Clinical Scientist

Main area 317 Genetics Molecular Grade Band 7 Contract Fixed term: 12 months (from date of appointment) Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week Job ref 317-2026-39-019

Employer The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Trustwide Town 317 Trustwide Salary £49,387 - £56,515 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 25/10/2026 23:59 Interview date 23/11/2026

Clinical Scientist

Band 7

Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the busiest and largest NHS hospital trusts in the country. We have around 16,000 staff and an annual budget of £1.7 billion.

With strong history of providing high quality care, clinical excellence, research and innovation regionally, nationally and internationally, w e’re in the top five providers of specialised health services in the country.

As well as providing a wide range of hospital and community services, we support people with a range of rare and complex medical, surgical and neurological conditions, cancers and genetic orders.

We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and recognise the benefit in providing an inclusive environment. We value and respect the diversity of our employees and aim to recruit a workforce which reflects the communities we serve, and is equipped to deliver the best service to our patients. We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.

Newcastle Hospitals are proud to be one of the exemplar organisations across the NHS on sustainability, with a long history of delivering Sustainable Healthcare in Newcastle and the first healthcare organisation in the world to declare a climate emergency. Our strategy includes commitments to being Net Zero by 2030, for our direct carbon footprint, and Net Zero by 2040 for our footprint plus. Delivering these ambitions will not be possible without the help, support and action of every single member of our team.

Job overview

The Newcastle Genetics Laboratory forms part of the North East and Yorkshire Genomic Laboratory Hub, (NE&Y GLH) alongside our partners in Leeds and Sheffield. There are ongoing Clinical Scientist vacancies to join our friendly laboratory teams, (see https://ney-genomics.org.uk/for-professionals/careers2/ ) and applications are invited for a fixed term (one year) band 7 Clinical Scientist post in the Newcastle Genetics Laboratory. This is an exciting time to work in genomics, and an opportunity to be at the forefront of improving outcomes for patients.

Candidates should ideally be either State Registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) or should achieve State Registration within the first year. State Registration will be required for full assimilation onto band 7 (successful candidates within one year of HCPC registration would be appointed at 75% of band 7 until registration was achieved). All applicants should have direct experience of the work of a diagnostic genetics service.

• Interview Date Monday 23 November 2026

NO AGENCIES PLEASE

Main duties of the job

We provide testing for a wide variety of inherited and acquired conditions for a local population of over three million people, as well as services provided for the North East and Yorkshire Genomic Laboratory Hub. In addition we provide specialised services to patients throughout the UK and internationally. The Newcastle Genetics laboratory is housed in purpose built accommodation at the Institute of Genetic Medicine near to Newcastle city centre, and has a close association with the high profile academic groups working in the Institute of Genetic Medicine research laboratories.

The successful candidate will be a motivated and reliable individual and will join a team of around 100 Scientific and Technical staff in the Genetics laboratories in Newcastle. They will be required to deliver coordination of testing for a range of genetic conditions, in addition to preparing reports and liaising closely with clinical colleagues and Genetic Technologist staff. A broad knowledge of diagnostic genetics and good communication, team working and supervisory skills are essential. A major component of this one year fixed term post will be to support the introduction of new guidelines for assessment of pathogenicity of somatic variants in acquired cancer.

Working for our organisation

As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.

With around 2 million contacts with patients every year, we deliver care from:

• Northern Centre for Cancer Care, North Cumbria

These include a range of flagship services which deliver cutting-edge care (supported by state-of-the-art diagnostic services in both radiology and pathology) and are a catalyst for innovation to support pioneering clinical practice in the NHS.

We also have offices at Regent Point in Gosforth and community sites.

Please see attached information on what Staff Benefits we have to offer at our Trust under ‘Documents to download’ or ‘Supporting documents’.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

We would be willing to consider applications from individuals with alternative qualifications such as an MSc or PhD in Genetics, with significant laboratory and analytical experience in a relevant clinical setting. Any successful candidates who are not yet registered would be expected to work towards HCPC registration and would be appointed on an appropriate percentage of the pay for fully qualified staff during the training period.

• Analysis, interpretation and reporting of genetic tests for a broad range of inherited disorders and acquired cancers guided by clearly defined policies and procedures.
• Service development in own area.
• Limited responsibility for an additional component of the genetics service.
• Providing specialist advice to clinicians on specific genetic tests.
• Supervision of technical, junior and trainee staff in section.
• Practical and theoretical training of scientific & technical staff.

Person specification

Meets All Criteria

• First class or second class BSc degree in an appropriate subject with a strong genetics component
• State registered clinical scientist in molecular genetics or cytogenetics with the Health and Care Professions Council (Master’s Degree equivalence)
• Previous experience as a pre-registration scientist in a diagnostic genetics laboratory
• Excellent laboratory bench skills
• Communication and organisational skills
• Basic computer skills
• Successful completion of clinical scientist training evidenced by award of Certificate of Competence by the Clinical Molecular Genetics Society or Association for Clinical Cytogenetics or completion of the Modernising Scientific Careers Genetics STP
• Post graduate qualification either Master’s degree or PhD in an appropriate subject
• Significant experience in a diagnostic genetics laboratory
• Staff supervisory experience

Whilst Newcastle Hospitals are a forward thinking and highly innovative organisation, the use of Third-Party Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents a risk to the integrity of our Recruitment & Selection processes. If you use AI, and it poses a risk to the integrity of your individual application or to the recruitment process, we may withdraw your application at any stage of the process.

Important note on completion of reference section of Application Form

All references from current and previous employers will be sought and must cover a minimum of 3 years employment. Therefore, when completing the reference section of your application form, please give the address, telephone number and work email address of each of your current/previous line managers that cover 3 years employment. Failure to complete this section may result in your application not being processed.

Please note it is a requirement of The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust that all successful candidates who require a DBS for the post they have been offered pay for their DBS certificate. The method of payment is a salary deduction from your first month’s pay.

Candidates who are shortlisted for interview will be contacted by e-mail. You should check your SPAM folders as well as your inbox. If you have not been contacted within 4 weeks of the closing date you should assume your application has been unsuccessful.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

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