Job Description

Personal Dosimetry Services (PDS) is a commercial service, approved by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), that measures and reports the radiation doses to employees working with ionising radiations in various sectors, such as industrial, research and medical. PDS uses passive personal dosemeters, which are worn by the workers and then sent back to PDS for analysis. PDS also contributes to UKHSA's expertise and advice on radiation matters and generates a significant income for UKHSA. PDS has a staff of around 25 people and serves over 80,000 workers in the UK and abroad.



As a Laboratories Supervisor, you will be part of the laboratories team that supports PDS with ensuring the effective issuing and processing of customer dosemeters. You will be responsible for supervising the day to day running of the PDS dosemeter laboratories, ensuring an efficient and smooth service for our 7000+ customers. This will involve planning, prioritising and participating in the routine work, allocating staff to tasks and ensuring issue and processing targets are met for an average of approx. 9,000 radiation dosemeters/week.



PDS also has an emergency response function for population monitoring in the event of a radiation incident. The Laboratory Supervisor will help the Lab in its response to an incident, liaising with Process Manager and other PDS staff as needed.



Fully supporting all laboratory technicians, managing up to 3 staff



Managing resources to ensure the service runs effectively



Meeting issue and processing targets for the dosimetry service



Monitoring staff development via appraisals, objective-setting and training



Monitoring and management of equipment



Communication effectively with colleagues, suppliers and customers



To help provide excellent customer service



Responding to and resolving customer queries and liaising with customers; providing interpretation of results and advice on personal dosimetry



Prioritising workloads and work patterns as necessary to meet requirements



Maintenance of equipment and liaison with suppliers



Ensuring that working practice instructions and user manuals are updated



Giving feedback in regular office meetings and raising suggestions for improving working practices; meetings can be weekly, monthly or with any other agreed regularity



We pride ourselves as being an employer of choice, where Everyone Matters promoting equality of opportunity to actively encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce.



UKHSA ethos is to be an inclusive organisation for all our staff and stakeholders. To create, nurture and sustain an inclusive culture, where differences drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our workforce and wider communities. We do this through celebrating and protecting differences by removing barriers and promoting equity and equality of opportunity for all.



Please visit our careers site for more information https://gov.uk/ukhsa/careers



The post holder's main duties will involve participating in the day-to-day work of the Laboratory and maintaining a high level of efficiency in accordance with the standard operating procedures. They will be required to supervisor a team which is responsible for the processing and issuing of 9,000 dosemeters per week to over 7,000 commercial customers.



They will be responsible for managing resources (staff and equipment) to meet issue and processing targets, taking decisions on work planning and task allocation to meet demand. This will involve liaising/negotiating with colleagues and other teams to inform these decisions and ensure smooth issue and assessment of customer dosemeters.



The role also involves the maintaining the quality assurance and reliability of the service including carrying out the daily QA checks for the dosemeter readers, preparing wrapping machine and issuing dosemeters for customer use, calibration of individual dosemeters and dosemeter batches. The stock levels must be regularly checked and liaison with the Lab Manager/PDS Manager on introduction or purchase of stock.



The job holder will be responsible for the routine technical aspects of the service such as monitoring and management of equipment, investigating and acting upon results which fail QA, and dealing with problems, e.g. in changes to requirements, software errors, IT failures, supplier failures, by prompt liaison with external and internal colleagues.



They will need to respond to and resolve customer queries and liaising with customers to provide interpretation of results and advice on personal dosimetry. The post holder will plan for the work of laboratories, based on expected demand, ensuring the teams deliver an excellent level of customer service that meets the relevant quality standards; reliable, prompt, courteous and clearly communicated.



The post holder will be required to manage a team which is responsible for the processing and issuing of 9,000 dosemeters per week to over 7,000 commercial customers. This will include:



Line management of 3 to 5 staff.



Managing resources (staff and equipment) to ensure the service runs effectively, meeting issue and processing targets:



taking decisions on work planning and task allocation



adjusting these in the light of changing circumstances



negotiating with colleagues to inform these decisions.



Effectively supervising the staff in discharging the following tasks:



Daily QA checks for automatic dosemeter readers - analyse results and check data quality.



Reliable processing of customer dosemeters for dose assessment within required timescales.



Prioritising work of laboratories.



Preparing wrapping machine and issuing dosemeters for customer use



Calibration and individual dosemeters and dosemeter batches



Preparation of new dosemeters and seeing them through the different stages of initialisation; liaising with Finance on introduction of stock.



Carrying out system of regular calibration of all readers to ensure reliability of service and assessments.



Monitoring and management of equipment; using internal and external support to ensure efficiency of Laboratory machines.



Investigating and acting upon results which fail QA.



Responding to and resolving customer queries and liaising with customers by phone, letter, email or in person; providing interpretation of results and advice on personal dosimetry.



Ensuring excellent communication within own team, the rest of PDS (including participation in Supervisors meetings) and with customers.



Forward planning for work of laboratories, based on expected demand.



Ensuring the teams deliver an excellent level of customer service that meets the relevant quality standards; reliable, prompt, courteous and clearly communicated.



Reviewing and developing laboratory procedures (Manuals, Standard Operating Procedures) and input into quality documents, including maintaining approval for PDS under ISO17025 standard.



Carrying out projects to develop the thermoluminescence dosimetry services as necessary.



Dealing with problems, e.g. in changes to requirements, software errors, IT failures, supplier failures, by prompt liaison with external and internal colleagues.



Training of staff where necessary



KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS



The post holder will develop working relationships and communicate regularly with a wide range of individuals, clinical and non-clinical, internal and external to UKHSA. This will include:



Internal



Scientific and administrative staff within PDS group - frequently during the day



Scientific staff in Department up to Group Leader - daily



Administration staff in Department - daily.



Specialist staff in other groups/departments (Including Leeds PADC Lab) - daily/weekly.



Head of Department - monthly.



Scientific staff in other Departments up to Head of Department - weekly/monthly.



External



Commercial customers - daily. This is likely to be phone or e-mail contact with customers at a wide range of levels, from non-specialists up to senior management. It will involve communicating non-routine results such as high doses, urgent assessments and dose queries.



Customers' specialist Radiation Protection Advisers - monthly.



PDS Suppliers, including support engineers - weekly.



Colleagues in other dosimetry services - several times/ year.



HSE specialists - several times/ year.



PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT



Identify, discuss and action own professional performance and training / development needs with your line manager through appraisal / individual development plan. Attend internal / external training events.



Participate in all mandatory training as required, i.e. fire safety, information governance and all other mandatory training.



This is not an exhaustive list.



Essential Criteria



At least two A-Levels (including Maths and a science subject at Grade C or above) and five GCSEs (including English at Grade C or above); or equivalent qualifications; or equivalent experience working a senior role within a laboratory environment with supervisory responsibilities



Experience of working in a scientific environment, including extensive experience of working in a commercial environment to include direct contact with customers.



Experience of working in a team



Excellent customer care skills, which includes the ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.



Ability to form good working relationships with customers, staff and suppliers; working flexibly within the PDS team.



Excellent organisational and planning skills; including prioritisation.



Good analytical and decision-making skills



Competent computer skills (e.g., Outlook, Word, Excel and web-based products), including a good understanding of computer record functions and processes



Physically fit/able to carry out moderate lifting tasks



Selection Process



This vacancy will be assessed using a competency-based framework which will assess your qualifications, knowledge and experience and / or skills and abilities outlined in the essential criteria.

Stage 1:

Application & Sift



You will be required to complete an application form. You will be assessed on the listed essential criteria, and this will be in the form of:



an application form ('Employer/ Activity history' section on the application)



a 800 word supporting statement



This should outline how your skills, experience, and knowledge, provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria.



Please note you will not be able to upload your CV. You must complete the application form in as much detail as possible. Please do not email us your CV.



The Application form and supporting statement will be marked together.

Shortlisting:

In the event of a large number of applications we will shortlist on:



Experience of working in a scientific environment, including extensive experience of working in a commercial environment to include direct contact with customers.



If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to interview and assessment.



Please do not exceed 800 words. We will not consider any words over and above this number.



Feedback will not be provided at this stage.

Stage 2:

Interview



You will be invited to a face to face interview.



Knowledge, experience, skills and abilities will be tested at interview.



You will be required to prepare a 5 minute presentation as part of the interview. The subject of this will be of your choice but relevant to the role.



The interview will also include a tour of the labs and a short practical of assembling dosemeters.



Interviews will be held week commencing 17th November 2025. Please note, these dates are subject to change.



Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.



Location



This role is lab based at UKHSA Chilton, Didcot, OX11 0RQ. Please note that hybrid working is not available with this role.



Eligibility Criteria



Open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service (including by definition internal applicants).



Security Clearance Level Requirement



Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check.



Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is Counter Terrorism Check clearance.



?For meaningful National Security Vetting checks to be carried out individuals need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time. You should normally have been resident in the United Kingdom for the last 3 years as the role requires Counter Terrorism Check clearance.?UK residency less than the outlined periods may not necessarily bar you from gaining national security vetting and applicants should contact the Vacancy Holder / Recruiting Manager listed in the advert for further advice.