Job summary
- Main area
- Blood Sciences
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 6
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time
- Other
- Job ref
- 164-7235915
- Employer
- Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
- Town
- Nottingham
- Salary
- £37,338 - £44,962 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 16/07/2025 23:59
Employer heading

Reception & Automation Lead
NHS AfC: Band 6
Job overview
The Blood Sciences Department within NUH deals with up to 8,000 patient samples per week and up to 70% of patients will have samples that are dealt with by Blood Sciences. All of these specimens will first arrive in Specimen Reception. The post holder will act as the lead for the Reception and Automation within the Blood Sciences Specimen Reception area, with responsibility for the output of the reception area at either City or QMC campus on rotation. This will include having responsibility and oversight of the day-to-day activities carried out by staff, staff supervision and training, roster and rota production, general leadership duties, human resource functions, troubleshooting, error and incident investigation and act as the point of contact for the department. The Post holder will be expected to learn and gain competency in the required laboratory processes. The post holder will also have key involvement in improvement and efficiencies within the reception area.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will be required to:
- Supervise staff and take overall responsibility for the Medical Laboratory Assistants and Associate Practitioners
- Be responsible for the output of the Specimen Reception areas
- Oversee the required HR functions, including recruitment, selection and monitoring of Medical Laboratory Assistants and Associate Practitioners in areas of responsibility
- Liaise regularly with line manager and other professional and scientific staff regarding the operation of the reception areas, including the reporting of problems, issues and performance
- Plan the work of the reception areas including staff rosters, prioritisation of workload and troubleshooting problems
- Be actively involved in the design and implementation of Reception areas processes, suggesting improvements to practice where appropriate
- Manage and train (in association with the Training Lead) Medical Laboratory Assistants and Associate Practitioners to perform sample reception duties including the receipt, barcode labelling and preparation of sample analysis
- Deliver team huddles and ensure communication within the team and beyond
- Have responsibility for the Track system and ensure it is managed on a day-to-day basis and issues and downtimes are reported and correctly documented
- Ensure the Reception areas and Track system fulfil the requirements of ISO:15189:2022 and work with the department Quality team to ensure maintenance of United Kingdom Accreditation Service Accreditation
Working for our organisation
With over 19,000 staff, we are one of the biggest employers in the city with a central role in supporting the health and wellbeing of our local population. We play a leading role in research, education and innovation.
Come and join our wonderful team at NUH. We are big believers in diversity and welcome new ideas to help develop our team in order to deliver world class healthcare to the vast patient populations we serve. With endless personal development opportunities available, at NUH we will endeavour to turn your job into a career!
We particularly welcome applications from people who identify as Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, or Disabled, as we are striving to be better represented at NUH.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
See above for main duties and attached job description and person specification for finer details of the role.
Person specification
Training and Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Degree or equivalent relevant experience in a science, technology or engineering related subject
- Evidence of managerial / supervisory training
Desirable criteria
- Able to demonstrate knowledge or experience of healthcare systems or equivalent
Communication and Relationship skills
Essential criteria
- Able to communicate concisely, effectively and clearly with good interpersonal skills
Analytical and Judgement skills
Essential criteria
- Able to make judgements regarding complex facts or situations that require analysis, interpretation and comparison of a range of options
Desirable criteria
- Experience of troubleshooting appropriate laboratory instrumentation
Planning and organisation skills
Essential criteria
- Able to plan own work activities and those of supervised staff
- Able to plan, change and communicate changes at short notice
Physical skills
Essential criteria
- Requires highly developed physical skills including accurate eye to hand coordination
Experience
Essential criteria
- Supervision of non-registered staff, apprentices & students
- Previous experience in Pathology with experience and knowledge of specialist Pathology techniques
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
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.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Dean Saggers
- Job title
- Specimen Reception Manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01159249924
- Additional information
The extension is 84534
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