Consultant Clinical Scientist (Deputy Head of H&I)
Consultant Clinical Scientist - Deputy Head of H&I
Job Summary
NHS Blood and Transplant is an integral part of the NHS. Operating a network of centres across England and North Wales, we collect around 2 million units of blood and tissues per year, converting them into safe and effective blood components, blood, and tissue products for use in the treatments of patients. We also provide a range of Specialist Services supporting transfusion and transplantation.
We are seeking a Consultant Clinical Scientist - Deputy Head of Department in the Histocompatibility & Immunogenetics Laboratory, NHSBT Tooting. The successful applicant will work alongside the Head of Department to provide H&I services and clinical advice to a diverse range of solid organ and haematopoietic stem cell transplant programmes based in the London and Southeast of England. The laboratory is UKAS and EFI accredited and also provides immunogenetic testing services and support for some aspects of blood transfusion.
Main duties of the job
In this role, you will be analysing, interpreting, documenting and reporting routine and specialist/complex investigations and providing consultant advice to laboratory clinicians. Your duties will include:
- Contributing to the development of overall strategy and direction to ensure that H&I Tooting maintains and develops its position as a leader in the field.
- Ensuring that the overall output of the laboratory is of a high quality, appropriate, relevant, consistent, and reliable.
- Managing activities within the laboratory, responsible for the standard of work and deputising for the Head of Department as required.
- Taking a leading role in scientific training supporting STP, HSST, MSc, PhD and FRCPath.
- Being a lead participant in research and being accountable for the high standard of work.
- Leading and promoting NHSBT’s Equailty, Diversity and Inclusivity values.
- Providing theoretical and practical scientific and technical input for H&I.
- Managing operational activities within the laboratory.
- Managing a large team and a designated budget.
You will be required to participate in National H&I Consultant on-call rota for out of hours support for solid organ transplantation and platelets, and to provide cover in times of operational difficulty with notice.
About You
Experience and Knowledge
Fully Qualified (Band 8c)
- In depth understanding of relevant policies, standards and guidelines e.g., Good Manufacturing Practice Good Laboratory Practice, Clinical Pathology Accreditation, European Federation for Immunogenetics Accreditation, EFI, UKBTS and BCSH and other relevant or statutory guidelines.
- Evidence of participation in professional activities at a national or international level e.g. committee membership of professional bodies, accreditation inspector, examiner.
- Experience of working with information technology using Microsoft Office packages (Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams and PowerPoint).
- Experience of managing workload and staff to ensure effective service provision.
- Extensive experience in working in a diagnostic/testing laboratory.
- Experience in histocompatibility & immunogenetics.
- In depth knowledge of Transfusion/ Transplantation science.
- Demonstrable leadership and management skills.
Nearly Qualified (Band 8b)
- In depth understanding of relevant policies, standards and guidelines e.g., Good Manufacturing Practice Good Laboratory Practice, Clinical Pathology Accreditation, European Federation for Immunogenetics Accreditation, EFI, UKBTS and BCSH and other relevant or statutory guidelines.
- Experience of working with information technology using Microsoft Office packages (Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams and PowerPoint).
- Extensive experience in working in a diagnostic/testing laboratory.
- In depth knowledge of Transfusion/ Transplantation science.
- Post registration experience in Histocompatibility & Immunogenetics.
- Experience of managing workload and staff to ensure effective service provision.
- Experience of selection, training, development and motivation of staff.
- In depth understanding of NHSBT and wider healthcare community.
- Experience of target setting and performance review.
- Demonstrable leadership and management skills.
Qualifications and Training
Fully Qualified (Band 8c)
- PhD / DClinSci or equivalent level in transfusion/transplantation or relevant science.
- Fellowship of the Royal College of Pathologists in H&I.
- Health and Care Professions Council (HPCP) registered (which must be maintained).
- Demonstrates commitment to own continued professional development (CPD).
Nearly Qualified (Band 8b)
- FRCPath Part 1 Examination in H&I.
- Evidence of working towards FRCPath Part 2.
- Management qualification or evidence of attendance at management courses.
- Membership of a professional body e.g. British Society for Histocompatibility & Immunogenetics (BSHI) or European Federation for Immunogenetics (EFI).
- Health and Care Professions Council (HPCP) registered (which must be maintained).
- Demonstrates commitment to own continued professional development (CPD).
To be considered for the Band 8b post, you will need to demonstrate that you are working towards completing the Fellowship of the Royal College of Pathologists in H&I (e.g. evidence of submission of one of the requirements for FRCPath Part 2).
You will be paid in accordance with the role that does not require registration until you have received confirmation of this.
About Us
It takes all types of people to deliver the kind of service that saves and improves lives. At NHS Blood and Transplant, you’ll join a team of more than 6,000 people who are making a genuine difference to communities, families, friends, relatives and more across the UK. We play a unique and special role in the NHS by helping people do something extraordinary- donate blood, blood products, organs, tissues, or stem cells to save someone in need.
Our three core values are what set us apart. They guide and inspire everything we do.
By being caring, expertly meeting the needs of our patients and our people, and accepting nothing less than the best quality, we can do extraordinary work – and help our people to do something extraordinary in their career, too. Three small words, one big difference - Caring, Expert and Quality. Together we'll save and improve more lives than ever.
You will join us on our journey to create an inclusive workplace and aim to reflect the diverse communities we work with, and we positively encourage applications from all sectors of the community.
What we offer:
- Flexible working options – we promote flexible working where the role allows. We’re happy to discuss what flexibility might look like for you.
- Generous annual leave - 27 days annual leave (pro rata for part-time) plus Bank Holidays, increasing to 29 days after 5 years’ service and to 33 days after 10 years.
- Inclusive pension scheme - the NHS Pension Scheme is a defined benefit scheme (not dependent on investment returns). Further details and outline of benefits can be found at: http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/information-about-nhs-pensions
- Supportive learning culture - we’ve fostered a culture of continuous learning where colleagues are well-led, engaged, and encouraged to grow. We support you in reaching your full potential, both in your current role and future career. Our Thrive program embodies our commitment to learning and development, offering a wide range of activities to support your personal and professional growth. It’s open to everyone at NHSBT, ensuring you have the resources to succeed and shine in your role.
- Health and wellbeing support – we offer confidential services including occupational health, employee assistance programme, and wellbeing resources. Our support is available to all colleagues and we endeavour to provide tailored workplace adjustments where possible.
As a Disability Confident Employer, we welcome applications from disabled candidates. We will talk with you to explore any adjustments that may help you during the recruitment process.
You can find more information about accessibility, our culture, and how we support applicants on the NHSBT Careers website:
To learn more, please see the job description and person specification. These can be accessed via the link below, or by clicking ‘Apply’ if you are viewing this advert on another site.
Next steps
This vacancy will close at 23:59 on Monday 31st August 2026.
The assessment process for this role will include: an interview with presentation. Interviews are anticipated to be held on w/c 14th September– subject to confirmation.
For informal enquiries please contact –
Name: Dr Deborah Sage
Job Title: Head of H&I Department, NHSBT Tooting
Contact Details: Deborah.sage@nhsbt.nhs.uk
