Employer heading
Advanced Embryologist/Clinical Embryologist
Band 6 or Band 7
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, we’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 an Advanced Embryologist (Band 7) to join our team at Newcastle Fertility Centre on a fixed term basis to cover maternity leave for 12 months. Ideally the successful candidate will be registered as a Clinical Scientist with the HCPC. Candidates that are not registered will be considered and will be appointed to Band 6.
Newcastle Fertility Centre is a well-established unit offering a full range of laboratory diagnostic and assisted conception techniques including IVF, ICSI, PGT-M, PNT, surgical sperm retrieval, and cryopreservation of gametes and embryos. We also have active oocyte, embryo and sperm donation programs. The clinical laboratory is a state of the art facility incorporating isolator equipment to create a unique environment for gamete/embryo manipulations.
The post is fixed term for 12 months and the successful candidate if appointed to Band 7 will be required to participate in weekend and on call work on a rotational basis. If the successful candidate is not registered and appointed to Band 6 they will be required to participate in weekend work on a rotational basis.
- Interview Date Thursday 08 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
NO AGENCIES PLEASE
Main duties of the job
The post holder will contribute to all aspects of the clinical laboratory treatments and undertake an active role in the clinical management of patients.
The successful candidate will have excellent interpersonal skills required to interact effectively within a multi-disciplinary team. They will also possess the skills to communicate complex and sometimes unwelcome information.
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.
With around 2 million contacts with patients every year, we deliver care from:
- Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI)
- Freeman Hospital
- Newcastle Dental Hospital
- Cramlington Manor Walks
- Urgent treatment centres
- 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’.
For further information on The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust please visit: Careers | Newcastle Hospitals | NHS | Newcastle Hospitals and Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities
Band 6
- To apply scientific knowledge, specialist skills and expertise to deliver a range of assisted conception and diagnostic services in the Northern Region’s largest tertiary referral centre.
- To contribute to laboratory functions including quality assurance, auditing, ordering and acquisition of equipment and stock, data input and record keeping. Taking responsibility for specific functions as required.
- To communicate scientific information to patients regarding their treatment.
- To communicate scientific information and provide advice to nursing, clinical and research colleagues regarding individual treatment cycles.
- To contribute to ongoing departmental research projects, and assist with the development of future departmental research.
- To provide training and guidance to less experienced staff in laboratory processes.
- To apply and update skills and experience in order to contribute to the provision and optimisation of clinical services.
Band 7
- To contribute to all aspects of the clinical laboratory treatments and assist with diagnostic andrology procedures as required.
- To have an active role in the clinical management of patients.
- To analyse and optimise laboratory processes.
- To be responsible for managing specific elements of the clinical service, encompassing one or more of the following areas:
- Embryo cryopreservation service
- Micromanipulation service
- Clinical laboratory and HFEA audit
- Male infertility service
- Laboratory quality management
- To rotate their areas of management responsibility depending on the needs of the laboratory service.
- To be responsible for optimising processes, directing future developments and informing on policy decisions within their area of management responsibility, ensuring compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements
- To collate and present laboratory data, audit and research findings at in-house and at relevant professional and scientific meetings and to regulatory bodies.
- To contribute to ongoing departmental research projects and take a lead role in the development of future departmental research.
- To line manage and train junior staff working in their section.
- To apply and update skills and experience in order to contribute to the provision and optimisation of clinical services.
Person specification
Meets All Band 6 Criteria
Essential criteria
- Degree in a relevant scientific discipline
- Post Graduate qualification in a relevant scientific discipline
- Specialist embryology skills
- Previous experience in clinical embryology
Desirable criteria
- Diagnostic semen analyses
- Computing / spreadsheet application
- ICSI practitioner
- Development and implementation of novel procedures
- Research including peer reviewed publications
Meets All Band 7 Criteria
Essential criteria
- MSc in relevant scientific discipline or equivalent experience
- State registered with the HCPC as a Clinical Scientist
- Knowledge of relevant legislation
- Advanced knowledge of reproductive biology
- ICSI practitioner
- Experience in clinical embryology
- Evidence of CPD
- Excellent communication skills
- Ability to apply troubleshooting to the development of novel techniques
- Specialist embryology skills including o ICSI o Diagnostic andrology procedures
- Strong interpersonal skills
- Strong leadership and motivational skills
Desirable criteria
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
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.
Documents to download
- JD & PS Band 6 (PDF, 242.9KB)
- JD & PS Band 7 (PDF, 241.7KB)
- Newcastle Staff Benefits (PDF, 274.4KB)
- Behaviour and Civility Charter (PDF, 93.8KB)
Apply online now
Further details / informal visits contact
Name Louise Hyslop Job title Consultant Embryologist Email address Louise.hyslop@nhs.net Telephone number 01912138213
