Quality Officer

The Quality team at Synnovis is pleased to advertise an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic and motivated Quality Officer to provide departmental quality management support, working a 37.5 hour week. The position is a 12-month fixed-term opportunity, particularly suited to a candidate with laboratory and quality management experience. You will support the Biochemistry and Immunology laboratories, management teams, and the Synnovis Quality team across various sites to achieve quality objectives, organisational targets, and deliver continuous quality improvement.

This is a quality support role and your vision and determination to successfully drive quality services to the new target operating model will be invaluable. The post holder will be self-motivated and required to perform a wide range of duties such as auditing, management review, monitoring, and assisting with the management of non-conformances, incident management, data analysis, assessment and inspection readiness, document review, and risk management. Full training and support will be provided. Ensuring reports and data are submitted accurately and in a timely manner is a crucial requirement. You will be needed to provide regular quality direction, advising and supporting the lab teams to maintain and exceed the required levels of safety and compliance.

The Biochemistry and Immunology laboratories at St Thomas’ Hospital, King’s College Hospital, Princess Royal University Hospital, and Royal Brompton and Harefield sites are UKAS ISO15189:2012 accredited and consist of a large team of staff including Service Delivery Managers, Clinical Scientists, Operational Managers, Biomedical Scientists, Associate Practitioners, and Medical Laboratory Assistants. Transformational work is underway to consolidate and align processes into the new target operating model. The department plans to operate from the new Blackfriars Hub laboratory in 2025.

At this exciting time and alongside this transformational work, the Quality team is transitioning and adapting to support the laboratories. Newly adapted roles in the Quality team include a Senior Quality Manager, Quality Manager, and Quality Officer who will work together to support Biochemistry and Immunology. The key quality priorities are to ensure the quality and competence requirements for ISO 15189:2022 are achieved, to maintain all quality, regulatory and safety requirements, complete the future/TOM accreditation application (ETS), and maintain ongoing quality monitoring and risk management processes.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide close support and expert advice to managers in multiple working environments whilst also overseeing quality across your service line(s).
• Ensure your area of responsibility complies with all relevant current and future legislation and conforms with the ISO 15189 standard and the recommendations from recognised professional bodies.
• Be the first point of escalation for any quality failures, requiring you to evaluate, identify and instruct on corrective actions.
• Coordinate and manage audits, complaints, incidents, employee training, quality improvement and assurance, equipment inventory and maintenance through the Quality Management System (QMS).
• Lead and liaise with external inspectors/assessors from regulatory bodies such as UKAS, MHRA and verify the completion of corrective action as required by the reports.
• Provide leadership and day-to-day direction to Quality Officers; and help, advise, support and mentor laboratory employees to ensure an effective QMS is in operation.
• Act as QPulse administrator and ensure appropriate training is delivered for your service line.

Person specification:

• HCPC State registration as a Biomedical Scientist or Clinical Scientist
• MSc, FIBMS or equivalent experience in a similar role
• Quality Management qualification or equivalent experience
• UKAS Assessor Experience
• Leadership qualities with experience of coaching and co-ordinating others
• Involvement with external assessments/inspections e.g. UKAS/MHRA
• Development of policies and service improvement

Applications are welcomed from applicants with a disability. We can make reasonable adjustments and offer support and advice in a variety of ways throughout the application process. All applicants are welcome to apply regardless of age, disability, gender, marital status, race, nationality or ethnic origin, religion, or sexual orientation. Equality of opportunity is our policy.