Position Details
College of Medicine and Health, Clinical Immunology Services
Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK
Full time starting salary is normally in the range £25,977 to £27,506
Grade: 3
Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to July 2029
Closing date: 5th July 2026
This role is also open as an internal secondment opportunity which would need to be agreed by your current line manager.
Our offer to you
People are at the heart of what we are and do.
The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university. We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success.
We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential. With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide-range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University.
We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate. We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work.
Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working. In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries.
The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site. On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.
Find out more about the benefits of working for the University of Birmingham
Background
The post holder will work within the Clinical Immunology Service (CIS) which sits within the School of Infection, Inflammation and Immunology. We are based at No 1 Birmingham Health Innovation Campus. The CIS is a comprehensive UKAS accredited laboratory which serves over 200 Trusts around the UK. This i ncludes hosting the flow cytometry services for blood cancer for the region through the Midlands Integrated Reporting for Haemato-Oncology (MIRHO) service. In addition, the CIS has a large research portfolio providing central trials analysis for a number of national studies and supporting other research trials and studies.
Role Summary
The post holder will undertake the essential role of patient sample management and also supporting biomedical scientists and our Research team to undertake testing across multiple platforms.
The post holder will work within a team of 5 MLAs. They will report to the Specimen reception lead but will report to the appropriate section head if working in that section. The post holder will not be responsible for any staff.
The Clinical Immunology Services remains operational during University closed days, all staff are required to participate in a rota to ensure appropriate cover. In recognition of this, staff will receive overtime payment and a day off in lieu.
Main Duties
General Duties (these are duties shared between the 5 MLAs in the department):
- Receipt, booking into laboratory information management system (LIMS), unpacking, identification, separation, and unique specimen number allocation to specimens.
- Assist with routine laboratory tasks to support research studies, including preparation and processing of biological samples such as blood spotting and peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) samples under supervision.
- Report any issues with samples, equipment, or processes to senior staff promptly.
- Accurately record and update sample information using laboratory systems always ensuring traceability.
- Maintain cleanliness and organisation of laboratory work areas, equipment, and storage facilities (e.g. fridges, freezers).
- Once competency documentation has been completed, print worksheets, locate samples and load machines / prepare for staining in accordance with SOPs, returning specimens to relevant racks once completed and archiving.
- Filing of worksheets and subsequent transfer to an electronic storage medium for permanent storage on the departmental server.
- Ensure laboratory waste (including biological material, plastics, cardboard, excess reagents, confidential paperwork, etc.) are disposed of in line with University and CIS H&S/waste/confidentiality protocols. Pack soiled lab coats for laundry and replenish drawers once returned.
- Adhering to and supporting staff and students with the University’s Health and Safety policy
- Adopt a proactive attitude to assisting with and implementing carbon reduction and energy saving measures.
- Ensure adequate stock levels are maintained, and chemicals are correctly labelled and stored in line with current EU regulations.
- Contribute to regular laboratory cleaning hygiene policies and procedures.
- Packing and despatching referral specimens to comply with all Post Office and Health and Safety regulations (UN3373/Category B).
- Assisting the office section with laboratory administrative duties i.e. answering of phone, monitoring and replying to any requests raised through the UHB email inbox, report preparation, filing, maintaining stocks of forms, and send out completed reports and trial kits, where appropriate.
- Receipt/checking of deliveries and maintenance of stocks within lab sections, e.g.
- racked sterile tips, IEF gels, stains, buffers, etc, and notification of section heads when re-ordering required, e.g. autoclave bags, sample racks, etc.
- Assist with training new staff and demonstrating processes and procedures to visitors.
You will complete any other duties as may be reasonably required by either the Line Manager or Technical Managers.
-
Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience
- GCSE (A*- C / 4-9 or equivalent) Mathematics, English & Science, NVQ Level 2, BTEC Level 2 or equivalent; or specific relevant experience in an appropriate subject.
- Practical experience of relevant techniques/skills required for the post or previous laboratory-based experience.
- Experience in handling patient samples and the understanding of the need for confidentiality and clinical impact of handling these samples.
- Experience in an NHS laboratory is preferred but not essential.
- Positive service attitude and shows courtesy in dealing with others.
- Ability to organise and manage own workload after consultation with supervisor and demonstrate flexibility in terms of work practices/requirements.
- Ability to work as part of a team.
- The post holder is required to have a flexible approach to working and at times support general activities within the CIS department when required.
- Ability to learn and understand how diversity considerations affect own area.
- Awareness of current relevant H&S policies.
- Basic understating of commonly used software packages.
Dimensions
- The post has no direct line management responsibility for other staff.
- The post has no budgetary or financial responsibility.
Planning and Organising
- Samples will be collected and received in the post daily requiring the role holder to have a flexible approach to their working day as workload cannot be predicted.
- Urgent clinical samples will need to be prioritised to ensure they can be tested in an urgent manner.
- Training and continuing professional development (CPD) is an ongoing requirement and this should be built into working day but planned with other team members and the section head for specimen reception or other section heads.
- There will be opportunity to attend appropriate external and internal CPD events.
Problem Solving and decision making
- Deliver a level of service to colleagues/customers as outlined in the general duties.
- Perform day to day duties as planned with your manager.
- You will need to be able to select the correct process to meet the objectives.
Internal and External relationships
Internal relationships: The post holder will interact with all members of the CIS to ensure smooth running of the service and compliance with accreditation standards. Their day-to-day interactions will be with the rest of the MLA team, the specimen reception lead and the section heads.
External relationship: The CIS has regular visitors including work experience students, University students, members of other research groups and occasionally external companies and technicians that maintain equipment. The post holder may interact with clinicians or end-users of the service to answer question and speak with courier and delivery companies or staff.
Further particulars can be found here
Informal enquiries to Lynsey Dunbar, email: [email protected]
View our staff values and behaviours here
Use of AI in applications: We want to understand your genuine interest in the role and for the written elements of your application to accurately reflect your own communication style. Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience. Such applications will unlikely be progressed to interview.
We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website .
