Quality Control Pharmaceutical Microbiologist - Stevenage, United Kingdom - East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust

Description

Job overview

We are recruiting for a Quality Control Pharmaceutical Microbiologist who shares our vision to be trusted to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service to our patients.

You will be a suitably qualified professional with significant practical experience of pharmaceutical microbiology. Ability to interpret the current standards and guidance applicable to sterile and non-sterile pharmaceutical facilities and ensure that any microbiology testing and monitoring is undertaken in line with the current industry standards in particular the Guide to Good Manufacturing Practice for Medicinal Products for Human and Veterinary Use and the Manufacture of Sterile Medicinal Products.

Lead the microbiology section of Quality Control Department and develop and deliver pharmaceutical and environmental microbiology and other non-clinical microbiological services. Train and develop staff and plan, organise and deliver high quality microbiology service to all internal and external customers of the Quality Control Department.

Our Values are Include, Respect and Improve. It is important that you understand and refer to our values during your recruitment process and beyond

Main duties of the job

Main duties of this role include leadership of the microbiology section of the Quality Control Department, interpretation of current standards, writing and updating of standard operating procedures, staff training a development as well as participation in Quality Management Activities as part of delivery of high quality microbiology services to pharmaceutical and other healthcare facilities.

Working for our organisation

At East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, we are proud of the range of general & specialist services we provide & our 6,000 or so dedicated staff ensure our patients get the best care. Our ability to be flexible & 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; our staff & patients are at the heart of delivering this ambitious agenda.

We understand that finding and starting a new job is an important life decision. If you need reasonable adjustments for a disability, or a life event, such as menopause - so that we can consider your application fairly & to get the best out of you during the selection process, please let us know.

We are committed to a positive work life balance for our employees. Employees are entitled to seek to work flexible working patterns & we are committed to listen and consider all requests. Such requests, of course, have to be made & considered formally, & 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

Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification applicant pack for further detailed information regarding this role.

Person specification

Qualifications / Training

Essential criteria

• B.Sc. in a Biological Science or similar subject
• Significant post graduate experience in pharmaceutical microbiology environment.
• Postgraduate Diploma in Pharmaceutical Technology and Quality Assurance or equivalent postgraduate level of knowledge.
• Membership or eligibility for a membership of a suitable regulatory or professional organization/body e.g. the Royal Society of Biology/ chartered biologist status

Previous Experience

Essential criteria

• Experience of working in GLP/GMP environment in QA/QC Department in Hospitals, Pharmaceutical or Biotechnology industry.
• Management/leadership experience as well as demonstrated experience of staff training, development and performance management and assessing staff competencies
• Experience of writing, reviewing and approving standard operating procedures
• Experience of microbiological environmental monitoring within pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities including of trend analysis of environmental monitoring data and of generating environmental monitoring reports.
• Experience of variety of microbiological laboratory techniques including handling hazardous materials.

Skills

Essential criteria

• Good interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate with all levels of staff and individuals within and outside of the department with confidence, assertiveness and tact. Excellent customer care skills
• Ability to work with a variety of high precision laboratory and other relevant equipment requiring a high degree of hand-eye co-ordination, manual dexterity and visual & colour acuity.
• Ability to work at speed accurately
• Ability to concentrate and maintain accuracy for long periods of time when analysing data/results and undertaking testing.
• Ability to concentrate and maintain accuracy for long periods of time when analysing data/results and undertaking testing

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Ability to use the technical knowledge, reasoning and professional judgement to critically review and assess highly complex data and information relating to facilities and products in order to evaluate their suitability for their intended use
• Knowledge of Information technology to include Microsoft Word, Excel, Access and Power Point
• Knowledge of current legislation and guidelines relating to pharmaceutical PQMS, GMP, GLP, GCP.
• Knowledge of validation requirements for pharmaceutical facilities, equipment and processes
• Advanced knowledge of microbiological techniques
• Knowledge of Health and Safety at Work act, COSHH legislation and laboratory safety issues and risk assessments
• Understanding of waste management regulations.

Other Requirements

Essential criteria

• Required to wear full PPEs as appropriate for work in laboratory environment or in sterile aseptic facilities and work sitting or standing for prolonged periods of time, The post holder may be required to work in aseptic facilitiesRequired to wear full PPEs as appropriate for work in laboratory environment or in sterile aseptic facilities and work sitting or standing for prolonged periods of time, The post holder may be required to work in aseptic facilities
• Required to have the ability to carry and handle moderately heavy equipment.
• Required to have the ability to occasionally work at height and also in confined spaces.
• Required to be flexible and willing to work out of hours and at weekends to meet customer service demands.
• Ability to travel easily between Trust Sites
• Experience and evidence of engagement around equality, diversity and inclusion issues in relation to policy, service development and service delivery in respect of both services to users and the management of staff
• Role model our Trust values every day

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 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

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.