Job overview
We are recruiting for a Head of Radiation Protection and Consultant Clinical Scientist who shares our vision to be trusted to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service to our patients.
The post holder will also support a number of external Trusts under service level agreements.
The radiation protection department is part of the wider radiation services team at Mount Vernon Cancer Centre and provides specialist scientific advice and technical support to radiology, and other users of imaging including radiotherapy, nuclear medicine, breast screening, u/s and MRI.
The Radiation Protection Department includes scientific and technical support services, radiation protection advice, quality assurance for imaging equipment, a personal dosimetry service for the assessment of dose to staff, radiation safety surveys. The Trust is part of the ImageEast network, and the post holder will lead on medical physics contribution to several workstreams.
The post holder will act as the lead Radiation Protection Adviser and Medical Physics Expert for the Trust and other staff groups and patients in the Trust and other specified organisations.
At the heart of everything we do are our core values: Include, Respect, and Improve. We encourage you to embrace these values throughout the recruitment process and in your role with us.
Main duties of the job
The successful candidate will be a HCPC registered Clinical Scientist, qualified to act as an RPA and MPE in diagnostic radiology with sufficient experience to work at consultant scientist level.
You will have excellent communication skills as you will lead on the provision of radiation protection and scientific support to several Employers including a number of NHS Trusts.
You will be required to work alongside local clinical and managerial service leads to ensure organisations deliver statutory obligations with respect to the safe use of ionising radiation.
The post holder will line manage senior clinical scientists and technologists and lead on staff development and training, including the provision of trainees undertaking the STP programme or equivalent, MPE and RPA training and HSST.
Ideally, we are looking for someone who already has MPE and RPA certification, but if you have begun to work towards this and expect to be able to submit a portfolio within twelve months of appointment, we would still like to hear from you.
Working for our organisation
At East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust, we are proud of the range of general and specialist services we provide and our 6,000 or so dedicated staff ensure our patients get the best care. Our ability to be flexible and innovative in the way in which we work and deliver our services to our catchment has never been more important than it is now.
We run the following hospitals:
The Lister Hospital, Stevenage
New Queen Elizabeth II (New QEII), Welwyn Garden City
Hertford County, Hertford
Mount Vernon Cancer Centre (MVCC), Northwood
We have ambitious plans to become an outstanding, patient-led Trust where dedicated staff provide high-quality, compassionate care to our patients. We continue to undergo significant transformation, and our staff and patients are at the heart of delivering this ambitious agenda.
We are committed to a positive work life balance for our employees. This means that any employee is entitled to seek to work flexible working patterns and we are committed to listen and consider all requests. Such requests, of course, have to be made and considered formally, and will need to be balanced against service needs, but our starting point will always be to find ways to support making them happen.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
ENHT is seeking to maintain and expand the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre staff as we move to an exciting new future.
We welcome applications from those who would relish the opportunity to be part of new and developing cancer service, building on the excellent reputation, research and patient experience the Cancer Centre already delivers.
In addition, you will receive a High-Cost Area Supplement of 15% of your basic salary, subject to a minimum payment of £4,552 and a maximum payment of £5,735 per annum pro rata.
Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification applicant pack for further detailed information regarding this role.
Person specification
Qualifications / Training
Essential criteria
* Good (1st or 2nd class) honours degree in a relevant subject
* Relevant MSc or higher degree
* Completion of IPEM higher training scheme or equivalent
* HCPC registered
* On the MPE register
* PhD in a relevant subject or equivalent level of study demonstrated through publications and /or presentations
* Good written and spoken English
Desirable criteria
* HSST or can demonstrate equivalent experience to be eligible for HSSR
Previous Experience
Essential criteria
* Extensive specialised experience in Radiotherapy Physics including: analysing and judging treatment options, identifying problems with patient-related equipment, exercising judgement to solve problems and making decisions on how equipment is to be used safely and correctly, all usually under time-pressure.
* Highly Specialist training and extensive practical experience in the use of one of : radiotherapy equipment (including linear accelerators, imaging equipment and test equipment) Treatment planning techniques and algorithms Brachytherapy techniques including all equipment used for brachytherapy and its associated treatment planning system
* Training and practical experience in the use of all others from above list
* Extensive experience in planning and checking complex patients treatment plans in brachytherapy,
Desirable criteria
* Experience in planning and checking patients treatment plans in an additional subject area from brachytherapy, external beam or stereotactic radiotherapy
Skills
Essential criteria
* Able to use judgement involving facts that require analysis, interpretation and comparison of a range of options as, for example, in analysing the results of scientific measurements or treatment plans, which may conflict, and deciding upon an appropriate course of action.
* Ability to problem solve and to provide novel solutions to technically challenging problems in which there is no precedent.
* Able to line manage staff, evidence of teamwork and motivational skills. Proven leadership skills
* Evidence of implementation of change
* Self motivated and able to take action to improve a highly complex technical service
* Able to prioritise and manage own work
* Highly developed physical accuracy and dexterity, for making precision measurements and adjustments on equipment, often under time pressure to ensure radiotherapy equipment is returned to clinical use as soon as possible.
* Able to lift large, cumbersome medium/heavy weights on occasion (e.g. test instruments, measuring equipment and calibration jigs onto radiotherapy equipment)
* Able to concentrate when subject to constantly unpredictable working patterns (e.g. when interrupted to provide urgent advice affecting patients’ treatments).
* Able to concentrate for prolonged periods in safety-critical areas (e.g. carrying out or analysing radiation measurements or checking patients treatment plans)
* Able to use Excel, Word, Access etc. to set up documents and spreadsheets and extract information
* Able to design, develop and adapt software solutions to meet the needs of radiotherapy physics and radiotherapy
* Able to exercise own initiative when dealing with issues within own specialist area of competence
* Able to communicate highly complex information e.g. advice to consultant oncologists on patient treatment options, equipment status or operation to other professional groups.
* Able to present scientific papers at national and international conferences.
* Able to train groups of other professional staff.
* Able to deliver teaching and training on complex Radiotherapy Physics-related subjects
* Expected to act independently, without supervision, within professional guidelines
* Able to deal with occasional distressing circumstances when working with terminally ill patients in Radiotherapy.
* Good negotiation skills with staff and suppliers to optimise Radiotherapy Physics services.
* Able to deal with complex and unpredictable situations affecting patient treatments.
Knowledge
Essential criteria
* Broad knowledge of radiation and associated areas within Medical Physics.
* Highly developed, specialist level of theoretical and practical knowledge across the full range of working procedures and practices within Radiotherapy Physics.
* Advanced theoretical and practical knowledge of Radiotherapy equipment, dosimetry and treatment planning, including sufficient knowledge and experience to act as a Medical Physics Expert in Radiotherapy Physics.
* Advanced theoretical and practical knowledge of relevant legislation, national standards, professional and other guidelines, including IRR, IR(ME)R ISO9001-200, other relevant BSI and ISO standards, professional and regulatory body reports and guidelines. including IRR, IR(ME)R, EPR 2016 ISO9001-200
* Knowledge and ability to understand and use to their full extent a range of computerised treatment planning systems, including knowledge of treatment planning system algorithms and areas where their limitations may affect clinical decisions
* Understanding of patient and staff risks arising from treatment planning computer system errors, equipment failure, treatment errors and incorrect dosimetry
* Experience of equipment specification and purchase
* Evidence of continuing professional development.
* Understanding of hazards posed by, and precautions needed with: Ionising radiation Non-ionising radiation Electricity (medium and high voltages) Cross-infection Bio-hazards Fumes Solvents Tools at elevated temperatures Compressed medical gases Cleaning agents and other hazardous materials Occasional exposure to uncontrolled radiation hazards, e.g. spillages, monitoring of radiation activated targets, leak testing of sources, radiation emergencies
Our values
We want our staff to believe in, demonstrate and live our values in everything we do.
Include
We value the diversity and experience of our community colleagues and partners, creating relationships and climates that provide an opportunity to share, collaborate and grow together.
Respect
We create a safe environment where we are curious of the lived experience of others, seek out best practice and are open to listening and hearing new ideas.
Improve
We are committed to consistently delivering excellent services and continuously looking to improve through a creative workforce that feels empowered to act in service of our shared purpose.
Committed to our Community
East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion for all job applicants, staff, patients and the wider community. We want to create a workforce which represents the communities we serve. We are on a journey to become a more inclusive organisation and we welcome applications from everyone regardless of their background. In particular we encourage applications from candidates with disabilities, and candidates from Black, Asian and Minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds who are currently under-represented in various parts of our workforce .
We understand the importance of balancing work and home life. We are committed to support flexible working for our staff wherever possible and all our employees are given the opportunity to discuss potential for flexible working.
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and achieved our status in 2019.
We will remove barriers that prospective candidates might face at any stage of our recruitment process. If you have a disability and would like the advert in an alternative format, or would like to talk about how we can adjust the interview process to best support you, please contact us by emailing resourcing.enh-tr@nhs.net
We are also proud to support our UK armed forces by supporting Reservists, Cadet Instructors, Veterans and military spouses/partners into employment and offering supportive policies that value their contribution to the community and to our Trust.
We are committed to being a carer-friendly environment, addressing the complex needs of families with caring responsibilities. In partnership with Carers in Hertfordshire, all our working carers have access to support from recruitment. We are also a member of Carers UK, providing resources to make balancing work and caring easier. Our approach is inclusive, recognizing diverse challenges and creating a supportive environment where carers feel valued.