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Job summary

Main area
Molecular Haematology
Grade
Band 4
Contract
Permanent
Hours
  • Full time
  • Flexible working
37.5 hours per week
Job ref
259-7393691ESEL-A
Employer
Barts Health NHS Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Royal London Hospital
Town
London
Salary
£33,094 - £36,195 per annum inc.
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
14/08/2025 23:59

Employer heading

Barts Health NHS Trust logo

Associate Practitioner in Cytogenetics and Molecular Haematology

Band 4

Barts Health is one of the largest NHS trusts in the country, and one of Britain’s leading healthcare providers.

The Barts Health group of NHS hospitals is entering an exciting new era on our improvement journey to becoming an outstanding organisation with a world-class clinical reputation. Having lifted ourselves out of special measures, we now have the impetus and breathing space to chart a fresh course in which we are continually striving to improve all our services for patients.

Our vision is to be a high-performing group of NHS hospitals, renowned for excellence and innovation, and providing safe and compassionate care to our patients in east London and beyond. That means being a provider of excellent patient safety, known for delivering consistently high standards of harm-free care and always caring for patients in the right place at the right time. It also means being an outstanding place to work, in which our WeCare values and behaviours are visible to all and guide us in how we work together.

Barts Health supports the Pregnancy Loss Pledge and commits to supporting their staff through the distress of miscarriage.

Job overview

Associate Practitioner (Band 4) 

We are looking for a bright and enthusiastic individual to join the molecular section of the Cytogenetics and Molecular Department at Barts Health NHS Trust as an Associate Practitioner. 

The Molecular and Cytogenetics Department operates as part of the Specialist Integrated Haematological Malignancies Diagnostic Service (SIHMDS) providing a genomic service for Barts Health NHS Trust and external hospitals in Greater London and Essex.  The Trust is part of the North Thames Genomic laboratory hub.  

The department is located within state-of-the-art facilities and offers mutation analysis by PCR and next-generation sequencing in solid tumours and haematological disorders (malignant and non-malignant), minimal residual disease monitoring, chimerism studies, chromosome analysis and FISH. 

Main duties of the job

The candidate needs to have an excellent eye for detail, strong interpersonal skills and be able to demonstrate good manual dexterity. Laboratory experience in genomics is essential.

The candidate will be required to work 37.5 hours per week. There may be the requirement for weekend/Bank Holiday working on rotation

Working for our organisation

The NHS East and South East London Pathology Partnership  is an arms-length organisation providing pathology services to Barts Health NHS Trust, Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust.  The Pathology Partnership is hosted by Barts Health. 

The Pathology Partnership is based on well-established models for pathology networks, with the Royal London Hospital becoming the main hub laboratory for the network and Essential Service Laboratories (ESL) as a minimum at all other Hospital sites.  

Pathology is made up of the following services - Blood Sciences including Haematology, Blood Transfusion and Biochemistry; Infectious Diseases including Microbiology and Virology; Cellular Pathology including Histopathology, non-gynae Cytology and mortuary services; Immunology; Cytogenetics and Molecular Haematology; Immunophenotyping; Clinical Transplantation and Retinoblastoma.   

The 2020/21 total operating costs across the Partnership were c. £126m per annum with a workforce establishment of circa. 822 WTE.  We strive to live by our WeCare values and are committed to promoting inclusion, where every staff member has a sense of belonging. We value our differences and fully advocate, cultivate and support an inclusive working environment. 

We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates as they are underrepresented within Barts Health at this band  

 

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The job role can be physically demanding however, it offers the potential to learn new laboratory skills and allow for excellent personal development. 

If you are interested in this position or would like to have an informal chat please contact Marianne Grantham 02032460118 ([email protected]).

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 documents, please view the attachment/s below.

We strive to live by our WeCare values and are committed to promoting inclusion, where every staff member has a sense of belonging. We value our differences and fully advocate, cultivate and support an inclusive working environment.

We are dedicated to being an outstanding place to work and will work with you to get the best experience. We know flexible working is not a one size fits all and will mean something different to everyone. We are inclusive, so if you are interested in flexible working, please speak to the recruiting manager.

**We reserve the right to close this vacancy prior to the advertised closing date, once a sufficient number of applications has been received and we regret that we are unable to provide notification if your application is unsuccessful**  

 

Person specification

Skills

Essential criteria
  • Excellent attention to detail
  • Comprehensive PC skills specifically databases (including Access), software packages, Microsoft Excel and e-mail.
  • Ability to manage own time
  • Ability to multitask and prioritise workload
Desirable criteria
  • Practical skills used in a genomics laboratory including extraction techniques and pipetting

Personal and people development

Essential criteria
  • Team player
Desirable criteria
  • Experience of training staff

Communications

Essential criteria
  • Good verbal and written communication skills
Desirable criteria
  • Able to present scientific data at meetings to peers and management

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • BSc in Biological Sciences or equivalent

Experience

Essential criteria
  • Proven experience of working in a laboratory
  • Experience of DNA and RNA extraction
  • Experience of setting up molecular experiments (e.g. PCR or NGS)
Desirable criteria
  • Involvement in clinical audit, quality assurance and writing standard operation procedures (SOPs)
  • Experience of using a Laboratory Information Management System (preferably WinPath)

Knowledge

Essential criteria
  • Basic knowledge of theoretical and practical aspects of genomics
  • Sound knowledge of Health and safety/COSHH regulations
Desirable criteria
  • Knowledge of acquired genetic diseases and the application of genomics to the diagnosis of disease

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Green@Barts HealthNHS Pastoral Care Quality AwardApprenticeships logoNo smoking policyLondon Living Wage is a voluntary commitment made by employers, who can become accredited with the Living Wage FoundationPositive about disabled peopleAge positiveInvestors in People: GoldImproving working livesMindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.Pregnancy Loss PledgeDisability confident employerStonewall equality policy. Equality and justice for lesbians, gay men, bisexual and trans people.Happy to Talk Flexible Working

Applicant requirements

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.

Application numbers

We reserve the right to expire vacancies prior to the advertised closing date once a sufficient number of applications has been received.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Anushiya Rajakumar
Job title
Clinical Scientist
Email address
[email protected]
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