Sterile Services Team Leader in Warwick

Main area Facilities Grade A Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Over 5 days Roster shifts 14:00-22:00 but could include a mixture of early, late starts and weekends)

Job ref 203-SWFTCS245

Employer SWFT Clinical Services Ltd

Employer type NHS

Site Warwick Hospital

Town Warwick

Salary £28,484.53 per annum

Salary period Yearly

Closing 05/06/2026 08:00

Interview date 16/06/2026

Job overview: Please be advised that once qualified and trained the salary will be revised. As a Sterile Services Team Leader you make a valuable and important contribution to the delivery of a high-quality decontamination service. Your role is to support the departmental needs of reprocessing and delivery of all instruments and equipment used to provide medical and surgical procedures.

Main duties of the job:

• The Decontamination and Sterile Services Team Leader is responsible for providing supervision of staff within the unit.
• They will ensure the effective safe and efficient collection, decontamination (washing, disinfection and sterilisation) and distribution of re-usable medical devices for use in direct patient care with complex speciality demands.
• The Sterile Services department maintains a quality system (ISO 13485:2016). The Team Leader must comply with the essential requirements of the UKCA Medical Devices Regulation.
• Maintaining and updating of records and database for traceability of re-usable medical Devices in accordance with quality control and accreditation.
• To test, validate and operate highly technical and sensitive decontamination equipment within the department, recording and reporting faults to ensure timely repairs and maintenance.
• To undertake quality checks for cleanliness and functionality of equipment before distribution to customers in accordance with Legislation, Quality Systems and Health and Safety.
• To prepare and record appropriate documentation, e.g. labelling and recording for traceability in accordance with quality control and accreditation.
• To collect and accept delivery of used equipment from all customers including external customers.

Working for our organisation: SWFT Clinical Services is a wholly owned subsidiary of the South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust (SWFT). The company provides a number of services such as outpatient pharmacy facilities at Warwick and Stratford and Nuneaton hospitals; estates and facilities management at Stratford hospital, Acorn House and Lillington Health Hub; private patient service and consultancy services to NHS Trusts.

Subject to the Company and individual’s performance, an annual discretionary bonus will be awarded. There is automatic enrolment to the Company pension scheme, with the Company contributing 5%. A benefits package is available to the appointed candidate upon successful completion of the six month probationary period.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities:

• Responsible for ensuring that sterile service production meets clinical service user needs.
• Responsible for the daily co-ordination of the workload and allocation of or amendment to work duties of SSD Technicians in line with changing service requirements during each shift.
• Responsible for monitoring of daily preparation and maintenance procedures in production areas.
• Responsible for ensuring high standards of departmental housekeeping are maintained.
• Responsible for ensuring that work patterns and practices conform to the departmental procedures and safety requirements for clean rooms and dirty areas within the department.
• Responsible for monitoring staff usage of resources to ensure that materials are used in a cost efficient and appropriate manner.
• Responsible for acting as the primary contact with service users for management of daily product requirements.
• Responsible for immediately reporting plant equipment malfunctions or suspected anomalies to senior SSD managers.
• Responsible for understanding and assuming supervisory staff responsibilities under the Trust and Departmental Health & Safety Policies.
• Responsible for ensuring that Personal Protective Equipment is always available and is used by all staff working in the department.
• Responsible for ensuring staff adherence to SSD procedures for dealing with missing instrumentation.
• Responsible for conducting appraisals (PDR) of SSD Technicians and supporting them in meeting their objectives.
• Responsible for undertaking activities and monitoring as required by SSD managers to ensure that mechanisms to reduce production errors are followed.
• Responsible for advising senior SSD managers where behavioural, reliability, technical ability or other issues are identified in relation to individual SSD Technicians.
• Responsible for maintaining contact with key users during times of peak workload.
• Responsible for taking responsibility for specific elements of departmental management as agreed with the senior management team.
• Responsible for undertaking training of new staff and updating of existing staff on new or revised equipment and procedures.
• Responsible for identifying and developing in conjunction with senior SSD managers, changes to existing procedures and working practises in order to enhance departmental efficiency.
• Responsible for working flexibly across the whole department to ensure consistency of service quality.
• Responsible for effectively communicating operational issues with other members of the SSD team.
• Responsible on a rotational basis to carry out duties include receiving, disassembly and cleaning of contaminated equipment.
• Responsible for the inspection, testing, assembly, packing, sterilisation and distribution of instruments and equipment for supply to customers.
• Responsible for ensuring that the recording of all essential stages of the decontamination/sterilisation process is carried out.
• Responsible for ensuring daily tests are carried out as per agreed schedule.
• Responsible for carrying out functionality tests on all re-usable medical devices.
• Responsible for ensuring all records and process test results demonstrate compliance.
• Responsible for carrying out all duties in line with the Trusts Health and Safety policies.
• Responsible for carrying out all duties in line with the Departments Accredited Quality System.
• Responsible for carrying out assigned clerical tasks as required.
• Responsible for keeping areas clean and tidy to maintain a safe and compliant environment.
• Responsible for delivering the workload within the agreed time and to the required customer service level agreement.
• Responsible for the collection, processing and distribution of essential medical devices and sterile packs throughout the trust.
• Responsible for adhering to specified levels of Personal Protective equipment at all times.
• A high degree of physical effort will be required to undertake these duties on a regular basis.
• Responsible for dealing with customer enquiries in a professional manner at all times.
• Responsible for helping in the training of new staff.

Person specification:

• Qualifications: NVQ Level 3 in Decontamination Sterile Services or equivalent experience.
• Willingness to undertake Institute of Decontamination Sciences (IDSc) Technical certificate.
• Experience: Previous experience in all sections of decontamination department.
• Skills: Understanding of concept and management of urgent /priority medical devices and nonconformances.
• Experience of supervising less experienced/qualified staff.
• Can demonstrate the ability to work to strict standards of quality and safety.
• Ability to work as part of a team.
• Ability to work accurately under pressure.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Use of quality management system.
• Use of department tracking information systems.

Personal Qualities:

• Willingness to act in a manner conducive to our Trust Values.
• Ability to work to high standards under pressure.
• Flexible.
• Demonstrates a professional manner at all times.
• Ability to motivate others.
• Use of Word and PC systems including operation of Windows-based software.
• Understand the fundamentals of data quality, data protection and the confidential use of patient information.

Other:

• Able to work to given schedules and rotas.
• Able to organise and manage personal responsibilities.

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.