Laboratory Support Technician

Salary: £24,900 with progression to £26,338 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 12 March 2025

The Role

We are looking for a highly motivated Laboratory Technician to join our technical community reporting to the Institute technical manager. You will be responsible for contributing to research into the control of arm movements and decision making in non-human primates. This is an opportunity to work within a multidisciplinary and exciting environment in a group that uses several cutting-edge techniques, including behavioural, anatomical and electrophysiological methods.

You will provide animal welfare support which includes monitoring the general health, weight and eating habits, communicating any concerns to the relevant staff members, and maintaining health and training records. You will also perform behavioural training of animals used in this project. Previous experience of working with animals would be desirable.

This full-time post is offered on a fixed term basis for a period of 12 months.

For informal enquiries please contact sasha.kraskov@newcastle.ac.uk

Please note that if you are successful to this role, you will require medical clearance before you can commence in the role.

Key Accountabilities

• Complete maintenance and repairs on routine laboratory equipment
• Liaise with equipment suppliers and manufacturers to resolve simple problems
• Advise staff and students on the capabilities of routine equipment
• Provide training and demonstrations of techniques and equipment, within the expertise of the role holder, to staff and students
• With the technical/academic lead, establish and maintain a safe/compliant working environment
• Organize and complete compliance tasks
• Maintain a tidy and organised facility to facilitate efficient working practises
• Assist in completion of routine safety paperwork (dependent on risk owner)
• Maintain a current knowledge of health and safety protocols relevant to the location, providing support and advice to others
• Ensure effective delivery of objectives by planning and managing own workload
•  Assist the technical lead with the day to day running of communal laboratory spaces
• Work collaboratively to deliver objectives
• Contribute to progress meetings
• Assist with record keeping, inventory and asset management
• Monitor resource usage and maintain supply of key items
• Assist with store operations including ordering, receiving, processing and distributing of goods
• Source and negotiate with suppliers for routine items
• Report infrastructure faults and support small scale building works
• Manage equipment bookings and assist with any recharging schemes
• Update and deliver local inductions
• Make suggestions to improve the service
• Contribute to and support change
• Share skills and best practice
• Any other duties within the scope and general nature of the grade which may be required
   

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Excellent team working skills
• Demonstrates technical and problem solving capability
• Demonstrates good organising ability to meet deadlines   
• Diligence and attention to detail
• Positive and proactive approach to duties
• Basic understanding of Health and Safety 
• Good overall knowledge of animal husbandry

Desirable

• Evidence of ability to monitor animal health, communicate arising concerns and maintain clear accurate records of any issues 
• Experience of working under Animal (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986
• Contribute to design and specification of projects 
• Ability to adapt to changes in laboratory / research priorities 
• Good IT skills (MS Word, Excel) 
• Experience of working with experimental animals
   

Attributes and Behaviour

• Excellent oral and written communciation skills
• Good interpersonal skills to interface with staff
• Attention to detail to ensure accuracy and precision  
• Work in a collaborative and flexible way
• To exhibit University and Faculty values and principles
   

Qualifications

• GCSE/ NVQ / O-levels or equivalent relevant experience
• Professional registration with an accredited professional body (including HEA) or working towards this on appointment 
• Holds a Home Office Personal Licence (minimum AB authority) or willingness to hold one

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 27939