Department IT Lead

Transformationunitgm; Newcastle upon Tyne; On-site; GBP 31,000 - 38,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS healthcare provider in Newcastle upon Tyne is seeking an IT Lead for the Microbiology and Virology Department to coordinate IT systems and support departmental IT needs. The ideal candidate will have a BSc in a related field and substantial experience troubleshooting IT issues in healthcare settings. The role also involves ensuring compliance with the Trust's policies, with opportunities for flexible working. Competitive salary ranging from £31,049 to £37,796 per year is offered.

Qualifications

• Understanding of Integrated Laboratory Medicine's role in diagnosis and treatment.
• Experience in solving IT problems and implementing corrective actions.
• Knowledge of troubleshooting MS software and IT peripherals.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate and manage IT throughout the Integrated Laboratory Medicine Directorate.
• Work closely with the Trust IT Department for system issues.
• Ensure compliance with Trust’s IM&T Policy and Procedures.

Skills

Good interpersonal and communication skills

Ability to organise and manage projects

Ability to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team

Good keyboard and IT related skills

Analytical approach

Education

BSc in scientific or IT subject or equivalent relevant experience

Tools

MS Word

Excel

Access

Outlook

Laboratory Information Management Systems

Job description

Employer The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Freeman Hospital Town 317 01 Freeman Hospital Salary £31,049 - £37,796 pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 04/01/2026 23:59 Interview date 20/01/2026

Band 5

Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the busiest and largest NHS hospital trusts in the country. We have around 16,000 staff and an annual budget of £1.7 billion.

With strong history of providing high quality care, clinical excellence, research and innovation regionally, nationally and internationally, w e’re in the top five providers of specialised health services in the country.

As well as providing a wide range of hospital and community services, we support people with a range of rare and complex medical, surgical and neurological conditions, cancers and genetic orders.

We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and recognise the benefit in providing an inclusive environment. We value and respect the diversity of our employees and aim to recruit a workforce which reflects the communities we serve, and is equipped to deliver the best service to our patients. We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.

Newcastle Hospitals are proud to be one of the exemplar organisations across the NHS on sustainability, with a long history of delivering Sustainable Healthcare in Newcastle (Shine) and the first healthcare organisation in the world to declare a climate emergency. Our strategy includes commitments to being Net Zero by 2030, for our direct carbon footprint, and Net Zero by 2040 for our footprint plus. Delivering these ambitions will not be possible without the help, support and action of every single member of our team.

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a well-motivated, enthusiastic and suitably qualified IT Lead to work within our Microbiology and Virology Department. The successful candidate will support the Department by ensuring appropriate IT systems are available for use. They will work under the direction of the Integrated Laboratory Medicine IT Manager and the Microbiology and Virology Operational Site Managers.

• Interview date: Tuesday 20th January 2026
• 37 hours 30 minutes /week
• You will be redirected to Trac to apply for the vacancy. Please expand the job details section and read all of the information before applying for the vacancy.

Main duties of the job

• Coordinate, manage, maintain and implement information technology (IT) throughout the Directorate of Integrated Laboratory Medicine through a system of named individuals with responsibility for IT. The post-holder will be assigned a base Department but will be expected to provide cover for other Departments within the Directorate on occasions.
• Ensure all work is performed strictly in accordance with the Trust’s IM&T Policy and Procedures.
• Work closely with the Trust IT Department and the Directorate IT management team on such issues as APEX problem resolution, system development, linking systems between Trusts e.g. NPEX, Pathosys, telepathology, video conferencing, Order Communications and results reporting. The post holder will be expected to fulfil the Department’s IT input into these collaborative ventures.
• As part of the Directorate IT Team, maintain and develop close, collaborative working relationships with the Trust’s IM&T Department.
• Support the respective Laboratory Manager with Departmental Information Governance, including the Information Asset Register and IT Risk Assessment.
• Oversee the Directorate aspect of the IT Helpdesk to track IT service requests.
• May be required to provide out of hours support during IT downtime to meet service needs.
• Ensure the risk of infection to yourself, colleagues, patients, relatives and visitors is minimised by:
  • being familiar with, and adhering to Trust policies and guidance on infection prevention and control
  • attending Trust Induction Programme(s) and statutory education programmes in infection prevention and control
  • including infection prevention and control as an integral part of your continuous personal/professional development
  • taking personal responsibility so far as is reasonably practicable, in helping ensure that effective prevention and control of health care acquired infections is embedded into everyday practice and applied consistently by you and your colleagues

Working for our organisation

As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.

Our staff oversee over 6,500 patient contacts every day, delivering high standards of healthcare from the following sites:

• Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI)
• Health Innovation Neighbourhood (on the former Newcastle General Hospital and Centre for Ageing and Vitality site)
• Newcastle Dental Hospital
• Newcastle Fertility Centre
• Northern Centre for Cancer Care, North Cumbria
• Northern Genetics Service

These include a range of flagship services which deliver cutting-edge care (supported by state-of-the-art diagnostic services in both radiology and pathology) and are a catalyst for innovation to support pioneering clinical practice in the NHS.

We also have offices at Regent Point in Gosforth and community sites.

Please see attached information on what Staff Benefits we have to offer at our Trust under ‘Documents to download’ or ‘Supporting documents’.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Coordinate, manage, maintain and implement information technology (IT) throughout the Directorate of Integrated Laboratory Medicine through a system of named individuals with responsibility for IT. The post-holder will be assigned a base Department but will be expected to provide cover for other Departments within the Directorate on occasions.
• Ensure all work is performed strictly in accordance with the Trust’s IM&T Policy and Procedures.
• Work closely with the Trust IT Department and the Directorate IT management team on such issues as APEX problem resolution, system development, linking systems between Trusts e.g. NPEX, Pathosys, telepathology, video conferencing, Order Communications and results reporting. The post holder will be expected to fulfil the Department’s IT input into these collaborative ventures.
• As part of the Directorate IT Team, maintain and develop close, collaborative working relationships with the Trust’s IM&T Department.
• Support the respective Laboratory Manager with Departmental Information Governance, including the Information Asset Register and IT Risk Assessment.
• Oversee the Directorate aspect of the IT Helpdesk to track IT service requests.
• May be required to provide out of hours support during IT downtime to meet service needs.
• Ensure the risk of infection to yourself, colleagues, patients, relatives and visitors is minimised by:
  • being familiar with, and adhering to Trust policies and guidance on infection prevention and control
  • attending Trust Induction Programme(s) and statutory education programmes in infection prevention and control
  • including infection prevention and control as an integral part of your continuous personal/professional development
  • taking personal responsibility so far as is reasonably practicable, in helping ensure that effective prevention and control of health care acquired infections is embedded into everyday practice and applied consistently by you and your colleagues

Person specification

Qualifications & Education

• BSc in scientific or IT subject or equivalent relevant experience

Knowledge & Experience

• Understands the role of Integrated Laboratory Medicine in the diagnosis and treatment of disease and its place within the Trust and/or wider NHS
• Experience of solving IT related problems and implementing corrective actions
• Knowledge and experience of using and troubleshooting MS software (including MS Word, Excel, Access, Outlook etc) and other spreadsheets and databases
• Knowledge of and experience of installing and troubleshooting IT peripherals such as printers, bar code readers etc and the associated software e.g. printer drivers
• Experience in delivering training and communicating technical information to peers
• Experience in working with Laboratory Information Management Systems
• Understands the computing needs of a pathology department, and the IT issues involved.
• Experience of working with lab analyser software and middleware
• Knowledge of SQL or other database interrogation methods.
• Knowledge and experience of trouble shooting network problems
• Experience of working in an NHS pathology laboratory
• Understanding of Health and Safety legislation and safe working practices within medical Laboratories

Skills & Abilities

• Good interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to organise and manage projects and meet deadlines
• Ability to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team
• Good keyboard and IT related skills
• Analytical approach and the ability to make appropriate decisions

Important note on completion of reference section of Application Form

All references from current and previous employers will be sought and must cover a minimum of 3 years employment. Therefore, when completing the reference section of your application form, please give the address, telephone number and work email address of each of your current/previous line managers that cover 3 years employment. Failure to complete this section may result in your application not being processed.

Please note it is a requirement of The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust that all successful candidates who require a DBS for the post they have been offered pay for their DBS certificate. The method of payment is a salary deduction from your first month’s pay.

Candidates who are shortlisted for interview will be contacted by e‑mail. You should check your SPAM folders as well as your inbox. If you have not been contacted within 4 weeks of the closing date you should assume your application has been unsuccessful.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Name Kyle Rodda Job title Deputy Integrated Laboratory Medicine IT Manager Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 0191 2139519