Pre-Treatment Superintendent Radiographer | The Christie NHS Foundation Trust

We are seeking an expert Therapeutic Radiographer to join our Pre‑Treatment Team as a Superintendent. This full‑time permanent Band 7 post is based at the Withington site, Manchester M20 4BX, but the successful applicant will be expected to work across all Christie sites as required. The post holder is expected to troubleshoot patient care or technical issues in all pre‑treatment areas and will work as a subject‑matter expert on all aspects of pre‑treatment radiotherapy.

The role involves supervising, instructing and taking part in pre‑treatment imaging for radiotherapy planning and virtual simulation, producing required immobilisation of patients, cannulation and administration of radiographic contrast, recognising normal anatomy and pathological appearances, and making analytical judgements on imaging and pre‑treatment actions.

• Assess complex patients with regard to their immediate and future planned pathway, seeking medical advice when necessary.
• Act as an expert resource on pre‑treatment imaging, planning equipment and software as well as oncology management systems.
• Be proactive in the maintenance, improvement and development of competence in the pre‑treatment team.
• Work closely with the other Superintendents and the Quality manager to monitor the work across the service and maintain high quality service delivery and professional standards, helping to further develop and maintain the accredited Quality Management System.
• Take a lead role in reviewing and writing work instructions and operating procedures, with overall responsibility and sign‑off by the Principal Radiographers.
• Ensure all errors in pre‑treatment areas are reported in a timely manner in accordance with current departmental policy.
• Continuously assess and monitor risk in their practice and that of others, challenging others as appropriate.
• Possess in‑depth knowledge of UK radiation legislation IRR 2019 and IR(ME)R 2019 and act as an expert resource in interpretation of the legislation regarding standard operating procedures and error reporting.
• Have good knowledge of other relevant legislation, including Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and Manual Handling Operations regulations 1992.
• Participate in the shift system, bank holidays, weekend working and on‑call duties.
• Regularly liaise with the treatment superintendent team to ensure a coherent approach between pre‑treatment and treatment delivery practices.
• Develop and maintain good working relationships with counterparts at other Christie radiotherapy departments and work collaboratively toward radiotherapy and trust objectives.
• Network with other radiotherapy centres outside of The Christie to share and learn from others.

• Provide professional, technical, operational and clinical leadership, advising and supporting radiographic staff across the service.
• Act as an advocate for The Christie at national forums and vendor meetings.
• Keep up to date with best practice and national guidance in radiotherapy locally and nationally and disseminate it to the team.
• Establish and maintain good communication links between multi‑disciplinary teams.
• Promote opportunities for team development and individual role enhancement.
• Act as named lead for on‑call duties and manage the on‑call service.
• Initiate preliminary discussion with patients, relatives, visitors and other professional disciplines regarding complaints, failures and feedback.
• Attend meetings at manager and Trust committee level to facilitate input from and feedback to the Radiotherapy Department across all sites.
• Attend inter‑trust meetings at manager and Trust committee level to ensure efficient service and effective working between trusts where integration of services is required.
• Investigate errors and incidents as per Trust policy.
• Undertake clinical operational responsibility for the pre‑treatment areas in the absence of the Principal Radiographer.
• Provide dedicated supervision and mentoring to permanent pre‑treatment radiographers and ensure that they are sufficiently skilled to pick‑up some of the pre‑treatment superintendent’s responsibilities in their absence.

• Ensure all personal relevant competencies are achieved as outlined by the radiotherapy education team within specified time periods.
• Recognise training needs associated with new developments and put mechanisms in place to meet them.
• Provide training, and expert advice on cannulation and administration of IV radiographic contrast and emergency drugs.
• Use technical expertise to induct and train staff in pre‑treatment areas, ensuring competencies are attained in a timely manner.
• Be responsible for a portfolio of personal development reviews of junior staff.
• Supervise and manage pre‑registration student training in accordance with trust/university policy.
• Ensure all team members in the designated area are competent, have requisite competencies and up‑to‑date essential training.
• Identify opportunities for clinical audit, research and development, encouraging staff participation in relevant projects.

• Work closely with other Superintendent radiographers and Principal Radiographers to ensure most effective use of staffing resources across The Christie Radiotherapy network.
• Actively manage inadequate performance, including capability and poor professional standards for students or employees, and participate in the investigation process and provide evidence.
• Work closely with the Clinical Service Manager for Radiotherapy, Principal Radiographers Pre‑treatment and Treatment Superintendents to monitor the work across the service, maintaining high quality service delivery and professional standards, and apply disciplinary and capability policies where necessary.
• Participate in recruitment and selection of staff through chairing of appointment panels, completion of paperwork and liaison with Human Resources and Occupational Health departments to ensure successful employment of candidates.

• Be proactive in developing and implementing evidence‑based clinical practice in line with local and national initiatives, facilitating changes in service where necessary.
• Provide technical advice in the evaluation, procurement and introduction of new techniques, procedures and equipment.
• Lead, supervise and/or undertake an active role in research, audit, development, improvement and implementation of new techniques and practices within the department, assessing results and impacts.

• Ensure that all equipment is in a safe condition and complies with relevant Health and Safety legislation, taking appropriate action in the event of equipment failure.
• Ensure that relevant risk assessments are carried out and reviewed at regular intervals and the Risk Register updated.
• Be responsible for the equipment in the work area, ensuring that fault reporting and handover procedures are followed, working closely with medical physics and technical services staff to ensure that repairs and routine servicing is carried out with minimal disruption to service provision.

All candidates must be already registered with the HCPC.

Disability Confident: A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high‑volume, seasonal and high‑peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non‑disabled people.

Work hours: The post holder will be expected to work across all Christie sites as required, with a shift system that includes bank holidays, weekends and on‑call duty.