Job Advert
NHS Scotland is committed to encouraging equality and diversity among our workforce and eliminating unlawful discrimination. The aim is for our workforce to be truly representative and for each employee to feel respected and able to give their best. To this end, NHS Scotland welcomes applications from all sections of society.
Senior Clinical Scientist / Clinical Trials Specialist
Band 8A – 37 Hours per week, Permanent
This post in Oncology Physics at Edinburgh Cancer Centre is to continue to support increased capacity and support for Clinical Trials in Radiotherapy as part of the South East of Scotland Cancer Research Network Radiotherapy Team (SESCRN Team 5). This is an ideal opportunity to develop leadership skills and develop and embed this new post within Edinburgh Cancer Centre (ECC).
A key objective for radiotherapy in ECC is to build on our existing clinical and technical research and development activities to increase our recruitment to clinical trials involving radiotherapy. To support this objective, the SESCRN Radiotherapy Team 5 has been established with membership from Oncology Physics, Therapeutic Radiography, Clinical Oncology, Data Management and Nursing. The scope of the team includes:
• To ensure equity of access to radiotherapy trials
• To ensure we can open more radiotherapy trials
• To identify what capacity is required to open a trial and who needs to do it
• To provide early input into how the trial may alter service delivery if successful
• To encourage in house radiotherapy research and support new ideas
The purpose of this post is to provide physics leadership and management for the introduction of new clinical trials and take responsibility for specific development and implementation projects. The postholder will also act as a physics point of contact for clinical trials and monitor and audit the physics resource (by themselves and other members of Oncology Physics) required for opening and maintaining those trials, ensuring this is captured and recorded.
The postholder will also contribute to routine service including complex treatment planning, dosimetry QA, commissioning of new techniques, R&D and new technique development in the department. Previous experience with Varian hardware and software would be advantageous, but full training will be given.
Applicants should have an honours degree in physics or other relevant subject, an accredited postgraduate degree and must be registered with the HCPC as a Clinical Scientist. If applicants do not already hold an RPA2000 Certificate of Competence as a Medical Physics Expert, they will be supported and encouraged to submit their portfolio of evidence to attain this.
The Cancer Centre has 7 Varian linacs, 2 with ExacTrac Dynamic, and 2 wide-bore Philips Brilliance CTs with motion management systems. Eclipse and Elements are used for external beam treatment planning with ARIA as the Oncology Management system. ECC provides the National Stereotactic Service for Scotland for Benign intra-cranial lesions. The department is an active participant in clinical trials and has research links to the University of Edinburgh.
Interviews are anticipated to take place in the week commencing 21/7/25
Informal enquiries are encouraged to Natalie McInally, Lead Clinical Scientist natalie.mcinally@nhs.scot or Paul McGrane, Head of Treatment Planning, paul.mcgrane@nhs.scot
This post requires the post holder to have a PVG Scheme membership/ record. If the post holder is not a current PVG member for the required regulatory group (i.e. child and/or adult) then an application will need to be made to Disclosure Scotland and deemed satisfactory before they can begin in post.
The use of the term “Senior” in this post refers only to the level of experience and responsibility required for this post rather than age. As such, applications from people of all ages are welcomed, subject to meeting the relevant criteria.