Job summary
- Main area
- Pathology
- Grade
- Band 4
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Part time
- Flexible working
- Job ref
- 264-8253888-CSS-A
- Employer
- Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- University Hospitals of Northamptonshire
- Town
- Kettering
- Salary
- £28,392 - £31,157 pro rata/per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 25/11/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Cellular Pathology Associate Practitioner
Band 4
Job overview
We require an Associate Practitioner for a Band 4 position in Cellular Pathology.
You will work as an Associate Practitioner in the Cellular Pathology Department and report to the Cellular Pathology Manager. The position is part time (27.5 hours) working . The current working days are Monday to Friday.
The department receives over 30,000 specimens per year and undertakes all routine histological procedures including specimen dissection, microtomy, frozen sections, special stains and immunocytochemistry. We are UKAS accredited and registered with the IBMS as a pre and post registration training laboratory.
Main duties of the job
We are looking for someone who can work comfortably within a team but also with the skills and confidence to work independently. The post will involve rotation into routine histology, special stains, specimen reception and specimen dissection. Excellent communication skills both face to face and on the telephone are required. You should be able to work accurately and efficiently demonstrating good organisational skills. The role will be diverse reflecting the nature of the busy Cellular Pathology department.
Main duties include:
The preparation of surgical and post-mortem specimens for histological examination including:
- Reception and organisation of patient samples
- Sample labelling and order entry into LIMS
- Assisting pathologists/ BMSs at specimen dissection
- Processing and embedding of patient tissue blocks
- Microtomy of paraffin wax embedded tissues, including levels and extra work requests
Execution of special techniques as required.
Specimen transfer of Category A samples.
Assist in general laboratory duties as required.
Dealing with telephone enquiries.
Assist senior staff in supervision and training of appropriate staff and visitors to the department.
Such other duties as may be reasonably required by the Laboratory Manager.
Working for our organisation
We recognise that AI tools can support application writing; however, candidates are asked to keep their use to a minimum. Responses should reflect your own experience, skills and knowledge, as over-reliance on AI-generated content may result in generic answers that do not accurately represent your abilities.
University Hospitals of Northamptonshire (UHN) brings together Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust. As a group, we are committed to improving services for our communities through collaboration, modernising care delivery and striving for excellence. Working together enables us to share expertise, strengthen services and create greater opportunities, and there may be a requirement to work across sites depending on service needs.
Our Excellence Values are Compassion, Accountability, Respect, Integrity and Courage. UHN welcomes applications from all backgrounds and is committed to an inclusive working environment. We are proud signatories of the Armed Forces Covenant and hold the Gold Award under the Employer Recognition Scheme. Candidates who identify as members of the Armed Forces community and meet the essential criteria will be guaranteed an interview.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
For further information on the advertised role, please refer to the job description located under the Supporting Documents heading. The full person specification can be accessed under the Shortlisting Criteria section of the document.
Person specification
Educations, Training and Qualifications
Essential criteria
- GCSE or equivalent English and Maths
- NVQ level 4 or equivalen
Knowledge and Experience
Essential criteria
- Competence with Pathology LIMS. Experience of DXC LIMS would be an advantage.
- Previous experience of working in a Cellular Pathology Laboratory
- NHS work experience
Desirable criteria
- Knowledge and experience of paraffin embedding, including tissue that requires special orientation
- Knowledge and experience of microtomy of a wide range of tissue samples, including those that require levels and extra work requests
Key Competencies/Personal Qualities and Attributes
Essential criteria
- Passionate and committed to bring our Dedicated to Excellence values to life, improving the way we work with each other, particularly focusing on empowerment, equality diversity and inclusion of our staff, patients and service users
- Good telephone manner and interpersonal skills
- Attention to detail
- Ability to work independently and use own initiative
Application numbers
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Fiona Yalvac
- Job title
- Deputy Cellular Pathology Manager
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