Job summary
- Main area
- 317 Newcastle Advanced Therapies
- Grade
- Band 6/Band 6 Annex 21
- Contract
- Fixed term: 12 months (from date of appointment)
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 317-2026-23-004
- Employer
- The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Trustwide
- Town
- 317 Trustwide
- Salary
- £39,959 - £48,117 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 07/07/2026 23:59
- Interview date
- 15/07/2026
Employer heading
Production Scientist
Band 6/Band 6 Annex 21
Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the busiest and largest NHS hospital trusts in the country. We have around 16,000 staff and an annual budget of £1.7 billion.
With strong history of providing high quality care, clinical excellence, research and innovation regionally, nationally and internationally, we’re in the top five providers of specialised health services in the country.
As well as providing a wide range of hospital and community services, we support people with a range of rare and complex medical, surgical and neurological conditions, cancers and genetic orders.
We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and recognise the benefit in providing an inclusive environment. We value and respect the diversity of our employees and aim to recruit a workforce which reflects the communities we serve, and is equipped to deliver the best service to our patients. We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.
Newcastle Hospitals are proud to be one of the exemplar organisations across the NHS on sustainability, with a long history of delivering Sustainable Healthcare in Newcastle (Shine) and the first healthcare organisation in the world to declare a climate emergency. Our strategy includes commitments to being Net Zero by 2030, for our direct carbon footprint, and Net Zero by 2040 for our footprint plus. Delivering these ambitions will not be possible without the help, support and action of every single member of our team.
Job overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a highly motivated Production Scientist (12 month maternity cover) to join the Newcastle Advanced Therapies Team within the Pharmacy Directorate. You will be a key member of our laboratory team in our cell, gene and tissue laboratory, offering a comprehensive and flexible cell and gene processing service to adult and paediatric patients, providing treatments for a wide range of complex conditions, including haematological disorders, oncology treatment and diabetic care.
The post requires professional registration, however applicants without registration but with equivalent experience and willingness to work towards an appropriate professional registration are encouraged to apply with the expectation they will have complete registration within 12-18 months of appointment. The post will be paid at 75% of the top of Band 6 pending completion of registration, where the individual will transition to the starting salary of the Band 6 position.
- Interview Date Wednesday 15 July 2026
- 37 Hours 30 Minutes/Week
- You will be redirected to Trac to apply for the vacancy. Please expand the job details section and read all of the information before applying for the vacancy
NO AGENCIES PLEASE
Main duties of the job
To provide laboratory skill and expertise with an emphasis on specialist cell therapy processing including:
- CD34+ Selections
- Red Cell Depletions and Mononuclear Cell Preparation
- TCRαβ+ and CD19+ Depletions
- CD45RA+ Depletions
Working for our organisation
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.
With around 2 million contacts with patients every year, we deliver care from:
- Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI)
- Freeman Hospital
- Newcastle Dental Hospital
- Cramlington Manor Walks
- Urgent treatment centres
- Newcastle Fertility Centre
- Northern Centre for Cancer Care, North Cumbria
- Northern Genetics Service
These include a range of flagship services which deliver cutting-edge care (supported by state-of-the-art diagnostic services in both radiology and pathology) and are a catalyst for innovation to support pioneering clinical practice in the NHS.
We also have offices at Regent Point in Gosforth and community sites.
Please see attached information on what Staff Benefits we have to offer at our Trust under ‘Documents to download’ or ‘Supporting documents’.
For further information on The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust please visit: Careers | Newcastle Hospitals | NHS | Newcastle Hospitals and Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
- To carry out preparation and / or cryopreservation of cells and tissues from donations, having successfully completed the in-house competency based training programme that encompasses the concepts of Quality Assurance, Regulatory Compliance with HTA & JACIE, GMP and Quality Control.
- To carry out the manufacture of advanced therapeutic investigational medicinal products, from cells or tissue, having successfully completed the in-house competency based training programme that encompasses the concepts of Quality Assurance, Regulatory compliance with MHRA, GMP and Quality Control.
- To oversee technical staff in the preparation of specimens for analysis, including the reception, processing, preservation, labelling, storage, distribution and disposal of products.
- To maintain accurate and legible written and electronic records in accordance with local data integrity policy.
- To operate, maintain and monitor clean rooms in accordance with
HTA/MHRA/JACIE requirements. - To assist in the recovery and infusion of cellular products.
- To respond, troubleshoot and problem solve in the event of laboratory equipment faults, procedural complications or alarm states. Offering immediate corrective actions and subsequently implementing any required change.
- To report faults and deviations to a senior member of staff and take prompt and appropriate action in response to unexpected situations, understanding when to escalate when limit or scope of practice is reached.
- To carry out laboratory diagnostic tests, validate results and use knowledge and judgement to determining and initiate further tests or actions that may be required.
- To provide advice, support and supervision to Technical staff and guest users of the facility.
- To liaise closely with clinical teams and QC testing laboratories to coordinate receipt of cells, product testing and re-infusions across multiple sites.
- To verify and relay critical information regarding donations and cellular products to the Newcastle Advanced Therapies team and service users which may have immediate impact on the management of the patient.
- To attend clinical areas (wards, theatres) on any of the trust sites to assist clinical staff in the delivery and administration of Cell, Gene and Tissue products.
- To be aware of the requirements from regulatory bodies applicable to the role (HTA, JACIE, MHRA) and perform all duties in accordance with the local Quality Assurance System to ensure regulatory compliance.
- To participate in clinical trial activities in accordance with GMP and GCP requirements.
- To participate in service and product improvement through continual education and training, taking an active role in policy, product and service development.
- To participate in the departmental audit, correct and record minor non-compliance (deviation) and immediately report any major deviations to a senior member of staff as per local policy.
- Take responsibility for own learning and development, maintaining a personal training record, ensuring all mandatory Trust and departmental training is performed in a timely manner.
- To work in compliance with local health and safety rules to ensure a safe working environment for you, colleagues and visitors. To adhere to department and Trust Health and Safety policies (including COSHH, Risk assessments and Standard Operating Procedures) and to report any deviations from protocol to a senior member of staff.
Person specification
Qualifications & Education
Essential criteria
- BSc in Scientific/Pharmaceutical subject or equivalent
- HCPC registration or equivalent
Knowledge & Experience
Desirable criteria
- Knowledge in Transfusion or Transplantation Science
- Knowledge of GMP
- Knowledge of GCP
- Quality Control Awareness
- Experience of fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS)
- Experience of aseptic processing
- Experience of cell culture
- Experience of clinical trials
- Experience of working in Isolators and Class 2 Safety Cabinets
Skills & Abilities
Essential criteria
- Computer literate
- Skilled at workload planning and prioritisation
- Excellent Communication skills
- Ability to work as a team
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Glynis Lloyd
- Job title
- Administrator
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 0191 9177259
List jobs with The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Health Science Services or all sectors
