Job overview
12 months fixed term post working 24/7 shift system.
The pathology departments at NTH and STH are, working collaboratively to develop a joint service with services being delivered on all hospital sites. This will require cross site working as appropriate.
Whilst posts will be based predominantly at the James Cook University Hospital site to you will be expected to work between all sites with a Laboratory service (, also Friarage Hospital, Northallerton, Hartlepool Hospital etc.) on a rotational basis, to meet the needs of the service.
An opportunity has arisen for a number of Associate Practitioners to join our team in the Pathology Laboratory. Although working primarily in Biochemistry and Haematology, the successful applicants may also be required to work flexibly across the Blood Sciences laboratories according to service needs.
You will be expected to participate on a full shift system to cover weekday, weekend, evening and night sessions.
Main duties of the job
Assisting the Biomedical Science team by processing Biochemistry /haematology samples and assisting with Immunology sample pre-analytical procedures. Good communications skills, teamwork and an aptitude for problem solving are essential, as is a flexible attitude to work and willingness to adapt to changes in working practice. Flexible working is a requirement for this post and the department operates a 24 hour shift system including weekend, bank holiday and night shifts at agenda for change rates. The successful applicant will be expected to participate fully in this rota after suitable training. South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is committed to developing excellence and staff motivation is high on the agenda. Good interpersonal and intrapersonal skills are essential for this post. At University Hospital Tees our main priority is, and always will be, to provide safe and high quality care to our patients every day; the kind of care we would want for ourselves and our loved ones. We want our organisation to be the best place to work with the right staff, in the right roles, at the right time, to ensure we deliver exceptional patient care and experience. We will support staff through providing an inclusive and supportive workplace with health and well-being initiatives, staff benefits and opportunities for personal and professional development. Staff recognition is very important to us; as well as performance reviews and appraisals.
Working for our organisation
We support the Making Every Contact Count approach to behaviour change in the promotion of health and wellbeing of individuals and communities.
South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust offers leadership and improvement training to all new staff. This training programme has been designed to support our staff in developing their understanding of leadership and management skills. You will be expected to attend the following training sessions:
Your Leadership Impact
Leading Your Team to Success
Service Improvement for Beginners
Developing your Service Improvement Skills
The leadership and improvement programme aims to:
Explore leadership within the NHS
Promote Trust values and behaviours
Develop your leadership effectiveness and skills
Equip you with the necessary knowledge and skills to lead and complete service improvements within the scope of your role.
After you complete these three and a half days of training you will be able to explore further leadership and improvement training opportunities. We also offer further in-house courses and bitesize programmes through our Leadership and Improvement Team.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see the full job description and person specification document(s) attached for main responsibilities of the role.
Person specification
Qualifications & Training
Essential criteria
1. Laboratory experience and one of the following: foundation degree, or IBMS part 2 portfolio of competence, or level 4 NVQ/BTEC, 2 A-levels, (one to be in a Science subject)
2. Science degree or working towards
Desirable criteria
3. Experience of computer packages Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc. or equivalent
Knowledge & Skills
Essential criteria
4. Knowledge of laboratory techniques.
5. Basic understanding of Human Biology.
6. Knowledge of basic scientific terminology.
7. Understanding of laboratory Health and Safety issues.
8. Knowledge of patient confidentiality.
9. Good communication skills.
Experience
Essential criteria
10. Scientific/Laboratory experience
Disclosure and Barring Checks (DBS)
It is the policy of South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust that all successful candidates who are new to the Trust who require DBS clearance for the post they have been offered, are required to pay the cost of their DBS. The method of payment for this is via salary deduction from your first month's pay.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is committed to promoting equality of opportunity, celebrating and valuing diversity and eliminating any form of unlawful discrimination across our workforce, ensuring our people are truly representative of the communities we serve. All individuals regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation are encouraged to apply for this post. We welcome applications from the Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Network; LGBT+ Network; Disability and Long-Term Health Conditions Network, Faith Network, Childless not by Choice Network and the Menopause Support Group.
As an inclusive employer, we are here to support you.
If you have any special requirements to help you with your application, email our team at
Right to Work in the UK
The Trust welcomes applications from all candidates who meet the criteria for the role. Please note that from January 2021, to work in the UK all candidates who are not UK or Republic of Ireland (RoI) nationals require sponsorship unless you have permission to work via another route. Non UK / RoI candidates wishing to apply can self-assess the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship here Work in the UK - (.
Please provide full and accurate details of your current immigration status on the application form. Your current immigration status will not be considered as part of the shortlisting or interview process.
Please note that not everyone needs a Skilled Worker visa. If you are applying for a vacancy in health or adult social care, you may be eligible to apply for the Health and Care Worker visa instead.
We are able to offer sponsorship for a Health and Care Worker or Skilled Worker visa, subject to candidate and position eligibility. Please review the job eligibility guidance for skilled workers here: Skilled Worker visa: Your job - ( and for the Health and Care Worker visa here: Skilled Worker visa: eligible healthcare and education jobs - (
Please note: if the job you are applying for does not meet the eligibility criteria above, we will be unable to offer you sponsorship and you will need to explore whether you may be eligible to apply for an alternative immigration route which will secure your right to work in the UK before you apply. If you are in the UK already on a visa, please ensure you have no restrictions that would prevent you from taking this post.
The Trust encourages and supports all applicants to be fully vaccinated against both COVID19 and influenza.
Please be aware, there are occasions where some vacancies may close prior to the closing date advertised. This will only happen where sufficient applications are received AND will be made evident on the job advert.
Please note if you are successfully shortlisted, we will contact you via the email address that you have applied from so please ensure you check your emails regularly.
Existing employees of South Tees NHS Foundation Trust currently on the Redeployment Register, who meet the essential criteria for this post, will be shortlisted and interviewed prior to all other applicants.