Band 5 Biomedical Scientist - Microbiology

Job summary

This is an exciting opportunity for you to join University Hospitals Birmingham, one of the largest teaching hospitals in England with state-of-the-art facilities and employing over 20,000 colleagues across 4 sites (Queen Elizabeth, Heartlands, Solihull and Good Hope Hospitals).

We are looking to appoint an enthusiastic candidate with experience in Microbiology, who must be HCPC registered as a Biomedical Scientist.

This role is based at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital with off-site work at our satellite laboratory at the Whittall Street Clinic, but there may be future requirement to work across all sites that are part of University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.

Microbiology is part of the Clinical Pathology department, providing a patient focused quality service that is committed to the trust values.

The Microbiology department provides a dynamic 24/7 service, that actively promotes innovation and service development. We are committed to staff health and well-being, training and development, enabling and equipping staff with the tools to embark on an exciting and fulfilling career in Biomedical Science.

You will be part of a UKAS accredited service, made up of a specialist and experienced team of 70+ staff, all working towards a common goal.

Main duties of the job

The candidate will be expected to have a good understanding of areas within Microbiology and Virology. They will be required to work with other Biomedical scientists, to train and motivate their peers and junior staff, whilst they rotate around the laboratory, under the supervision of senior Biomedical scientists. We are looking for people who work well within a team and have a patient focused attitude with quality in mind.

In providing a 24/7 health service, there is requirement for working at weekends and on statutory and public holidays, in addition the participation of overnight shift, as well as late shifts would be necessary.

Main Duties

-To safely handle, use and dispose of biological samples including blood, urine, faeces, CSF and semen, body tissues and other body fluids/samples and hazardous and/or radioactive chemicals. Be aware these samples can isolate hazard group 2 and 3 organisms.

To maintain compliance with good laboratory practice, quality assurance procedures in accordance with the standards of UKAS ISO 15189: 2022

To ensure that all results are reported within the agreed turnaround time and report any non-compliance to Duty Senior

To be familiar with and ensure compliance to national, Trust and departmental Health and Safety policies e.g. Risk assessments and COSHH assessments

Be proficient in automated instrumentation, e.g. WaspLab, Vitek2, MaldiTOF MS, BacTAlert Blood culture, DS2, Panther/Fusion, Alinity M, GeneXpert.

Maintenance and problem solving will be crucial

About us

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust strives to have an inclusive culture where everyone feels like they belong, can thrive, knows that they add value and feels valued. We do this by developing compassionate and culturally competent leaders, being values driven in all that we do and by creating a welcoming and inclusive workplace that thrives on the diversity of our people. As such we want to attract and recruit talented individuals from all backgrounds, and for each of you to feel supported for the diversity you bring, to achieve your full potential. For those staff with a disability, including physical disability, long term health condition, mental health or neurodiverse condition, this also means being committed to making reasonable adjustments needed for you to carry out your role.

Details

• Date posted: 07 September 2026
• Pay scheme: Agenda for change
• Band: Band 5
• Salary: £32,073 to £39,043 a year
• Contract: Permanent
• Working pattern: Full-time, Flexible working
• Reference number: 304-1103312
• Job locations: Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Mindelsohn Way, Birmingham, West Midlands, B15 2TH, United Kingdom

Job responsibilities

*Please Note : For a detailed job description for this vacancy, please see attached Job Description*

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).