Head of MRI Physics Consultant Clinical Scientist

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Job overview

UCLH is a leading healthcare provider committed to delivering world-class patient care, research, and education. We are seeking a highly skilled, experienced and motivated scientist to lead, manage and develop our MRI Physics team within the Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering at UCLH.

This role presents a fantastic opportunity at a time when MRI provision at UCLH is increasing with an additional 3 scanners in the new development at Bedford Passage. You will lead a team that is also expanding with an additional 2 new staff to make a total of 5 MRI scientists.

As the Head of MRI Physics, you will bring energy and passion as you provide strategic leadership and management to the MRI Physics Section. You will oversee the delivery of essential clinical support services, drive innovation and research, and collaborate with key stakeholders to advance the scope and breadth of the MRI service.

You will have a strong academic background, significant experience in clinical MRI physics, and be able to act as an MRI Safety Expert. You will have proven leadership and management skills, a strong understanding of healthcare regulations and standards, excellent communication and interpersonal skills and the ability to collaborate effectively with diverse teams.

Main duties of the job

You will work closely with the Head of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, with the Senior Management Team within Medical Physics and with senior leaders of clinical and research services across the Trust, developing strong and productive working relationships focussed on delivering and implementing strategic plans that align with the Trust's objectives.

You will act as the lead MR Safety Expert for University College Hospital, UCLH at Grafton Way, UCLH at Westmoreland Street, RNENTED, Macmillan Cancer Centre and the new development at Bedford Passage. Similar roles apply to work carried out for Trust customers.

Your team have significant commitments to support MRI clinical services in and related to Radiology, Neonatology, Fetal Medicine, Proton Beam Therapy and Nuclear Medicine. You will be accountable for the performance of your team and for business planning to manage the quality, risks, resources and expectations of the service users. You will ensure your team effectively and efficiently manage programmes of work in the areas of innovation and translational clinical research.

Working for our organisation

University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) is one of the most complex NHS trusts in the UK, serving a large and diverse population. We provide academically led acute and specialist services, to people from the local area, from throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. Our vision is to deliver top-quality patient care, excellent education, and world-class research.

We provide first-class acute and specialist services across eight sites:

• University College Hospital (incorporating the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Wing)

• National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery

• Royal National ENT and Eastman Dental Hospitals

• University College Hospital Grafton Way Building

• Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine

• University College Hospital Macmillan Cancer Centre

• The Hospital for Tropical Diseases

• University College Hospital at Westmoreland Street

We are dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of many complex illnesses. UCLH specialises in women's health and the treatment of cancer, infection, neurological, gastrointestinal and oral disease. It has world class support services including critical care, imaging, nuclear medicine and pathology.

We are committed to sustainability and have pledged to become a carbon net zero health service, embedding sustainable practice throughout UCLH. We have set an ambitious target of net zero for our direct emissions by 2031 and indirect emissions by 2040

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For the full Person Specification and more information regarding the main responsibilities of this role, please refer to the attached Job Description.

Come and be a part of the best NHS trust in England to work for, according to our staff*

UCLH top trust to work at in England - for the second year running! : University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

*In the most recent NHS staff survey UCLH had the highest percentage of staff who said they would recommend us as a place to work, out of all general acute or acute/community NHS trusts in England - for the second year in a row.

UCLH top trust to work at in England - for the second year running! University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Once again, UCLH has received the highest score of all general acute and acute/community NHS trusts in England for staff that would recommend us as a place to work.

To discover more about what makes UCLH a great place to work, visit: Why Choose UCLH?

Person specification

Knowledge and Qualifications

Essential criteria

• 1st or 2nd Honours degree in a Physical Science or equivalent
• Masters degree or equivalent experience
• State Registration as a Clinical Scientist with the HCPC
• PhD degree or equivalent research experience
• Professional Institute Membership
• IPEM certification as an MRSE, or able to apply for certification within a reasonable timeframe.

Scientific and technical

Essential criteria

• Specialist knowledge at the MR Safety Expert level to act as the Lead MRSE.
• Advanced theoretical and technical knowledge in MRI
• Knowledge of quality assurance of MRI equipment
• Knowledge and experience of clinical applications of MRI
• Understanding of relevant national standards, guidelines and legislations relevant to MRI including MHRA, IEC, CEMFAW, Caldicott, GDPR, COSHH and Health & Safety at Work Act
• Knowledge of DICOM standards and anonymization
• Knowledge of medical Device legislation
• Knowledge of NHS standards for Digital Risk Management

Clinical

Essential criteria

• Advanced knowledge of clinical practice and the role of MRI Physics
• Knowledge of relevant anatomy, physiology and pathology
• Good understanding of the hazards and risks of MRI in the clinical environment
• Knowledge and understanding of quality and risk management as they apply to MRI Physics

Management and Leadership

Essential criteria

• Knowledge of good people management practice including recruitment, performance and disciplinary policy.
• Understanding of quality and performance management and their application to MRI Physics

Desirable criteria

• Knowledge of appropriate standard and systems of financial accountability in a public sector organisation

Scientific and Technical

Essential criteria

• Experience of a scientific healthcare environment
• Experience of a variety of computing systems and application packages
• Experience of image acquisition with a clinical scanner
• Experience of image processing techniques
• Experience of quality assurance of clinical MRI equipment
• Experience in risk assessment and installation of MRI units
• Experience of at least one programming language used for research (eg python, matlab)

Management and Leadership

Essential criteria

• Experience of providing services in a healthcare environment
• Experience of supervision, training and/or management of scientists / trainees
• Experience of managing resources within a project
• Experience of supervising service development and research activities
• Experience of participating in committees / working groups involving scientific and technical information
• Experience of working with a Quality Management System

Desirable criteria

• Experience of MRI Pulse sequence programming

Scientific and Clinical

Essential criteria

• Ability to apply knowledge and experience in making judgements regarding the safe operation of clinical MRI equipment
• Ability to provide MRI safety advice in a clinical setting
• Ability to perform options appraisals based on a range of information and judgements
• Ability to provide advice on the use of clinical MRI equipment for patient diagnosis, management and treatment for routine care and when planning and implementing a research programme
• Skill at approaching scientific and technical problems in a logical manner
• Ability to initiate and self-manage Quality Improvement and translational Research projects
• Ability to introduce changes to improve the clinical service
• Ability to organise own workload
• Good computing skills including programming skills and using signal and image processing applications and knowledge of higher programming language (e.g. Matlab, Python etc.)
• Able to operate a range of clinical MRI systems
• Good data analysis skills

Communication

Essential criteria

• Good track record of disseminating scientific work through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations consistent with career stage
• Ability to produce clear and unambiguous reports and procedures which can be understood by staff and stakeholders from a variety of professions
• Ability to communicates complex information at postgraduate level to other professional groups
• Ability to communicate with patients in a relaxed, caring and professional manner
• Able to train groups of other professional staff
• Able to deliver teaching and training on complex subjects
• Ability to communicate with Trust management and convey technical information at an appropriate level
• Ability to create strong working relationships with other departments and external clients
• Ability to negotiate solutions to problems where conflicting views exist
• Able to deal with complex and unpredictable situations

Management and Leadership

Essential criteria

• Ability to manage and develop staff effectively and sympathetically, to lead a multi-disciplinary team and to prioritise effective management of the workload of others.
• Ability to motivate staff and inspire confidence
• Ability to manage change and introduce new technologies and working practices
• Ability to implement policies and procedures in own work and to advise on policy and procedure review, development and implementation in services provided by others
• Ability to assess impact of policy / procedure changes on safety and service provision.
• Ability to assess impact of policy / procedure changes on safety and service provision.
• Ability to take and articulate a strategic view of the Department's work
• Ability to articulate and report the status of assigned projects and systems
• Values: Evidence of self-motivation, initiative and enthusiasm

Specific personal Qualities

Essential criteria

• Able to exercise initiative to solve problems, under supervision, when dealing with issues within own specialist area of competence
• Able to prioritise and manage own time and workload under pressure
• Ability to act as a line manager and work as part of a team
• Great attention to detail
• Commitment to develop and communicate the contribution of MRI Physics to healthcare
• Ability to use computer software to gather, organise and process information
• Research and development track record
• Record of presenting work at scientific meetings
• Willing to work some unsocial hours
• Willing to work with biological analogues

At UCLH, we have a real 'One Team' ethos, and our values - safety, kindness, teamwork and improving, are central to the way we work. This is supported by our staff, who voted us as the #1 NHS Acute Trust to work for in the whole of England.

At UCLH we take equality of opportunity seriously and are committed to being a diverse and inclusive employer, with a culture that creates a real sense of belonging and trust. It is our fundamental aim, to recruit, retain and promote a diverse mix of people who are representative of our local communities. Applications are encouraged from candidates of all backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives to support our world class research, innovation and creativity.

UCLH recognises the benefits of flexible working for staff and has a dedicated policy which allows staff to apply for flexible working right from the beginning of employment. For more information please go to: https://www.uclh.nhs.uk/work-with-us/why-choose-uclh/flexible-working.

We offer our permanent staff an interest free season ticket loan for travel, all our staff have access to free independent and confidential support, large retail discounts, a staff discount platform, cycle to work scheme and on-site accommodation to name a few.

Additionally, UCLH Arts and Heritage's staff wellbeing programme, Creative Comfort, offers a variety of ways to engage with the arts as a member of UCLH staff. You can try out the weekly choir, weekly art club and join the Culture Club for exclusive access to free and discounted tickets for opera, exhibitions, theatre and more.

We recognise, reward and thank colleagues by nominating them for our annual Celebrating Excellence Awards, which are funded by UCLH Charity.

We are also members of www.mytrustbenefits.co.uk/ which offers discounts on high street retail stores, offers on travel deals, and also to take advantage of cash back schemes.

This vacancy may close before the current listed closing date. You are advised not to delay submitting your completed application.

Please note that all correspondence regarding your application will be via email. The emails will be sent to you via TRAC.jobs and not via NHS Jobs, we encourage you to check your inbox regularly.

Please note that if you are at present in a training position on the 2016 new junior doctor's contract and are applying for a Trust doctor role your salary will not be pay protected.

You will be placed on the appropriate point of the Trust Doctor pay scale based on your previous experience.

Please note that if you have not heard from us within 3 weeks of the closing date of the advert to assume that you have not been shortlisted on this occasion.

The Trust uses electronic new starter forms on Trac to collect personal details. Information collected is securely stored and used to set up the employee record on the ESR HR system.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

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 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Documents to download

• Job description (PDF, 664.3KB)
• Functional requirement (PDF, 262.3KB)
• UCLH Values (PDF, 860.9KB)