Workforce, training and education
Yorkshire and Humber

ACF Heamatolology ST3 (Sheffield)

The University of Sheffield, in partnership with NHS England North East and Yorkshire and the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, has developed an exciting pathway for academic clinical training opportunities.

The following post is available:

•            One post in Haematology at ST3- with a research theme of Multiple Long Term Conditions

(Please note: This is a multi-specialty vacancy; an appointment may not be made in this specialty.  There will be 1 ACF post in either General Surgery. Gastroenterology, and Haematology)

IMPORTANT: A limit has been set on the number of ACF applications that can be submitted, with applicants limited to submitting a maximum of three applications to ACF vacancies. Applicants who submit more than three applications in one national round of recruitment will have the additional applications withdrawn by the recruitment offices after the application window has closed and only the first three submitted applications will be processed. This includes all regions, specialties and universities.

Applications are now invited for an Academic Clinical Fellowship in Haematology at ST3 level. This new post has been created as part of the NHS England (NHSE)/National Institution for Health Research (NIHR) programme of Integrated Academic Training and offers candidates a comprehensive experience of clinical academic medicine working alongside internationally renowned clinicians and researchers. 

We are seeking highly motivated, enthusiastic individuals with the potential to excel in both their clinical and academic training and who have the ambition to be the next generation of academic clinicians.

This Academic Clinical Fellowship (ACF) programme in Haematology will be run by the University of Sheffield, the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and NHS England North East and Yorkshire.

Academic Clinical Fellowships (ACFs) are 3-year fixed-term national training posts.  They attract an NTN(A) and trainees undertake 75% clinical and 25% academic training over the term of the post. They are employed by the NHS Trust and have an honorary contract with the University, at whose Medical School their academic research is supported.

ACF trainees also undertake a Research Training Programme provided by the University for which funding is provided by NIHR.  They also are eligible for a £1,000 bursary each year to support research training activity (e.g. to attend academic conferences).

The Clinical Academic Programme at Sheffield has a competitive ACF pump-priming award. Trainees can apply for up to £2000 for initial costs for work aimed at achieving a research fellowship.

ACF trainees will be supported to develop and submit an external funding application for a research training fellowship to enable them to complete a higher degree (PhD or research MD) following the completion of their ACF fixed-term post. If successful, this fellowship would be completed during Out-of-Programme Research (OOPR) time. 

All Academic Clinical Fellowships are run-through posts, the current ST3 post would be guaranteed continued training to CCT, as long as they progress satisfactorily through both their academic and clinical training. Run-through status is withdrawn if ACFs do not complete the initial 9-month academic component.

Please Note: ST3-level applicants - unless you hold a Deanery Reference Number and are in the penultimate year of Internal Medical Training (CT2) or ACCS acute medicine (CT3) / Group 2 specialty straining (ST3) you will need to have already been benchmarked at the 2022 clinical ST3/ST4 Combined Infection Training interviews, or be due to attend the upcoming 2nd round of these interviews to be benchmarked, you are not eligible to apply.

This Fellowship will be in the field of haematological malignancies and/or blood & marrow stem cell transplantation and cellular therapy, including infection and supportive care, although upon request, other areas of Haematology can be considered on negotiation with relevant staff.

The full Job Description for this post is available to download from the right of this page.

Please note: All applicants who do not already hold a National Training Number (NTN) or Deanery Reference Number (DRN) in the GMC specialty for which they are applying will be required to undertake the national clinical recruitment process and attend an assessment/interview for that GMC specialty as appropriate.

Please Note for application to ST3: Only trainees who hold a Deanery Reference Number in the penultimate year of Internal Medical Training (CT2) or ACCS acute medicine (CT3) are eligible to apply. Trainees who have either: completed Core Medical Training, IMT training or ACCS-AM, are in the final year of IMT or ACCS-AM, or have alternative experience outside of UK training, are not eligible to apply.Trainees currently in the penultimate year of their core programme who are successful in gaining an ST3-level ACF programme will start their first year by completing IMY3. Assuming internal medicine stage 1 is completed successfully, they will then run-through into their higher specialty at ST4-level. There is no requirement for trainees in this category to clinically benchmark as they will be carrying on with completing their IMT programme

NIHR have produced some Frequently Asked Questions for applicants. You are advised to read this document in full before submitting your application.

Further sources of information

Details of the recruitment process are provided below.

Recruitment Timeline

The recruitment process for this Academic Clinical Fellow post will follow the timeline below:*

    • o    Applications Open - 10am Thursday 2 October 2025
      o    Applications Close - 4pm Thursday 30 October 2025
      o    Interview Window - Monday 10 November 2025 to Friday 16 January 2026
      o    Initial Offers out** - Tuesday 20 January 2026
      o    Hold Deadline** - Tuesday 27 January 2026

*Please note that all dates are indicative and subject to change.

Applications

Applications will only be accepted through the Oriel online application system.

For guidance on creating an account, registering and submitting your application using the system please refer to the Oriel Applicant User Guide which can be downloaded from the Oriel Resource Bank.

Application Deadline

The deadline for submitting applications is 4pm Thursday 30 October 2025. After this time no applications will be accepted. There will be no exceptions to this deadline. You are advised to complete and submit your application ahead of the deadline to allow for any unforeseen problems.

Eligibility & Longlisting

Applicants for this post will be required to meet the relevant Clinical eligibility criteria for the appropriate specialty and level listed at:-

AND the Academic eligibility criteria listed at:

It is an applicant’s responsibility to demonstrate that they meet the eligibility criteria. All applications will be assessed against the eligibility criteria during longlisting. Any applications which do not meet the eligibility criteria will be longlisted out of the process and will not progress to the next stage.

For more information about eligibility please refer to the Applicant Handbook and the NIHR website.

Please note: By allowing applicants to progress to the interview stage, NHS England - Yorkshire DOES NOT accept or confirm that applicants meet all eligibility requirements. This includes immigration status, evidence of achievement of core competencies or equivalent, and requisite length of time in training as per the national person specification. This list is not exhaustive, and is applicable to all eligibility criteria.

Applicants may still be withdrawn from the application process at any stage, including after the interviews have taken place, if the evidence pertaining to an eligibility criterion is found to be unsatisfactory by NHS England - Yorkshire.

Shortlisting

Shortlisting will take place following the completion of longlisting. Where possible we aim to give applicants at least one week's notice to attend an interview. However, unforseen delays in shortlisting mean this is not always possible.

Interviews

Interview Dates and Venue

The interviews for this post will take place via Microsoft Teams. The date will be confirmed in due course.

Please bring the following document:

  • Photo identification (passport or driving licence)

Interview Format

The interviews will consist of a single panel interview. 

Offers

All recruitment offices will be using Oriel to make offers to Academic Clinical Fellow training posts in 2026. Oriel can be accessed at https://www.oriel.nhs.uk/ 

Please refer to the Oriel Applicant User Guide which can be downloaded from the Oriel Resource Bank for further information about receiving and responding to offers.

Receiving and Responding to Offers

If you are offered a post you will have 48 hours from the time of your offer, including weekends and bank holidays, to decide whether to accept, reject or hold it. You must respond to the offer through the UK Offers System. No other form of response will be accepted.

IF YOU DO NOT RESPOND TO YOUR OFFER WITHIN 48 HOURS, THE OFFER WILL EXPIRE AND THE POST WILL BE OFFERED TO ANOTHER APPLICANT. YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE ANY FURTHER OFFERS.

Any offer made through this recruitment process is an offer of an allocation to a training programme; it is not an offer of employment. Offers of employment can only be by an employing organisation following completion of satisfactory pre-employment checks.

X