King's College London

About Us

The Comprehensive Cancer Centre is within the School of Cancer and Pharmaceutical Sciences and brings together world-class clinical services, delivered by our NHS partners, research and education to the benefit of cancer patients in south east London and beyond. 

The King’s Health Partners Cancer Biobank is a core component of the Comprehensive Cancer Centre. The Biobank has been supporting translational cancer research at a national level since the 1970’s and provided a significant number of samples during that time, covering different cancer types. These samples have been acquired under documented procedures and linked to verified clinical data. KHP Cancer Biobank samples and data have been cited in more than 350 peer-reviewed publications. The Biobank has a team of more than 15 full time staff, including Advanced Practitioners, Consent Co-Ordinator, Quality Manager and Specialist Technicians. 

The post is based in the Innovation Hub, Guy’s Cancer Centre, Guy’s Hospital.

About The Role

This is an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic and driven individual to join the KHP Cancer Biobank.

We are seeking a motivated individual to join our team as a specialist technician. There are two main roles the successful applicant will need to fulfill.

Firstly, to provide technical support for the Head and Neck Early Relapse Detection (HERD) study, a Cancer Research UK funded trial. This will involve sample collection and processing of various sample types according to a defined protocol. The role requires close collaboration with research partners in the consortium.

Secondly, to support the biobanking activity by collecting and processing different types of clinical samples and providing these to researchers. Training will be given in specialist techniques. and we have a strong emphasis on professional development.

Some collection and processing activities may occur outside of core hours, including weekends and evenings. 

This is a full time (35 Hours per week), and you will be offered an fixed term contract.

About you

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience: 

Essential criteria

1. Minimum level 3 qualification (e.g. A levels, AS levels, International Baccalaureate diploma or other level 3 qualification) plus work experience in a relevant technical/scientific post or considerable knowledge and skills gained through work experience in a relevant technical or scientific post. 
2. A broad range of technical or practical skills and a well-developed working knowledge of technical/ scientific practices and procedures Experience in administrative roles, ideally in higher education or research 
3. Have proven experience in handling biological specimens. 
4. Working knowledge of Health & Safety regulations governing area of work 
5. Strong communication skills, both orally and in writing, and interpersonal skills 
6. Have a proactive and responsive approach to internal and external contacts to build relationships. 

Desirable criteria

1. Experience and knowledge of human sample use in the research environment 
2. Evidence of an active commitment to professional development, such as working towards RSciTech / RSci. 
3. Knowledge of quality management systems 
4. Experience of DNA and RNA extraction

Downloading a copy of our Job Description

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the next page after you click “Apply Now”. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process. 

Further Information

We pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming. We embrace diversity and want everyone to feel that they belong and are connected to others in our community. We are committed to working with our staff and unions on these and other issues, to continue to support our people and to develop a diverse and inclusive culture at King's. 

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the advert. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible. 

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘How we Recruit’ pages.