that they belong, by creating a kind and inclusive environment. This is about equity of opportunity; removing all barriers, including discrimination and ensuring each individual member of staff reaches their true potential, achieves their ambitions, and thrives in their work. This is more than words. We are taking action. Our commitment to an inclusive culture is embedded at all levels of the organisation where every voice is heard, driven by our diverse and active staff networks, and at Board level by the Fairness Taskforce led by our CEO. We nurture a culture which empowers staff to challenge discriminatory behaviours and to enable people to bring their 'whole self' to a kinder, more connected and bold place to work.
University Hospitals Birmingham is a Smoke-Free premises hospital.
Job responsibilities
*Please Note: For a detailed job description for this vacancy, please see attached Job Description*
Person Specification
Qualifications
* GCSE or equivalent in a science, English and Mathematics
* NVQ Level 3 in a relevant discipline or equivalent experience.
Experience
* Basic laboratory techniques such as centrifuging and pipetting
* Knowledge of COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health)
* Awareness of laboratory H&S
* Awareness of patient confidentiality
* Knowledge in relation to the parameters and scope of practice in which the post holder should work and when to seek advice and support of others
* Experience of carrying out assigned duties after training and using initiative
* Understanding of the principles of safeguarding and Mental Capacity
* Knowledge of informed consent, data protection, and Good Clinical Practice guidelines.
* Appreciation of Quality systems
* Experience of working in the NHS
* Evidence of working in a multi-disciplinary and cross-agency work environment
Additional Criteria
* Ability to communicate clearly, both verbally and in writing
* Good numeracy and literacy skills
* Ability to deal with patients/relatives on phone, maintaining confidentiality
* Well organised and able to prioritise tasks
* Good technical laboratory skills
* Good computer skills with an understanding of data entry
* Ability to learn more advanced techniques including the isolation of PBMCs (peripheral blood mononuclear cells) and evaluating ESRs (erythrocyte sedimentation rate).
* Able to complete both COSHH and Risk Assessments.
* Ability to work alone or as a team member
* Ability to work on own initiative/unsupervised
* Ability to work flexibly when workload dictates
* Ability to travel across all of UHB sites and to external sites if required
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.
Employer name
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
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