Scientific Programme Manager at EMQN CIC

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Are you passionate about improving the quality of healthcare? Do you have experience of working as a healthcare scientist or technologist? Then consider a move to Manchester and join the EMQN CIC team.

Our company

EMQN CIC is an internationally respected, UKAS-accredited provider of External Quality Assessment (EQA) services, with >3000 member laboratories in 85 countries. EQA is an essential requirement for any laboratory seeking to attain laboratory accreditation and is a vital component of good clinical governance. EMQN CIC monitors global laboratory performance in diagnostic molecular genetics, molecular pathology, and technical laboratory testing processes. As a community interest company, EMQN CIC is also able to reinvest in our network to provide new EQA schemes, educational activities and to support the development of best practice guidance for our members.

Based on the Manchester Science Park, EMQN CIC has both office and laboratory facilities and retains close links with the Manchester Centre for Genomic Medicine (MCGM), one of the leading centres for genomics in Europe.

Job overview

A fantastic opportunity has arisen for a motivated and enthusiastic individual to join EMQN CIC as a Scientific Programme Manager. We are seeking an appropriately qualified, self-motivated, and enthusiastic healthcare scientist or technologist to join our scientific team. Flexibility, good communication, robust project management skills, practical laboratory experience and the ability to work to tight deadlines are essential attributes. This is an exciting opportunity to join our small friendly team maintaining existing international services and supporting the development and delivery of EQA.

As a Scientific Programme Manager, you will be responsible for:

Delivering a portfolio of our existing high quality ISO17043 accredited genomics based External Quality Assessment (EQA) services.
Developing and implementing new EQA services.
Supporting and contributing to the delivery of other educational activities, including webinars and best practice guidelines.
Ensuring the efficient and effective logistical management of aspects of these services.
Contributing to other activities (for example, quality management), as deemed necessary to ensure that EMQN CIC complies with all relevant legal and regulatory standards.

This post will be varied and challenging, and the successful individual is expected to use their own initiative to promote good working relationships with colleagues. A small amount of travel to support delivery of our assessment meetings will be required. In return, you’ll find that we’re committed to development and training for all staff and offer flexibility to allow some remote working. We offer a generous contributory pension scheme and benefits / salary package.

Want to know more about the job?

Job Type: Scientific Programme Manager
Job Ref: VAC2023(004)
Location: Manchester, UK
Contract type & working pattern: Permanent, Full-Time – 37.5 hrs per week
Salary: £46,362 - £53,316 per annum
Closing date for applications 5th May 2023.
Interview type / date: Face-to-face, May 2023

For an informal chat and/or copy of the full job description, you should contact Victoria Williams (victoria.williams@emqn.org).

JOB DESCRIPTION

Key results areas

Managerial

To assist the Technical and Operations Director in the proper running and further development of EMQN CIC, as directed and mandated by the Chief Executive Officer, the EMQN CIC Board of Directors and the Scientific and Strategic Advisory Board (SSAB).
To assist the Technical and Operations Director in ensuring the EMQN CIC’s adherence to the Quality Standards required to maintain accreditation by United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) including taking responsibility for a designated component of quality management / governance (for example, document control, audit etc).
To achieve high operational standards by prescribing and promulgating these standards to EMQN CIC staff.
To assist in the management of other staff as required, according to its Organisation’s policy and procedures.
To be responsible for all aspects of EQA scheme project management including planning and implementation of logistics in support of service delivery.
To provide expert scientific advice and interpretation on EQA activities to Scheme participants, Specialist Advisory Groups, Committees, the EMQN CIC Board of Directors and the Scientific and Strategic advisory Board (SSAB) and to other EQA Organisers and colleagues.
To contribute actively to the setting of national and international standards and policy, to support standard-setting as appropriate and to initiate and carry out audit of these standards as required.
To facilitate and participate in the development and publications of best practice guidance documents.

Scientific and Technical

To oversee the preparation of EQA specimens in accordance with EMQN CIC specifications and policies and to undertake analytical procedures of an advanced or highly complex nature as appropriate, requiring special knowledge for their execution and involving handling of biological material (e.g. blood, plasma, DNA and/or unfixed/ fresh tissue samples) and noxious chemicals as required by the post.
To undertake complex calculations, manipulations and interpretation of data requiring long periods at the computer and a high degree of accuracy, so as to ensure the accuracy and appropriateness of all reports - annual and monthly (including expert commentaries and surveys of recent literature sent to all participants and written and verbal communications with individual participants) - prepared by the post holder and to keep records of these as required by UKAS, often working under considerable time pressure in order to meet essential deadlines.
To be responsible for and carry out proactive surveillance of participants’ performance to assist the Chief Executive Officer / Technical and Operations Director in providing regular reports to relevant regulatory authorities, reports which may result in clinical laboratories with unacceptable performance being required to stop performing tests.
To assist the Chief Executive Officer / Technical and Operations Director in identifying the need for and preparing reports on adverse method performance and other relevant clinical incidents relating to all analytes monitored by EMQN CIC for the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) as appropriate.
To ensure the efficient and effective logistical management of all services provided by EMQN CIC.

Laboratory Informatics

To comply with local and national policies for the safe, legal secure and confidential processing and storage of technical and other information provided by EMQN CIC participants or elsewhere, in accord with local, national and other policy and to use EMQN CIC Databases according to authorised protocols and complaint with the rules of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).
To be competent in the use of Microsoft office and Teams (or equivalent) including, spread sheets and processing of data for audit, research and other scientific information gathering, including preparation of complex graphs for EMQN CIC Annual Reviews and other reports.

Clinical

To provide expert advice to multidisciplinary professional groups developing regional, national and international services relevant to diagnostic tests within the remit of EMQN CIC.

Research and development

To undertake research and development (which may include the evaluation of new and improved procedures, instruments and reagents) within the remit of EQA activities.
To publish research work in peer reviewed journals, to present the work nationally and internationally (usually to audiences of 20 to 200 specialists and non-specialists) and to referee papers for scientific journals.

Educational

To undertake limited training activities (on request from partner organisation such as local hospitals and universities) including supervision of research projects, training of medical scientific and technical staff, education of users of the EMQN CIC service nationally and internationally
To maintain continuous professional development (CPD) appropriate to the role and the range of EQA services being managed, ensuring awareness of issues related to all aspects of clinical diagnostic genomic testing.

General

To participate in quality management system (QMS) activities as part of the Quality Team (for which separate role specific descriptions will be provided).
To comply with the policies and procedures of EMQN CIC, by observing and adhering to local and national health and safety policies, maintaining good working relations with all members of staff, promoting effective teamwork, and treating everyone associated with EMQN CIC and all EMQN CIC participants with courtesy and respect, at all times maintaining and promoting the professional image of EMQN CIC.
To be personally responsible for his/her own work and workload management, working with a high degree of autonomy, subject to the supervision and direction of the EMQN CIC Technical and Operations Director or other designated senior staff.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Attributes	Essential Criteria	Desirable Criteria	Method of assessment
Qualification Attainments	First or second-class honours B.Sc. degree in Genetics, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Biomedical Sciences, Genomic Sciences, or allied subject. Appropriate publications in peer-reviewed journals. Evidence of continuing professional development.	Masters, or Ph.D., or equivalent level of experience in a relevant subject Strong, demonstrable knowledge of research methodology relevant to genomics. Appropriate professional registration as a registered "Clinical Scientist" (or equivalent for non-UK applicants) to a relevant recognised body (for example Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC), National School of Healthcare Science (NSHCS), or Academy for Healthcare Science (AHCS) Certificate of Equivalence, or equivalent non-UK organisation).	Application form/interview/Certificates
Previous Experience	Previous time in post as a Clinical or Biomedical, or Genomics Scientist	Good practical skills and experience in complex molecular techniques.	Application form/interview/References
Special Skills & Knowledge	Experience of writing clinical diagnostic reports requiring clinical knowledge and clinical interpretation of results. Ability to analyse problems and evaluate solutions. Ability to gather and assimilate information i.e., literature searches, use of internet and relevant clinical databases. Computer literacy is essential. Ability to communicate complex information in both verbal and written formats. Project management skills (for example implementing a new service, planning a research project).	Experience and knowledge of the specialist theory and practice of external quality assessment (EQA) required for provision of a comprehensive EQA service. Experience of Next Generation genomic diagnostic technologies. Experience of Audit, Appraisal and Risk Management. Written and spoken knowledge of another language (e.g., French, German, Spanish, Italian). Ability to organise the training and work of others.	Application form/interview/References
Key Personal Attributes	Developed interpersonal skills to enable adequate communication (both written and verbal), with a range of clinical and non-clinical colleagues. Ability to work flexibly within a team but also with minimal supervision. Proven self-motivation and ability to work under pressure.	Ability to lead a team (which may be composed of members from different countries) and to work flexibly either as a team member or to be self-motivated, as appropriate. Ability to direct and motivate staff / senior colleagues in own and other institutions and countries (e.g., when leading EQA projects). Willingness to travel (as the role requires some international travel).	Interview/References

EMQN CIC reserves the right to close this post once enough applications have been submitted. To apply for this post please complete our online application form at https://www.emqn.org/joining-emqn/working-for-emqn/

Closing date for applications 5th May 2023.

Interview type / date: Face-to-face, May 2023

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