Trust Decontamination Lead

Job description

Barts Health is one of the largest NHS trusts in the country, and one of Britain's leading healthcare providers.

The Barts Health group of NHS hospitals is entering an exciting new era on our improvement journey to becoming an outstanding organisation with a world-class clinical reputation.

Our vision is to be a high-performing group of NHS hospitals, renowned for excellence and innovation, and providing safe and compassionate care to our patients in east London and beyond. That means being a provider of excellent patient safety, known for delivering consistently high standards of harm-free care and always caring for patients in the right place at the right time. It also means being an outstanding place to work, in which our WeCare values and behaviours are visible to all and guide us in how we work together.

Barts Health supports the Pregnancy Loss Pledge and commits to supporting their staff through the distress of miscarriage.

We are dedicated to being an outstanding place to work and will work with you to get the best experience. We know flexible working is not a one size fits all and will mean something different to everyone. We are inclusive, so if you are interested in flexible working, please speak to the recruiting manager.

Job overview

Barts Health NHS Trust has a vision to be a high performing group of NHS hospitals, renowned for excellence and innovation and providing safe and compassionate care to our patients in east London
and beyond.

We are seeking a strategic, forward-thinking leader to take responsibility for the delivery, assurance and continuous improvement of all decontamination services across our Trust. This critical role will ensure safe, compliant and high-performing decontamination services that directly support clinical excellence and patient safety.

This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of decontamination services within a complex and progressive NHS organisation.

Reporting to the PFI Programme Director the Group Decontamination Lead is responsible for overseeing and coordinating all decontamination processes across the Trust. You will lead the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of decontamination protocols to ensure the highest standards of hygiene and safety are maintained. This role involves managing teams, monitoring compliance with regulatory requirements, and collaborating with key stakeholders to reduce contamination risks and protect patients, staff and the wider community.

This role sits within the Estates and Facilities under Group Support Services
• national legislation, HTM standards and ISO accreditation requirements.

Main duties of the job

• Provide expert advice across the Trust on all matters relating to decontamination, including Sterile Services and Endoscopy Reprocessing.
• Lead a team of specialist staff across multiple sites and be accountable for ensuring compliance with.
• Leading the development and delivery of a Trust-wide decontamination strategy.
• Overseeing compliance with HTM 01-01, HTM 01-06, ISO 13485 and other regulatory frameworks.
• Manage multi-site decontamination services and leading on service transformation.
• Providing assurance to the Executive Team, IPC, and Clinical Divisions.
• Leading and developing specialist decontamination staff and Designated Persons.
• Managing contracts, budgets and procurement for equipment and service provision

Working for our organisation

Barts Health is one of the largest NHS trusts in the country, and one of Britain's leading healthcare providers.

Our vision is to be a high-performing group of NHS hospitals, renowned for excellence and innovation, and providing safe and compassionate care to our patients in east London and beyond. That means being a provider of excellent patient safety, known for delivering consistently high standards of harm-free care and always caring for patients in the right place at the right time. It also means being an outstanding place to work, in which our WeCare values and behaviours are visible to all and guide us in how we work together.

We strive to live by our WeCare values and are committed to promoting inclusion, where every staff member has a sense of belonging. We value our differences and fully advocate, cultivate and support an inclusive working environment.

We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates as they are underrepresented within Barts Health at this band.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

We are dedicated to being an outstanding place to work and will work with you to get the best experience. We know flexible working is not a one size fits all and will mean something different to everyone. We are inclusive, so if you are interested in flexible working, please speak to the recruiting manager.
The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience, and knowledge required. For both documents, please view the attachment/s below.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Master's degree or equivalent qualification, or appropriate specialist qualifications with extensive relevant experience.
• Demonstrable specialist training or qualifications in decontamination or related technical disciplines (e.g., HTMs, decontamination processes).

Experience

Essential criteria

• Proven senior-level experience in decontamination within an acute healthcare environment.
• Experience managing decontamination services in compliance with HTMs, ISO, and national guidance
• Experience in managing large and complex contracts, including PFI and third-party suppliers
• Demonstrated experience managing staff, budgets, and delivering service improvements
• Experience in policy development and implementation across multiple departments.
• Experience in risk management and maintaining/updating Trust risk registers

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• In-depth understanding of NHS Trust structures and regulatory environment.
• Extensive knowledge of HTM 01-01, 01-05, 01-06, and other relevant decontamination standards.

Experience

Essential criteria

• Strong leadership and facilitative management skills.
• Excellent interpersonal, influencing, and negotiation abilities
• High-level analytical and critical thinking capabilities
• Skilled in contract management and supplier performance evaluation
• Effective change management and service improvement delivery
• Ability to develop and deliver training packages for multidisciplinary teams
• Experience creating audit programmes and action planning
• Proven track record of policy development and governance framework leadership
• Ability to manage complex, multi-stakeholder environments and operate successfully within a multi-layered organisational structure.

Other

Essential criteria

• Must be able to travel frequently across Trust sites
• Commitment to continuous professional development and keeping up with evolving best practices

Visa Sponsorship Information

This role is subject to UK immigration requirements. Where sponsorship is required, applicants must meet the eligibility criteria for a Skilled Worker visa in accordance with current UK Visas and Immigration rules, including any salary, qualification, and role-specific requirements applicable at the time of appointment. Candidates who require sponsorship will only be considered where the post is eligible and where all sponsorship criteria can be met. Evidence of the right to work in the UK will be required before appointment. Please note that for roles employed under Agenda for Change Terms and Conditions, the High-Cost Area Supplement (HCAS) is not included when calculating the basic salary for the purposes of sponsorship.

We strive to live by our WeCare values and are committed to promoting inclusion, where every staff member has a sense of belonging. We value our differences and fully advocate, cultivate and support an inclusive working environment where staff treat one another with dignity and respect. We aim to create an equitable working environment where every individual can fulfil their potential.

As an Equal Opportunities Employer we actively support applications from individuals' who apply under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme and will process your application as appropriate.

We reserve the right to expire vacancies prior to the advertised closing date once a sufficient number of applications has been received and we regret that we are unable to provide notification if your application is unsuccessful.

After applying via NHS Jobs, your submitted application will be imported into our preferred Third party recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs.

By applying for this post you are agreeing to Barts Health NHS Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

Barts Health is committed to safeguarding the welfare of children and to child protection. The Trust aims to ensure as far as is possible that anyone, paid or unpaid, who seeks to work in our organisation and who gains access to children, is safe to do so. As such, you may be required to undertake a Disclosure and Barring Check as part of the recruitment process if appointed to a post with direct access to children or vulnerable adults.

Barts Health promotes active travel as part of its goal to reach Net Zero. Each site is accessible by public transport and the Trust has a cycle to work scheme and some sites have Brompton Hire Pods.

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