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Job overview
A vacancy has arisen within the Radiotherapy Physics service at the Royal Free Hospital site for a Band 8A Radiotherapy Physicist. The successful candidate should ideally be an MPE however applicants in the process of applying or about to apply for certification will be considered and supported. The applicant is required to participate in all the routine support for the radiotherapy physics service, however they may subsequently be required to oversee and maintain a specific part of the physics service
Main duties of the job
The Radiotherapy Physics Service at the Royal Free Hospital is responsible for providing clinical, technical and scientific support to the Radiotherapy Department at the Royal Free Hospital. The Service is a multi-disciplinary team consisting of Clinical Scientists, Therapy Radiographers and Clinical Technologist. The Clinical Scientists are responsible for the scientific aspects of this patient critical service, including patient radiotherapy treatment planning and checking, advising clinical staff on the physics of radiotherapy, measuring patient doses, implanting radioactive sources, ensuring that equipment is operating safely and effectively, calibrating therapeutic equipment, ensuring the safety of patients and staff in a hazardous environment that includes exposure to high levels of ionising radiation, selecting, procuring and acceptance testing of equipment, introducing new techniques, applied research and development and teaching.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see attached Job Description for more information about this role and working at royal free London NHS foundation Trust
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.
Person specification
Skills
Essential
- Able to prioritise and manage own workload with effective time management skills. Flexible, able to adjust commitments when required and work to tight deadlines (checking complex treatment plans to a tight deadline for example).
- Able to deal with complex and unpredictable situations (providing advice during equipment failure for example).
- Analytical problem solving ability, able to resolve complex issues and situations that are often unpredictable and do not fit a standard pattern.
Desirable
- Able to project manage effectively, setting quality standards, timescales, performance targets and goals, monitoring progress, checking results, providing support to other team members when required and writing reports.
- Ability to teach and train others, including other staff groups, on highly specialist subjects.
- Able to perform independent applied research and development.
- Able to prepare and present scientific papers at local, national and international meetings and conferences.
- Able to develop systems and write software and scripts (Python for example) relevant to radiotherapy computer systems
Experience
Essential
- Highly developed specialist theoretical and practical knowledge of radiation dosimetry, treatment unit technology, treatment planning systems, and computer systems in radiotherapy, sufficient to act as a Medical Physics Expert in these areas
- Specialist training and practical experience of a wide range of radiotherapy equipment and computing equipment, including linear accelerators, treatment planning systems and dosimetry equipment
- Advanced knowledge of patient and machine dosimetry and quality assurance in radiotherapy
- Highly developed knowledge of clinical issues and their implications for radiotherapy physics practice
- Broad understanding of patient and staff risks arising from equipment failure and staff error.
- High level of understanding of patient and staff risks arising from treatment planning computer system errors, equipment failure, treatment errors and incorrect dosimetry
- Broad knowledge of clinical procedures and practices in radiotherapy.
- In depth knowledge of relevant legislation, national standards, professional and other guidelines, quality systems, local rules and safety practices (for example ISO 9001 2000, Health and Safety, COSHH).
- Understanding of hazards posed by, and precautions needed with: ionising radiation, non -ionising radiation and electrical hazards .
Desirable
- Broad knowledge of applied radiation physics and associated areas within medical physics
- Relevant clinical experience in radiotherapy physics post registration.
Royal Free World Class Values
Essential
- Demonstrable ability to meet the Trust Values
Personal Qualities & Attributes
Essential
- Able to communicate highly complex information to other healthcare professionals and equipment manufacturers
- Able to exercise own initiative when dealing with issues within own specialist area of competence.
- High degree of physical accuracy and dexterity, for making precision measurements and equipment adjustments.
- Ability to motivate a wide cross-section of healthcare professionals and lead a team approach to work.
- Able to maintain frequent periods of prolonged concentration, with often unpredictable work patterns (when collecting or analysing beam data and providing clinical advice for example).
- Able to deal with occasional distressing circumstances when (working with terminally ill patients for example).
Education & professional Qualifications
Essential
- Honours first degree (1st or 2nd) in physics or containing a major physics component.
- Relevant MSc or higher degree or equivalent level of knowledge.
- HCPC registration as a Clinical Scientist.
- Certified Medical Physics Expert on national register or application in progress
Desirable
- Corporate Membership of IPEM (MIPEM) or eligible for membership
- Chartered scientist (CSci) or eligible for the award.
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Applying for this NHS job
This advert is for Band 8a Principal Radiotherapy Physicist with Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust in Royal Free Hospital. It is listed as a Band 8 Health science services role. The advertised salary is £66,274 - £73,496 per annum inclusive of HCAS. The contract type is Permanent. The application deadline is 08 Sep 2026.
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