About the role
West Northamptonshire Council is proud to launch a new, purpose-built County Mortuary, opening early 2026. Designed to deliver the highest standards of care and compassion during some of life's most difficult moments, the facility will serve communities across Northamptonshire and surrounding areas. This modern facility offers dignified spaces for families, including private viewing and identification areas, ensuring a respectful and supportive experience for those dealing with the loss of a loved one.
Bringing key services under one roof, the facility simplifies processes, reduces delays, and improves efficiency for families, funeral directors, healthcare professionals, and other essential services. It also features advanced post-mortem capabilities, including a CT scanner for remote examination, setting a new standard in service delivery.
We are now looking for an experience Quality Assurance Lead to join the new service.
What will you be doing?
You will be central to ensuring the safe and effective operation of the Coroners and County Mortuary Service. You will be responsible for undertaking scheduled quality audits to ensure required standards and regulatory compliance are maintained. You will produce and present performance and quality information to senior managers, the department and wider audiences as required.
You will also lead on training and will be the procurement lead for both the Northamptonshire Coroners Service and The County Mortuary. You will work closely with the Coroners and The County Mortuary Manager and Lead Anatomical Pathological Technician and support the post-mortem service if required.
About you
As well as being an excellent communicator with an eye for detail, you will have experience of the following:
* Demonstrable experience of setting up and running quality management systems
* Knowledge of preparing for and undertaking HTA and UKAS inspections
* Understands risk assessments, risk management and the process for HTA Reportable Incidents
* Strong knowledge of relevant legislation, including the Human Tissue Act
* Experience procuring and managing contracts and KPIs
Achieved the Diploma in Anatomical Pathology Technology or Level 3 or 4 Diploma in Healthcare Science (Anatomical Pathology Technology)
Demonstrable leadership experience as you will have line management responsibilities
Our benefits
You can also see our full list of employee benefits on our careers site here: Why you should work for us | West Northamptonshire Council
About us
At West Northants Council, it's about our people. People who thrive with ambition, bubble with new ideas, demand better ways of working, caring about every detail, and who never shy away from a challenge. Our culture is a gateway for new experiences. A place to forge new opportunities. To empower you in your career and unite you with like-minded people.
Our vision is 'to make West Northants a great place to live, work, visit and thrive'. We truly stand by this and work hard every day to make this a reality. Our corporate values, THRIVE, stand for: Trust, High Performance, Respect, Innovate and Empower, they underpin everything we do and how we deliver services.
We are committed to ensuring diversity, equality, equity, and inclusion is woven into the fabric of WNC and everything we do, to enable all colleagues to develop and maximize their full potential. We are a disability confident employer, a member of the Armed Forces Covenant, and a Care Leaver Covenant partner
The following film was created by us to communicate our intentions - watch WNC colleagues explain what DEI means to us .
If you need additional support or reasonable adjustments during the application process, including needing the job description in another format or language, please email careers@westnorthants.gov.uk for support.
West Northants Council, where careers thrive.
Attached documents
* Quality Assurance Lead.pdf