Job responsibilities

Please see the attached Applicant Information Pack (combined Job Description and Person Specification) for key duties and responsibilities.

This vacancy will close at midnight on 15th November2026

Interviews are due to be held on 26th November 2026

All appointments with a start date on or after 1 October 2026 will be subject to a 12-week probationary period. This provides a structured and supportive period to help you settle into your role, with regular reviews and feedback.

As there is a 12-week probationary period, successful candidates are expected to have the Right to Work for a period of at least 6 months from the proposed start date. Immigration and Right to Work status will be discussed with successful candidates at conditional offer. CUH will not offer sponsorship to candidates that have applied for a fee waiver.

Benefits to you

At Cambridge University Hospitals, we want to do all we can to support good working days. We offer development opportunities and a wide range of benefits, including on-site leisure facilities, shopping concourse and day nurseries. Our good work programme currently includes providing reduced cost Stagecoach bus travel to and from Cambridge University Hospital site. Park and Ride bus journeys between Babraham Road and Trumpington sites are free, as is the route to and from Cambridge train station and our hospitals. We also subsidise the cost of parking on site for eligible staff.

On CUH campus, hot food is available 24/7 and at a reduced cost for colleagues. Recently we launched the first of our staff pod break spaces. Located in the Deakin Centre, we have a purpose-created colleague-only caf, with free tea and coffee, a break space and private outside area for colleagues to rest, refuel and recharge. Just one of the ways we are working hard to support good working days at CUH.

CUH is committed to assisting employees in achieving a good work-life balance irrespective of role or personal circumstances. Flexible arrangements may include, but are not limited to, part-time working, job-share, term-time working and flexible start and finish times.

Please note if you would like to discuss the required hours of this role further, you should approach the contact given. In some cases, alternative working hours will be considered.

We welcome applications from the Armed Forces.

Qualifications

Essential

• Science degree or equivalent qualification
• Evidence of Continuing Professional Development

Desirable

• Postgraduate qualification in a biological science

Experience

Essential

• Experience in laboratory work involving human biological samples
• Record of developing and implementing quality management systems and processes
• Working within a multi-disciplinary team
• Liaison with external agencies to plan and/or negotiate workload
• Experience of working autonomously within guidelines and deadlines
• Experience of prioritising, planning and organising own tasks
• Experience of working in the NHS or other similar biological or scientific discipline

Desirable

• Experience of working in a cancer related field
• Experience of sample storage management
• Experience of working in clinical trials environment
• Experience of working to Standard Operating Procedures
• Project management
• Experience of working in a patient facing role

Knowledge

Essential

• Safe use and maintenance of laboratory equipment e.g. centrifuges, automatic pipettes and -80C freezers
• Use of Microsoft Word, Outlook, Excel & Powerpoint
• Awareness of Data Protection Act and Data Confidentiality
• Able to contribute to assessing and suggesting changes to laboratory operating procedures
• Knowledge of medical terminology
• Sound understanding of ethical and quality standards applicable to clinical trials, including Good Clinical Practice and EU directive

Desirable

• Knowledge of UK Human Tissue biobanking legislation and guidelines
• Awareness of the requirements of Good Clinical Practice and Good Clinical Laboratory Practice

Skills

Essential

• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• Excellent negotiation skills
• Well organised with ability to multi-task and able to plan and prioritise own workload
• Accuracy in practical laboratory operations, numeracy and adherence to Standard Operating Procedures
• Ability to work autonomously and as part of a team
• Ability to demonstrate a flexible approach to respond to the needs of the service
• Willingness to undertake further training to extend skill set
• Ability to concentrate for prolonged periods of time
• Well-developed physical skills, especially in the manipulation of pipettes and other laboratory equipment
• Demonstrable ability to be adept and precise when handling samples
• Able to organise, train and delegate to less qualified or less experienced colleagues.
• Ability to pay attention to detail with a high standard of accuracy and work to good documentation principles

Desirable

• Phlebotomy skills
• Prior knowledge of EPIC
• Ability to use snap-freezing processes in handling of tissue samples.

Additional Requirements

Essential

• The ability to understand and behave at all times, towards patients, visitors and colleagues according to the Trust values of safe, kind, excellent.
• Able to attend patient biopsy procedures
• Commitment to high quality care, putting the patient first in everything that we do, integrating clinical research with service provision
• Ability to work with minimal supervision
• Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines where there are competing demands
• Has an awareness of the cancer treatment journey of a patient, and has a patient centred approach to the handling of biological samples.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

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).