Job Description

The Pathology Clinical Manager - Microbiology, Virology, Molecular Infectious Diseases develops, executes and directs all operational activities pertaining to the Division of Microbiology, Virology and Molecular Infectious Diseases, including selecting and procurement of equipment, training, EQA and research information technology, compliance with approved standards for the clinical diagnostic services provided by the division. S/he is responsible for ensuring that a high standard of clinical service is continually provided to all patients, their families and other hospital staff as prescribed in the patient care, international and facility standards set down by Sidra Medicine, College of American Pathologists, JCI, MoPH and any other Sidra approved standards.

• Develops, executions and managements of all relevant Division of Microbiology, Virology and Molecular Infectious Diseases operational and clinical programs.
• Responsible for ensuring that a high standard of service is continually provided
• Responsible for implementing a comprehensive operational and clinical safety program in the department.
• Responsibility for implementing a Pathology quality auditor program and instituting clinical and scientific audits as required.
• Formulates policies and procedures related the operations of the division.

Managing the Services

• Provides professional and scientific management for the services within the portfolio. Works towards standardization and integration, ensuring that staff are aware of changes and developments.
• Ensures that all incidents are reported and investigated, trends noted, and preventative strategies implemented. Deals with complaints in a sensitive and helpful manner.
• Works with the Clinical Director - Pathology and Clinical Leads to develop robust systems for risk assessment for all activities within the department. Is responsible for ensuring that the system is implemented and monitors success. Identifies resource requirements and informs the Clinical Director - Pathology.
• Ensures those areas under direct management comply with hospital Health and Safety Policies, and works with Departmental Leads to cascade changes affecting the laboratory Health and Safety strategy. Responsible for monitoring Health and Safety performance
• Ensures along with Clinical Leads and the Clinical Director - Pathology that the strategic direction of the department is in parallel with that of the hospital.
• Ensures the provision of staff training and development which addresses the needs of all staff within the budget.
• Leads the development and modernization of services in consultation with the Clinical Director - Pathology and Clinical Service Leads. Redesigns or amends service provision to ensure capacity to support delivery of hospital targets.
• Works with the Clinical Leads and the Clinical Director - Pathology to prepare and submit business plans, service developments and business cases for the department. Ensures successful implementation of agreed schemes according to their plan, budget and time scale.
• Responsible for establishing challenging performance targets, with the Clinical Leads and the Clinical Director - Pathology Implements a system to performance manage those targets, and take appropriate action to correct any adverse deviation.
• Responsible for developing a culture where audit and research are valued activities. Ensures that all audits are documented and any conclusions presented as appropriate. Ensures appropriate remedial action is implemented a required to close the audit loop and escalate as necessary on the hospital risk register, where improvements cannot be made within available resources
• Works with the Quality Manager to develop systems to deliver quality services to satisfy CAP-ISO15189 and JCI standards. Works for continual improvement in all quality matters.
• Uses scientific and professional knowledge, as an independent expert practitioner, to inform debate within the hospital on planned changes to service provision.
• Responsible for ensuring the continued provision of a 24/7/365 service where appropriate, ensuring that shift rotes are adequately staffed and prepared with sufficient notice for participants to maintain a work/life balance.
• Responsible for the co-ordination of any research and development undertaken in discussion with clinicians and scientists within the department. Responsible for ensuring that all necessary consents and funding are in place before this commences.
• Responsible for bio-security within the service.

Managing People

• Responsible for initiating the recruitment and retention of staff of a sufficient educational level.
• Responsible for ensuring comprehensive integrated workforce planning and appropriate staffing and skill mix levels to deliver corporate and departmental service plans.
• Be appraised annually by the Clinical Director - Pathology , and cascade appraisal to other staff to ensure 100% appraisal is achieved within the department each year.
• Ensures staff attend mandatory training and updates to achieve 100% compliance annually.
• Ensures full compliance with HR policies on sickness and absence monitoring.
• Responsible for ensuring consistent standards in recruitment and selection issues of discipline or performance management, grievance, equal opportunities and health and safety at work in compliance with the hospital policies.
• Works with the Clinical Director - Pathology and Lead Clinicians to deliver two-way communication to all staff, so they are aware of changes happening in the wider organization and within Clinical laboratories. This must be delivered in a timely manner in order to have the opportunity to have informed discussion.
• Works with the Clinical Director - Pathology to prepare and deliver a strategy for the introduction of change, whenever that may occur, communicating information in a sensitive and professional manner. Responsible for delivering that change to the agreed timescale.
• Encourages and facilitates a staff development program so that staff develop their personal and professional skills for progression through the career framework.

Managing Resources

• Reviews test repertoire to ensure value for money and sources cost-effective providers for high-cost/low-volume investigations.
• Sets out, and is responsible for delivering a strategy on any cost savings requested, and monitors and report outcomes to the Clinical Director - Pathology.
• Attends the laboratory meetings to represent the specialties managed.
• Works with the Clinical Director - Pathology and Finance manager to develop and implement procurement strategies that fulfil clinical service needs, deliver standardization and increased quality/value for money.
• Responsible for managing major supplier contracts relevant to the specialties.
• Ensures that the Hospital’s Standing Financial Instructions are applied appropriately.
• Explores opportunities allowing income generation.

Information Management

• Works with the IT application specialists to satisfy the day-to-day information needs of the site and specialties.
• Responsible for ensuring that all staff members within the specialties are fully informed on IT issues, and their training needs addressed.
• Uses the department IT systems as appropriate to gather, analyze and present statistics and data for management, clinical or financial purposes. Uses that data to populate documents and databases to present information to Laboratory Director Meetings, evaluate methods, monitor workloads etc.
• Performs analytical and clinical audits as necessary to support the hospital audit program, and CAP-ISO15189 and JCI accreditation.

Clinical/Technical

• Responsible for, oversees and participates in the validation of results as appropriate.
• Maintains registration with the local authorities (and from country of origin) as a Biomedical Scientist/Technologist and retains the necessary laboratory skills to perform as a scientist/technologist. This requires work within the laboratory setting as a Biomedical Scientist/Technologist on a regular basis (at least one day monthly).
• Provides specialist technical knowledge within the managed area, and is an expert reference point for subordinate staff as well as other users of the service.
• Develops and retains sufficient knowledge in the disciplines of Microbiology and Virology, to operate at the highest level.
• Responsible for the development of common working practices within the disciplines and standardization of methods and SOPs where appropriate.
• Occasionally works out of hours as required in times of low staff numbers or sickness to ensure service continuity.
• Interprets highly complex clinical information to ensure the appropriate tests are carried out, consulting as required with professional colleagues at all levels. This will require expert knowledge of the available specialist tests, and will be exercised on a daily basis.
• Responsible, in conjunction with the Departmental Clinical Leads, for investigating and taking action to resolve the problems with analytical methods and equipment and report these to the Clinical Lead, Quality Manager, and where appropriate to the hospital Risk Co-coordinator, and commercial suppliers.
• Discusses and plans amendments and enhancements to the service, including the use of POC testing, at Clinical Director - Pathology’s meetings as appropriate. Attends initiates and organizes meetings to this end as appropriate. Report incidents or problems to the Clinical Leads, Quality Manager, Clinical Director - Pathology , and agencies outside pathology in accordance with hospital guidelines. Responsible for the implementation and delivery of agreed plans
• Works within the Professional Code of Conduct for Managers.

Communication

• Communicates with colleagues within the department on a range of extremely complex subjects. These will often be emotive and difficult issues of a highly sensitive nature such as performance management, organizational change etc.
• Co-operates and consults with, Medical, Scientific and Clerical staff throughout Clinical laboratories to ensure open lines of communication resolve problems and help determine strategies for the development of the service. Organizes and participates in meetings to this end as appropriate.
• Presents and receives highly complex technical, scientific and clinical information to/from all grades of staff within the department. Liaises with other hospital staff to present this information as required on a daily basis, and involves verbal, written and PowerPoint presentations, etc. to small and large groups.
• Possesses and further develops the necessary IT skills to present highly complex scientific information in a format that can be understood by non-scientist colleagues. This will be on a daily basis, and will involve verbal, written and PowerPoint presentations, etc. to small and large groups.
• Plans and organizes a range of highly complex activities and projects in the department, which may require prolonged periods of time to complete and may require regular reviews of progress and re-adjustment of plans. Liaises with other departments within and outside clinical laboratories, and commercial companies to achieve these.

Pan Clinical Laboratories Duties

• Responsible for a number of pan-clinical laboratory duties that need to be delivered and managed on a daily basis including:
• Line manages Admin/Clerical and Consultant Secretarial staff across the department.
• Will be a member of the Duty Clinical Laboratory Manager Rota.

Other Duties

• Deputizes for other Laboratory Managers to cover leave and other absences.
• Contributes to the development of Quality Management systems and procedures, and the wider Clinical Governance within the Department of Clinical Laboratories.
• Undertakes any other duties consistent with the grade, as indicated by the Chair - Pathology
• Represents Clinical laboratories and the discipline at national and regional meetings as agreed with the Lead Clinicians and the Clinical Director – Pathology.

Health and Safety

• Ensures a healthy and safe environment exists in the department at all times and Hospital policies and statutory regulations are adhered to.

Information Security and Confidentiality

• Safeguards the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data, whether in computerized or manual systems or storage. Ensures hospital policies and statutory regulations are adhered to.

Risk Management

• Ensures that clinical and non-clinical incidents are reported, recorded and analyzed to improve the safety and quality of the service. Assists with risk assessments.

Infection Control

• Adheres to and promotes compliance with the hospital’s infection control policy and associated codes of practice and takes appropriate action where non-compliance is evident.

• Adheres to Sidra’s standards as they appear in the Code of Conduct and Conflict of Interest policies
• Adheres to and promotes Sidra’s Values

In view of the evolving needs and opportunities within Sidra, this position may be required to perform other duties as assigned and reporting relationships may vary.

QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS – SELECTION CRITERIA

ESSENTIAL

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Biomedical Sciences or related field

Experience

• 5+ years of progressive management experience in any related discipline

Certification and Licensure

Clinical Laboratory Technologist with HPC/FIBNS/ASCP or equivalent certification

Job-Specific Skills and Abilities

• Extensive Operational knowledge and clinical experience in clinical laboratories.

• Demonstrated staff and resource management skills.

• Knowledge of and experience with clinical laboratory safety and risks.

• Knowledge of ISO 15189/UKAS/CAP/JCI standards and guidelines

• Demonstrated strong analytical and decision-making skills.

• Experience in implementing Quality, Safety and Risk services and programs.

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office suite

• Fluency in written and spoken English

Sidra Medicine a healthy population is essential to a strong, prosperous society, and throughout 2020, Sidra continued to provide uninterrupted comprehensive specialist healthcare services for children and young people; and exceptional maternity, gynecology, and reproductive medical services for women, previously unavailable in Qatar and the region.” – H.H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation
Sidra Medicine represents the vision of Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser who serves as its Chairperson. This high-tech facility is home to world-class patient care, scientific expertise, and educational resources.