Radiotherapy Clinical Educator

at  The Christie NHS Foundation Trust

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a highly motivated, experienced, and enthusiastic Radiographer to become part of the Radiotherapy Education Team at The Christie.
Ideally having previous experience of providing education to staff and/or students, your main role will be to support the Apprentice Therapeutic Radiographers we have starting with us in March 2024, however cross-cover to support the wider function of the Radiotherapy Education Team will also be required. A robust training package will be provided to allow the post holder to obtain the necessary clinical competencies however previous clinical experience working as a Therapeutic Radiographer is essential.
The Christie NHS Foundation Trust is a highly specialised oncology treatment hospital. We deliver both radical and palliative radiotherapy to patients from across Greater Manchester and further afield including IGRT, SGRT, SABR, SRS, Proton Beam Therapy and paediatric treatments. We have 4 Radiotherapy Departments located across Greater Manchester (Withington, Salford, Oldham and Macclesfield) and a national Proton Beam Therapy Centre also located at Withington. The ability to travel to each of these sites will be a requirement of this role in order to support the Apprentice Therapeutic Radiographers that will be rotating across all of the sites as part of their learning journey.
The post holder will work within the Radiotherapy Education Team, taking direction from the Principal Education Radiographers participating in all aspects of radiotherapy clinical education across the Radiotherapy and Proton Beam Therapy Services. The remit of this role primarily includes the support and competency assessment of Therapeutic Radiographer apprentices across The Christie Radiotherapy and Proton Beam Therapy services however, cross-cover to support pre-registration students (undergraduate and post-graduate), new staff inductions and competencies, mandatory training performance monitoring, compliance with and improvement of the radiotherapy quality system, educational audit participation, teaching of multi-professional groups and participation in competency assessment for students and staff members will also be required.
Working under the direction of the Principal Education Radiographer and the Radiotherapy and Proton Beam Therapy Senior Management Team and in partnership with The Christie School of Oncology and Academic/Practice Partners, the post holder will be required to facilitate and support the development of a robust professional development structure and promote, develop and embed a learning culture.
The Christie is one of Europe’s leading cancer centres, treating over 60,000 patients a year. We are based in Manchester and serve a population of 3.2 million across Greater Manchester & Cheshire, but as a national specialist around 15% patients are referred to us from other parts of the country.
We provide radiotherapy through one of the largest radiotherapy departments in the world; chemotherapy on site and through 14 other hospitals; highly specialist surgery for complex and rare cancer; and a wide range of support and diagnostic services. We are also an international leader in research, with world first breakthroughs for over 100 years.
We run one of the largest early clinical trial units in Europe with over 300 trials every year. Cancer research in Manchester, most of which is undertaken on the Christie site, has been officially ranked the best in the UK.
Principal Duties and Responsibilities
Communication & Relationship Skills
The post holder must possess expert communication skills to allow them to provide and receive highly complex information. This may be sensitive in nature and may be contentious. This may be individual students, apprentices, colleagues, senior managers or patients or it may involve communication with groups. Communication may be within the Trust, with partner-universities or with NHS England, The Department of Health or Health Education England personnel or committees.
Knowledge, Training & Experience
The post holder will display a highly specialist level of knowledge in the areas of both education theory and practice and modern radiotherapy and oncology theory, technical and clinical practice. They will have professional clinical knowledge acquired through a BSc (Hons) in Radiotherapy and appropriate Oncology, Radiotherapy or Educational qualification at Masters level (e.g. MA, MSc or MEd). They will have experience in supervision and managing learners and personal experience of preparing and/or delivering modern advanced radiotherapy
Analytical & Judgemental Skills
As a member of the education team in the radiotherapy service, the post holder will be expected to advise the Principal Education Radiographer and the Radiotherapy and Proton Beam Therapy Senior Management Team about the education and training functions in the service.
They will advise senior colleagues on the management of clinical education provision for pre-registration radiographers, apprentices, pre-qualification assistant practitioners and on the continuous professional development requirements for all staff members. This will involve collecting, analysing, and interpreting the complex and competing demands of the various staff groups in the service
Planning & Organisational Skills
The post holder will plan and organise the rosters for Apprenticeship learners and will ensure that the full roster is agreed with the partner universities and relevant service leads
The post holder will provide cross cover for other members of the Education Team in their absence, including supporting all learners within the Radiotherapy Department
They will support the Principal Education Radiographer and the section managers, in conducting a training needs analysis for each element of the service in a manner and timeframe as required by the Trust. They will be responsible for monitoring, auditing, and reporting on this analysis to the Principal Education Radiographer and the Radiotherapy and Proton Beam Therapy Senior Management Team periodically as agreed.
Working with the Principal Education Radiographer and the Operational Lead Radiographers for Protons and Photons, the post holder will participate in projects to design, implement and monitor clinical competencies and associated training needs for the Proton and Photon workforce
Physical Skills
The post holder will be expected to develop and maintain the technical skills required to prepare, facilitate and deliver a radiotherapy treatment, including use of the CT Scanner and Linear Accelerators and to be able to instruct others who are developing these skills
Responsibility for Patient Care
The post holder will be rostered to undertake highly specialist clinical technical imaging or treatment services and will provide education on these services to apprentices, students, other learners and to qualified colleagues
Responsibility for Policy/Service Development
The post holder will be responsible for proposing departmental policy in relation to the education and training functions of the service and for overseeing the implementation of these educational policies across all geographical sites in which the Radiotherapy and Proton Beam Therapy Services operate
Responsibility for Human Resources
The post holder will be responsible for highly specialist teaching to all learners within the Radiotherapy and Proton Beam Therapy Services, including apprentices, students, and staff.
The post holder will be involved in staff, apprentice, and student selection both on site at The Christie and elsewhere within the network of campuses and Trust-sites attached to partner universities.
Play an active role in managing inadequate performance, including capability and poor professional standards for apprentices. Participating in investigation process and providing evidence where required.
To work closely with all parties across the Radiotherapy and Proton Beam Therapy Services to monitor the work across the service to maintain high quality service delivery and professional standards. Applying disciplinary and/or capability policies where necessary.
Play an active role in the management of attendance and absences for apprentices, utilising Human Resources, Trust policies and Occupational health to support this aspect of the role
Responsibility for Information Resources
The post holder will record personally generated information and ensure a system is in place, compliant with best practice in data management and Trust and University policies, to record, collate, process and store information on the progress of apprentices and learners.
They will update patient records and maintain departmental databases as appropriate.
Responsibility for Research & Development
The post holder will not be expected to undertake research as a major job function but will be expected to support colleagues undertaking research, to maintain an awareness of current clinical trials and ensure this is included in the educational update programme. The post holder will be expected to participate in the clinical audit program. However, the post holder may undertake independent research with the agreement of the radiotherapy and Proton Beam Therapy Senior Management Team.
Freedom to Act
Expected results and outcomes will be defined by the Principal Education Radiographer but the post holder will be expected to apply best practice to achieve these results. Guidance may be provided by the Principal Education Radiographer, peers or external reference points including the academic staff of the partner universities

Please refer the Job description for details