Laboratory Technician

Salary:£25,742 to £26,444 with progression to £27,979 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: 23 June 2024

The Role

Reporting to the Technical Manager and the research supervisory team, the role requires 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 within the laboratory group by following established working patterns, but there will be a need to resolve most problems without access to more senior colleagues.

You will be responsible for aiding delivery of an MRC-funded project, ‘cellular drivers of type I interferon-mediated neuropathology’. 

This project explores the cellular drivers of IFN-mediated pathology using conditional in vivo expression of the pathogenic allele in individual cell types, allied with human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) models of the corresponding cell types in vitro. We will also assess novel IFN-I inhibitors developed in partnership with medicinal chemistry collaborators. 

Depending on experience, the role may involve developing skills in particular specialist research areas, including in vivo mouse models and human pluripotent stem cell models, or planning and supervising the work of others. Training will be provided as required.

The post is available on a full time, fixed term basis for 1 year, with potential for a further 2-year extension.

For informal enquiries, please contact: sophie.hambleton@ncl.ac.uk or christoper.duncan@ncl.ac.uk

Information about the Faculty of Medical Sciences is available at:

https://www.ncl.ac.uk/medicalsciences/

https://www.ncl.ac.uk/medical-sciences/research/research-themes/immunology/

https://www.ncl.ac.uk/medical-sciences/people/profile/christopherduncan.html

https://www.ncl.ac.uk/medical-sciences/people/profile/sophiehambleton.html

Key Accountabilities

• Liaise with suppliers and manufacturers to resolve problems and investigate replacement options
• 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 including other facilities (e.g. Centre for Comparative Biology)
• 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
• Provide a broad range of skilled research/teaching support 
• Prepare and manufacture a range of specimens/samples with limited direction
• 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

• Thorough working knowledge of Health and Safety procedures, and experience of safe waste management within a workshop/laboratory environment
• 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 
• Ability to adapt to changes in teaching/research priorities

Desirable

• Contribute to design and specification of teaching/research activities 
• Technical skills in experimental mouse models and advanced human tissue culture (Desirable) or willingness to undergo training to develop and implement these skills (Essential) 

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

• Undergraduate degree in immunology or related subject 
• 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 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: 27322