Assistant Healthcare Scientist

Transformationunitgm; Ashford, Canterbury; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare organization in Ashford is seeking an Assistant Healthcare Scientist in Haematology. The role involves assisting Biomedical Scientists with biological samples, data entry, and general laboratory maintenance. Ideal candidates will have a good educational background in science and excellent teamwork skills. This permanent, full-time position offers flexible working hours, with a salary of £24,465 per annum, and requires applicants to cover shifts, including weekends. Join a healthcare team committed to improving services for the local population.

Benefits

Flexible working options

Supportive team environment

Opportunities for career development

Qualifications

• Educational background in science-related subjects required.
• Previous laboratory experience is preferred but not mandatory.
• Strong communication skills are essential.

Responsibilities

• Support Biomedical Scientists in preparing and examining biological samples.
• Data entry, specimen reception, reagent preparation, and stock control.
• Maintain laboratory equipment and ensure compliance with quality standards.

Skills

Good keyboard skills

Attention to detail

Ability to work in a team

Willingness to learn

Good literacy and numeracy

Education

GCSE in Mathematics, English and Science or equivalent

Job description

Main area Haematology Grade Band 2 Contract Permanent Hours

• Full time
• Flexible working

37.5 hours per week (To cover core laboratory hours 8am to 10pm, including weekends and bank holidays.) Job ref 344-3553DCB

Employer East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site William Harvey Hospital Town Ashford Salary £24,465 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 04/01/2026 23:59

Assistant Healthcare Scientist

Band 2

Job overview

We are looking for applicants to work as an Assistant Healthcare Scientist within Pathology in East Kent Hospital University Foundation Trust. There is a position available at William Harvey in Haematology and Blood Transfusion and a position in Blood Sciences at Kent and Canterbury Hospital.

We currently hold UKAS Accreditation, an HTA Licence and are an IBMS training laboratory.

Before applying, we encourage you to review the Trust’s vision, mission and values, which can be found in our candidate information pack. The Supporting Information Section in your application should therefore reflect your understanding of the Trust’s Values and associated Behaviours. You will be expected to provide us with examples from work experience and/or personal life which demonstrate these values through your behaviour.

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Pathology team at the Trust and to help shape future strategy and services for our local population.

The laboratory is open 24/7/365 with core hours covering 8am to 10pm. We are looking for applicants to cover a range of shifts including weekend and bank holidays (no night working).

Main duties of the job

The role is based within Haematology, Blood Transfusion and Biochemistry to support Biomedical Scientists in the preparation and examination of biological samples; you could be asked to support other areas of Blood Sciences including sample reception after appropriate training as the needs of the service demand.

The post holder will possess good keyboard skills, a high level of accuracy, and must be a good team player with a flexible approach to working. The ideal candidate would have some laboratory experience or an aptitude for science. They should be highly motivated and an enthusiastic individual educated to at least GCSE level or equivalent. A keen eye for detail is required.

Duties include data entry, specimen reception, reagent preparation, general maintenance and stock control.

Working for our organisation

We are one of the largest hospital trusts in England, with five hospitals and community clinics serving a local population of around 695,000 people. Our vision is 'great healthcare from great people'. Everything we do is guided by our values: ‘People feel cared for, safe, respected and confident that we are making a difference’.

We have a new way of working at East Kent Hospitals, called ‘We care’. It’s about empowering frontline staff to lead improvements day-to-day. We’re looking for compassionate people to be part of our improvement journey for the patients, families and carers we care for every day.

Please note that if you require a Certificate of Sponsorship to work in the UK you must declare this on your application form, even if you currently have a certificate of sponsorship or a work permit for another role and are already working in the country. Please note we are only able to sponsor candidates on a Skilled Worker Visa applying for roles Band 5 and above.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please scroll down to access the full Job Description and Person Specification located in ‘Documents to download’.

Person specification

Qualifications

• A good standard of education in Mathematics, English and Science GCSE or equivalent

Personal / Professional attributes

• Demonstrates ability to provide and receive routine information, which may sometimes be sensitive or complex.
• Understands and practices the principles of confidentiality.
• Able to minimise interpersonal conflict
• Provides and receives information which requires tact and persuasive skills and where there are barriers to communication.
• Be self‑motivated and work hard towards objectives.
• Some knowledge of Biology and/or General Science

Clinical skills and Experience

• Good literacy and numeracy
• Ability to multi‑task
• Ability to work as part of a team and develop effective relationships but also able to work on own initiative as well as part of a team
• Ability to achieve set targets within a specified timeframe

Filmed in William Harvey and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother hospitals, the ‘We are the NHS’ campaign highlights the extraordinary work that staff across EKHUFT do every single day. As one of the largest hospital trusts in England, with five hospitals and community clinics serving a population of over one million people, EKHUFT was perfectly placed to demonstrate the care, cutting‑edge treatments, research, innovations and life‑saving operations that the campaign needed.

There are lots of great opportunities at East Kent Hospitals, where staff are caring and put patients first, innovation flourishes and you can develop your career. We’re on an exciting journey of transformation. With a new Medical School at the centre of our community, a focus on research and clinical leadership, there’s never been a better time to join us.

We’ll close this job advert once we’ve received sufficient applications, which may be before the closing date. Applications are accepted online only; if you need help please contact our Resourcing Team on 01227 866450.

We have a relocation policy for eligible candidates, parking is available at Trust sites but we encourage other options such as car‑sharing or public transport.

The Trust is committed to supporting flexible working to fulfil our pledge as part of The Trust’s People Strategy to help staff achieve a healthy work/life balance. Please speak with your Recruiting Manager for further information on how this can be managed alongside department expectations and requirements.

The ability to converse easily and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for all customer‑facing roles.

Most positions require a Disclosure and Barring check and will be exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Posts working regularly or unsupervised with children or vulnerable adults require an enhanced check.

Applicants for eligible roles requiring Tier 2 sponsorship must meet UK Visas and Immigration eligibility criteria.

We operate a no‑smoking policy on all our sites and grounds.

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.

Name Roese Pinnick
Job title Chief Biomedical Scientist – Haematology
Email [e-mail]
Telephone number 07824824383