Deputy Operations Lead Bioinformatics

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

At Synnovis, we are currently shaping the future of pathology services by creating a world-leading Hub and Spoke pathology network with our NHS partners. A large part of this modernisation will involve moving 70% of our services to a purpose built, state of the art Hub laboratory in the heart of London. For now, the job you are applying for will be based at one of our hospital sites however, from 1 April 2024 our people and services will start to move to our Hub laboratory in Blackfriars, Southwark, SE1, with some work remaining in refurbished essential services laboratories across our hospital network, focusing on the rapid turnover of urgent tests. Please do ask your recruiting manager if you wish to find out more.

Duties and Responsibilities

Organisational

·       Support the development of the Synnovis bioinformatics service to meet operational objectives in agreement with KPIs set by NHS England and on occasion by Synnovis.

·       Day-to-day management of direct reports, including appraisals, and ensuring the bioinformatics team acts as a single functioning unit.

·       Provide support and guidance to staff delivering projects where required

·       Be proactive and ensure the service responds to the needs of the laboratory teams and implements the latest technology to enable service improvement

·       Recognise priorities and leverage the skills and ambitions of bioinformaticians to deliver an effective bioinformatics service.

·       Participate in the recruitment of new staff together with the operational leadership team.

·       Maintain and promote the professional image of Synnovis

·       Participate in and contribute to clinical, departmental and team meetings and journal clubs.

·       Attend conferences and provide feedback to the relevant work streams.

·       Participate in laboratory and clinical audits by collecting and providing the necessary information.

·       Adhere to laboratory and department Health and Safety regulations and Codes of Practice.

·       To observe the rules, policies, procedures and standards of Synnovis and host Trust sites, together with all relevant statutory and professional obligations.

·       To observe and maintain strict confidentiality of personal information relating to patients and staff.

Scientific

·       Undertake continuous professional development to acquire core competencies and necessary performance as a bioinformatician and maintain the required standards of competence.

·       Maintain registration with the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) and improve scientific expertise via continuing professional development (CPD).

·       Keep up-to-date with the latest advances in bioinformatics, genomics and supporting technologies through literature research and participate at regional and national meetings.

·       Develop and maintain clinical software for delivery of diagnostic services.

·       Work with other clinical scientists to support the development, validation and implementation of new/updated diagnostic tests.

·       Communicate complex methods and data to non-bioinformatician users and promote bioinformatics education within Synnovis.

·       Engage in collaborative research to stimulate innovation in clinical services as required and participate in scientific publications where possible.

·       Provide bioinformatics expertise to the bioinformatics group and the department.

·       Provide training to staff and visitors including planning of training programmes

Laboratory Informatics

·       Perform duty-bioinformatician role using service management software to respond to user requests.

·       Lead the planning, development and manufacture of bioinformatics tools, pipelines and processes to a standard that meets best practice guidelines and provides the quality and accuracy required for diagnostic applications.

·       Be familiar with modern software for the processing of NGS data that is in use at Synnovis and the partner laboratories within the GLH.

·       Be responsible for the timely processing and reporting of genetic data processed by systems and applications of the bioinformatics group, and respect turnaround times.

·       Assist in the timely replacement of end-of-life software.

·       Consult with the GLH Bioinformatics lead, Bioinformatics Operations Lead, informatics providers and internal resources in the provision of new informatics applications and services.

Quality & Clinical Governance

·       Adhere to and as part of continuous improvement, propose changes to SOPs and policies.

·       Participate in internal audit and external quality control programmes (EQA) in accordance with the department’s quality policy.

·       Be compliant with the ISO15189 standard and contribute to ensuring continuous accreditation of the bioinformatics service by UKAS.

·       Abide by all statutory requirements, codes of practice, safety regulations and operational policies of the department

·       Be aware of clinical risk guidelines associated with bioinformatics data processing and support their adoption throughout the service

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Resource Management

·       Manage workload by identifying resource constraints and operational priorities.

·       Use departmental resources efficiently and help planning replacement of hardware and software when they become unfit for purpose.

·       Together with operational leads, help develop effective strategies for sustainable use of resources while providing a reliable bioinformatics service that scales with changing requirements.

·       Co-ordinate workloads within the laboratory and allocate resources to ensure a continuous service.

Communication

·       Provide and receive information to and from work colleagues or users of the service including explanation of genomics results.

·       Ensure timely notification of senior leadership of bioinformatics issues that impact genomic services beyond the scope of the bioinformatics group. This includes notification of discovered clinical risks which could impact affect accreditation or certification of Synnovis genomics services.

·       Communicate service issues to the respective operational leads in a timely manner.

·       Ensure clear and safe communication of complex, sensitive or contentious information with specialist partner laboratories, organisations and external service providers.

·       Present achievements and innovation of the bioinformatics group at national meetings and workshops where possible and appropriate.

·       Have a close working relationship with technical and scientific staff and offer guidance and direction where appropriate.

·       Clearly communicate targets within the bioinformatics team and ensure that agreed working schedules and deadlines are met.

Technical

·       Follow appropriate best practice guidelines relating to any development of the bioinformatics services or software.

·       Follow best practices in modern software development, including code review, version control, pair programming and active stakeholder participation.

·       Develop and deploy software that is cloud-ready (containerised).

·       Support the delivery of an analytics service that follows standard operations procedures and in line with health and safety regulations and best practices.

·       Contribute to the development of bioinformatics pipelines for the analysis of Next-Generation Sequencing data, for diagnostics and research.

·       Undertake technical validation of results from bioinformatics processes to ensure accuracy and precision required for a clinical service.

·       Lead the writing, review and revision of appropriate Standard Operations Procedures (SOP) for the use of bioinformatics systems and workflows.

·       Participate in the construction of local bioinformatics policies.

·       Measure and monitor accuracy if bioinformatics analysis with appropriate quality control procedures, such as trend monitoring.

·       Suggest and initiate corrective actions upon detection a loss of performance of the bioinformatics service.

·       Perform first line support and troubleshooting as required to ensure a continuous bioinformatics service.

·       Provide technical and analytical expertise in bioinformatics to diagnostic and scientific services Synnovis and the GLH as required.

Management and Performance

·       Be responsible for their own personal development and contribute to the development of colleagues.

·       Maintain good working relations with all members of staff, and promote effective teamwork.

·       Promote and cultivate a good work environment for every member of the bioinformatics team and ensure overall team wellbeing and good morale.

·       Support a culture of zero-tolerance for bullying and harassment.

·       Identify talent, help retain and attract new talent for the bioinformatics team.

·       Identify and help fill any vacancies that arise within the team in line Synnovis’s recruitment policy. 

Training Lead specific role

·       Coordinate STP and pre-registration training in bioinformatics

·       Act as training officer, and assign other training officers in the team, ensuring all staff delivering training have the relevant skills and experience.

·       Plan and provide bioinformatics training to staff and visitors including planning of training programmes as required

·       Ensure the bioinformatics team develop the appropriate skills to be able to continue to support the bioinformatic service

·       Work with the GLH training team to plan and deliver bioinformatics training across the GLH

Data Lead specific role

·       Guide the implementation of genetic and non-genetic databases that support the diagnostic service and support service development and innovation efforts.

·       Assist in reaching compliance with national clinical risk management standards in the manufacture and maintenance of clinical software.

·       Have a thorough understanding of the laboratory LIMS, and guide/educate other bioinformaticians in applying changes that are requested by scientific and clinical staff.

·       Ensure integrity of all data stored or transferred by the bioinformatics team and ensure data security.

·       Participate and assist the collection of activity data and other business intelligence requirements.

·       Design, implement and maintain resilient storage and database systems for bioinformatics data and provide access as required.

Translational Lead specific role

·       Working with the GLH lead, be a point of contact for new developments and manage the delivery of new bioinformatic developments

·       Lead the development of new and updated tests and services

·       Undertake testing and evaluation of new bioinformatics software that supports innovation efforts in the wider genetics service.

·       Evaluate and design new workflows that drive service improvement and/or clinical risk reduction.

·       Periodically review software in place and evaluate its fitness for purpose.

Synnovis is a pathology partnership between SYNLAB UK and Ireland, and the NHS, including sites, Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, to deliver and transform pathology services across South East London.

The partnership provides services to 1.7 million people living in South East London, as well as to hundreds of thousands of patients from outside the region who use local healthcare services.

The partnership provides diagnostics, testing and digital pathology for hospital trusts, GP services and other healthcare providers.

Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital Foundation Trust is a major emergency and specialist teaching Trust which has all the specialties associated with a fascinating and career defining case load including: Women’s Services, Fetal Medicine, Haematology, Oncology, Transplantation, and is also home to the Evelina Children’s Hospital and the Cancer Centre on the Guy’s site.

You will be close to the vibrant Borough Market and the South Bank, which are exceptional London locations; perfect places to work and relax next to such iconic venues as Big Ben, The London Eye and The Shard!

King’s College Hospital Foundation Trust is one of the UK’s leading NHS Foundation Trusts in specialist teaching. King’s has various divisions including Neurosciences, Haematology, Cancer and Cardiovascular sciences, where there are unlimited opportunities to develop and perfect your career.

Over the last 170 years, King’s has delivered nothing but world class service to all its patients from deprived communities as well as some of the wealthiest in London.