Laboratory Technician

Salary: £27,319 to £28,031 with progression to £29,588 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: 31 October 2025

The Role

As a laboratory technician in our Education technical community, you will apply your practical skills and well-developed working knowledge of technical practices to support our teaching, research and engagement activities.

The key responsibility of the role is to support the technical preparation of laboratory practical classes across the Faculty of Medical Sciences teaching Schools, including Dental Sciences, Pharmacy, Medical and Biomedical Sciences.

This is a hands on, practical role that requires a positive, proactive and collaborative approach with commitment to follow Health and Safety standards and maintain a safe working environment. Excellent team working, communication and organisational skills are essential to maintain our high standards of service delivery across our Schools.

The post is based full time on site across the Faculty of Medical Sciences teaching laboratories, where you will join a community of technicians, with access to continuous professional development and a network of colleagues who are committed to working collaboratively; sharing experience and best practice to deliver excellence creativity and impact.

Please note, you will require medical pre-placement checks before you commence in the role.

If you have any questions before applying, please feel free to contact alison.gregory1@newcastle.ac.uk

Key Accountabilities

• Provide a broad range of skilled technical support for teaching, research and engagement activities
• Prepare and manufacture a range of specimens/samples/solutions with minimal direction
• Complete a range of maintenance activities and repairs
• Liaise with suppliers and manufacturers to resolve problems and investigate replacement options
• Advise on equipment capabilities demonstrating how results can be achieved
• By developing local procedures, establish and maintain a safe/compliant working environment
• Assist with the completion and updating of a wide range of safety paperwork
• Oversee compliance tasks ensuring timely completion and maintenance of appropriate records
• Complete accident reporting and assist with investigations
• Maintain broad and up to date health and safety knowledge providing support/advice to others
• Schedule, prioritize and monitor work and performance in line with demands and deadlines
• Hold delegated responsibility from the academic/technical lead for the planning, operation and supervision of a variety of laboratory spaces
• Work collaboratively with the other areas to ensure efficiency and elimination of duplicated effort
• Organize and facilitate progress and management meetings
• Be a key contributor to service development, delivery and planning
• Contribute and support change
• Oversee local record keeping, inventory and asset management
• Monitor resource usage and stores operations
• Source and negotiate with suppliers for a range of items including specialist parts/equipment
• Create, update and implement procedures to deliver an aligned, efficient and effective service
• Manage equipment bookings and assist with recharging
• Design, develop and deliver inductions, demonstrations and training covering a broad range of activities (not limited to techniques and equipment)
• Assist managers with the identification of training and development needs
• Develop a broad knowledge and skills base, sharing with others
• Mentor junior staff
•  Any other duties within the scope and general nature of the grade which may be required

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Demonstrable work experience in a relevant technical laboratory role, to include a broad range of core, practical technical skills
• Thorough working knowledge of Health and Safety procedures, and experience of safe waste management within a laboratory environment
• Technical and problem-solving capability
• Good organising ability to meet deadlines with a positive and proactive approach to duties
• Ability to adapt to changes in teaching/research priorities

Desirable

• Contribute to design and specification of teaching/research activities 

Attributes and Behaviour

• Excellent team working skills
• Ability to respond enthusiastically and positively to students
• Pays attention to detail
• Willing to help others and share workloads
• Respects the value that different views bring to the team
• Plans own priorities in conjunction with team and area objectives
• Anticipates change and prepares for it
• Clear communicator

Qualifications

• BTEC HNC/HND or equivalent in relevant subject or equivalent experience

Desirable

• Professional registration with an accredited professional body (including Advance HE) or working towards this on appointment 

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 gold 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: 28716