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: 16 March 2026

The Role

You will be a key staff member of the Newcastle NIHR Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) Skin and Oral Disease Theme. The main purpose of this post will be to provide laboratory based technical support to the investigators in the theme. For example, you will be required to organise and manage a collection of DNA, skin and blood samples from patients with skin and oral disease. These materials will be curated and stored with Newcastle Dermatology Biobank or associated Bioresources and where necessary distributed to researchers for analysis. The postholder will also be required to undertake some primary research activities related to the theme including, for example, culture of skin spheroids and organoids., lentiviral transduction and CRISPR modification of gene expression and management of the Dermatology Biobank.

Reporting to the Technical Manager, and investigators in the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) Skin and Oral Disease Theme, the role will require specific technical and practical skills and a well-developed working knowledge of technical practices and procedures, acquired by considerable experience on the job and/or vocational training. The post will work as part of a professional community to provide a technical support service to staff and students by following established working patterns, but there will be a need to resolve most problems without access to more senior colleagues. The role may involve developing skills in a particular specialist area or planning and supervising the work of others.

The post is full time, fixed term for 9 months.

For informal enquiries please contact: Debra.Jones@ncl.ac.uk

Key Accountabilities

• Under academic direction, the setting up of experimental systems and research apparatus and the development of new or improved methods. Making desirable modifications from relevant literature, searching literature for additional information
• Preparation and collation of experimental results for interpretation with academic staff
• To contribute to the maintenance of SOPs and other laboratory management and quality documents relating to the processing and storage of research samples
• Manage the Dermatology Biobank to ensure procedures are in place for documenting tissue donation, consent, clinical data, requests for tissue/cells and implement Material Transfer Agreements (MTAS) for all relevant requests
• Maintaining the database of materials available, users, requests and responses to facilitate the efficient operation of the Biobank service
• Archiving, curation, retrieving, validating, packaging and dispatching biological material to external users of the Biobank
• Liaise with local researchers, domestic and international collaborating centres for receipt of samples. Co-ordinating packaging, transport and storage of samples from multiple sites
• Process and preserve skin biopsies collected from patients and healthy control donors. Applying quality control (e.g. immunocytochemistry) to verify preservation and quality of the samples
• DNA & RNA extraction from blood. Quality control of DNA samples
• Perform primary cultures of relevant cells (primarily skin biopsies). Monitoring that the establishment and storage of cultures is performed with appropriate patient information consent
• 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
• Organise 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
• Provide a broad range of skilled research/teaching support
• Manage equipment bookings and assist with recharging
• Contribute to small- and large-scale building works
• 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

• Thorough working knowledge of Health and Safety procedures, and experience of safe waste management within a workshop/laboratory environment
• Demonstrable work experience in a relevant technical laboratory role
• Excellent team working skills
• Demonstrates technical and problem solving capability
• Demonstrates good organising ability to meet deadlines with a positive and proactive approach to duties and attention to detail

Desirable

• Knowledge of HTA regulations and their implementation
• Contribute to design and specification of teaching/research activities 
• Ability to adapt to changes in teaching/research priorities

Attributes and Behaviour

• Excellent oral and written communication 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

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

Desirable

• Professional registration with an accredited professional body (including HEA) 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: 29120