Employer: Synnovis
Employer type: Private Sector
Site: All Synnovis sites
Town: London
Salary: £54,320 to £60,981 per annum depending on experience
Closing: 26/02/2025 23:59
Quality OfficerSynnovis Pay Band 7
The place to work in pathology
We are looking fortop talentto join theUK’s leading and fastest growingpathology company – a scientific organisation with a clinical purpose.
Working in partnership with our service partners, Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Hospitals, King’s College Hospital and Princess Royal University Hospital, we aim to set the standard for the future of pathology.
Job overview
The Quality team at Synnovis is pleased to advertise an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic and motivated Quality Officer to provide departmental quality management support, working a 37.5 hour week. The position is a 12-month fixed-term opportunity, particularly suited to a candidate with laboratory and quality management experience. You will support the Biochemistry and Immunology laboratories, management teams, and the Synnovis Quality team across various sites to achieve quality objectives, organisational targets, and deliver continuous quality improvement. This is a quality support role and your vision and determination to successfully drive quality services to the new target operating model will be invaluable.
The post holder will be self-motivated and required to perform a wide range of duties such as auditing, management review, monitoring, and assisting with the management of non-conformances, incident management, data analysis, assessment and inspection readiness, document review, and risk management. Full training and support will be provided. Ensuring reports and data are submitted accurately and in a timely manner is a crucial requirement. You will be needed to provide regular quality direction, advising and supporting the lab teams to maintain and exceed the required levels of safety and compliance.
Main duties of the job
The Biochemistry and Immunology laboratories at St Thomas’ Hospital, King’s College Hospital, Princess Royal University Hospital, and Royal Brompton and Harefield sites are UKAS ISO15189:2012 accredited and consist of a large team of staff including Service Delivery Managers, Clinical Scientists, Operational Managers, Biomedical Scientists, Associate Practitioners, and Medical Laboratory Assistants. Transformational work is underway to consolidate and align processes into the new target operating model. The department plans to operate from the new Blackfriars Hub laboratory in 2025.
At this exciting time and alongside this transformational work, the Quality team is transitioning and adapting to support the laboratories. Newly adapted roles in the Quality team include a Senior Quality Manager, Quality Manager, and Quality Officer who will work together to support Biochemistry and Immunology. The key quality priorities are to ensure the quality and competence requirements for ISO 15189:2022 are achieved, to maintain all quality, regulatory and safety requirements, complete the future/TOM accreditation application (ETS), and maintain ongoing quality monitoring and risk management processes.
Working for our organisation
Synnovis is a scientific organisation with a clinical purpose. Working in partnership with Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Hospitals, King’s College Hospital, Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals, and Princess Royal University Hospital, we aim to set the standard for the future of pathology.
Synnovis Analytics is responsible for the provision of Pathology testing services to patients and customers
Biochemistry and Immunology provides a comprehensive range of services across all sites. A team of Consultant and SpR’s provide clinical liaison cover. The laboratories are well equipped, fully computerised, and UKAS ISO15189 accredited.
The quality department currently uses Qpulse and the key QMS software, will access Epic Beaker LIMS, and utilise Trust Incident management systems Inphase and RADAR.
Your development and learning
You will have a suite of learning opportunities available through The Synnovis Way Development programme, the Scientific Learning and Development Fund, and the Synnovis Academy through which you can receive funding/support for advanced qualifications.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The successful applicant will join a dynamic quality team based across all Synnovis operating sites and maintain close working relationships with other Quality Officers, Quality Managers, the Senior Quality Manager, stakeholders, and operational staff covering this department.
Job Summary
You will support the Quality Manager in the clinical governance and risk management of your area. Working alongside laboratory teams to ensure compliance with ISO 15189, you will act as a bridge between the Quality and Operational teams. Reporting to the Senior Quality Manager, you will have a high level of responsibility to ensure the successful delivery of pathology services, in line with our corporate objectives.
This is a 12-month fixed-term opportunity to support the Quality team and the Biochemistry and Immunology team until February/March 2026. Suitably experienced Specialist Biomedical Scientists will be considered for this role.
Key Relationships
- Head of Quality
- Senior Quality Manager (Infection Sciences, Biochemistry, Immunology, Support Services)
- Quality Managers
- Quality Officers
- Service Delivery Managers (Biochemistry and Immunology)
- Operational Managers (Biochemistry and Immunology)
- Biomedical Scientists (Biochemistry and Immunology)
- Strategic Clinical Leads
- Clinical staff
Duties and Responsibilities
- Provide close support and expert advice to managers in multiple working environments whilst also overseeing quality across your service line(s).
- Ensure your area of responsibility complies with all relevant current and future legislation and conforms with the ISO 15189 standard and the recommendations from recognised professional bodies.
- Be the first point of escalation for any quality failures, requiring you to evaluate, identify and instruct on corrective actions.
- Coordinate and manage audits, complaints, incidents, employee training, quality improvement and assurance, equipment inventory and maintenance through the Quality Management System (QMS).
- Lead and liaise with external inspectors/assessors from regulatory bodies such as UKAS, MHRA and verify the completion of corrective action as required by the reports.
- Provide leadership and day-to-day direction to Quality Officers; and help, advise, support and mentor laboratory employees to ensure an effective QMS is in operation.
- Act as QPulse administrator and ensure appropriate training is delivered for your service line.
Key Responsibilities
- Act as primary source of advice, guidance, knowledge and best practice in quality management for your service line(s).
- Review quality audits and establish necessary action to be implemented including use of Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS), ensuring all Information Governance (IG) requirements are met.
- Maintain standards of conduct required by the HCPC to practice.
- Support Clinical and Operational leads in the strategic development and service improvement of the analytical service and, from a quality perspective, advise on the implementation of new techniques, equipment, assays and processes including all verification and validation work.
- Monitor, report and action errors, hazards, and incidents logged in the CAPA module of Q-Pulse.
- Provide support for Senior Quality Manager in serious incident investigations. Lead in the investigation of all other incidents, ensuring corrective actions are reported in Q-Pulse and other relevant software.
- Support in the development and implementation of Business Continuity and Serious Incidents Plans where necessary for your service line(s).
- Oversee and develop resources for the provision of training for colleagues in quality procedures and investigations or as part of onboarding activity, such as induction.
- Communicate findings of service failure or serious incidents and use instances like these as opportunities to teach and develop others through your experience.
- Oversee quality audit schedule and document review compliance.
- Providing regular updates to Senior Quality Manager and compile Annual Quality Report, including Operational Performance data and present at Service and Governance, Risk and Quality meetings.
- Compile and maintain risk register in conjunction with Clinical and Operational leads.
- Oversee EQA and IQC performance and ensure corrective action has been taken.
- Ensure compliance with all regulatory and quality requirements of regulatory directives, accreditation bodies, and local management including:
- Care Quality Commission
- Synnovis policies and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
- Any other body in area of responsibility.
- Develop and regularly review relevant quality policies and documents, including SOPs, COSHH and risk assessments in line with the ISO 15189 standard. Ensure all quality policies and documents are fit for purpose and implemented for your service line(s).
- Collaborate with colleagues and senior managers to ensure consistency in the delivery of Quality Management, including playing a leading role in the development of best practices and new ways of working.
- Provide day-to-day direction to and organisation of Quality Officer in your area, ensuring that standards are met.
- Demonstrate professionalism, patience and empathy when explaining highly complex subjects, and in particular when communicating with people who do not share the same level of knowledge or understanding.
- Attend and chair regular departmental meetings, as quality representative and contribute to effective communication within the department providing expert insight.
- Deputise for the Senior Quality Manager including attendance at meetings, as required.
- Take part in CPD activities to ensure that your practices and knowledge are always relevant and up to date to your specific area.
General
The post holder may be required to carry out other duties in line with the grading of the post. The job description may be subject to change and, if so, this will take place in consultation with the post holder.
At Synnovis, we are currently shaping the future of pathology services by creating a world-leading Hub and Spoke pathology network with our NHS partners. A large part of this modernisation will involve moving 70% of our services to a purpose built, state of the art Hub laboratory in the heart of London. For now, the job you are applying for will be based at one of our hospital sites however, from 1 April 2024 our people and services will start to move to our Hub laboratory in Blackfriars, Southwark, SE1, with some work remaining in refurbished essential services laboratories across our hospital network, focusing on the rapid turnover of urgent tests. Please do ask your recruiting manager if you wish to find out more.
Synnovis is a pathology partnership between SYNLAB UK and Ireland, and the NHS, including sites, Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, to deliver and transform pathology services across South East London.
The partnership provides services to 1.7 million people living in South East London, as well as to hundreds of thousands of patients from outside the region who use local healthcare services.
The partnership provides diagnostics, testing and digital pathology for hospital trusts, GP services and other healthcare providers.
Person specificationQualifications
- HCPC State registration as a Biomedical Scientist or Clinical Scientist
- MSc, FIBMS or equivalent experience in a similar role
- Quality Management qualification or equivalent experience
- UKAS Assessor
Experience
- Leadership qualities with experience of coaching and co-ordinating others
- Involvement with external assessments/inspections e.g. UKAS/MHRA
- Development of policies and service improvement
Skills and Knowledge
- Full knowledge of ISO 15189 standard and ability to implement the correct policies and procedures to implement in relation to quality systems, with reference to UKAS
- Ability to troubleshoot and train those who use the Quality Management Systems
- Ability to manage effectively in a dynamic environment with multiple conflicting priorities
Applications are welcomed from applicants with a disability.We can make reasonable adjustments and offer support and advice in a variety of ways throughout the application process. All applicants are welcome to apply regardless of age, disability, gender, marital status, race, nationality or ethnic origin, religion, or sexual orientation. Equality of opportunity is our policy.
Our Bank workers enjoy competitive market rates and flexible contract assignments across all of our sites, dependent on your availability and location.
For our Permanent workforce we offer a competitive benefits package.
All employees are entitled to:
- Contributory pension scheme
- Generous annual leave entitlement
Safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. All employees have a responsibility for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults in the course of their daily duties and for ensuring that they are aware of the specific duties relating to their role.
Please apply for this post on-line. If you have problems with using the online process, or need any assistance, please email
Your e-mail address is important to us.We communicate to all job applicants via the e-mail address which has been provided on the application form. Please ensure that you check your e-mail on a regular basis.
Due to the high volumes of applications we receive, we reserve the right to close any adverts before the published closing date once we have received a sufficient number of applications.
If you decide to apply for this post but do not hear back from us within three weeks of the closing date, please assume that you have not been short-listed on this occasion.
Thank you for your interest in Synnovis.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
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