Animal Technician

Job Title

Animal Technician - Supervisor

Job Description

An excellent opportunity is available for a Bioservices Supervisor - Parkville to join the Bioservices at Australia’s pre-eminent biomedical research institute.

About the Position

This position is responsible for the general overview of a specified area or section within Bioservices Parkville and the supervision of technical staff, to ensure the needs of the facility are met. The tasks include allocating workloads and monitoring competencies of the animal technical staff. They are to act as a mentor for their team by encouraging teamwork and modelling professional behaviour. Other tasks include monitoring overall compliance with Animal Ethics Committee (AEC) structures, Institute Biosafety Committee (IBC), Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s) and the guidelines of other relevant regulatory bodies. The Supervisor acts as a point of reference and a conduit between researchers and technicians within their area and also assists the researchers with complex mouse-based techniques as required. In addition to undertaking tasks associated with the care, husbandry and maintenance of genetically manipulated mice in the facility, the supervisor may have other specialist responsibilities. These may include assisting with: health monitoring protocols, exporting animals, training of animal technicians and researchers, management of
AMS, OHS compliance and organisation of day-to-day facility workloads.

Key challenges include:

- Ensuring husbandry and animal health and welfare monitoring is carried out to the highest standard

according to training protocols and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s). This includes monitoring the

work performance of staff under their supervision.
- Meeting researcher needs for breeding programs, technical assistance and the planning of experiments.
- Ensuring all communications are highly professional and that all necessary parties are included in relevant conversations.
- Participation in the Bioservices Division Supervisors and SOP meetings to identify needs, advise, resolve problems, reach agreement or gain cooperation of others to comply with technical and administrative requirements. Makes recommendations or has discretion and influences how techniques and processes are completed and in the setting of professional standards.

Selection Criteria

Desirable Knowledge and Skills:

- Diploma of Animal Technology with a minimum of 7 years relevant work experience as an Animal

technician or an equivalent combination of relevant knowledge, training and/or experience in the field of Animal Technology.
- Demonstrated ability to set priorities and monitor workflows within own area of responsibility, including coordination of the activities of team members, to maintain efficient operation of the area and ensure desired outcomes are achieved.
- Demonstrated capacity to work independently and provide leadership to others including mentoring, on the job training and motivation.
- Familiarity with relevant legislation, regulations and guidelines including the Australian Code for the Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes and Guidelines for the generation, breeding, care and use of genetically modified and cloned animals for scientific purposes. Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of AEC documents, requirements and procedures, along with the ability to understand and interpret scientific papers in as much as they relate to mouse-based procedures and animal welfare.
- Highly developed problem-solving skills and the ability to work with others to develop innovative solutions to problems that can arise.
- High degree of technical competency in a wide variety of procedures.
- Strong computer literacy and proficiency in using Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and the use of the Internet as a research and training tool.
- May require good working knowledge of the use of specialised equipment and/or techniques.

Personal Qualities:

- Excellent oral and written communication and demonstrated leadership skills.
- Demonstrated capacity to organise work effectively and efficiently and deliver outputs in a timely manner.
- Excellent interpersonal skills with proven aptitude for communicating effectively with staff at varying levels of the organization and the ability to work collaboratively and develop excellent working relationships with colleagues, researchers, students and other stakeholders.
- Excellent observation skills and attention to detail.
- Genuine concern for Animal welfare.
- Conscientious and reliable.
- Ability to act with discretion and maintain confidentiality.
- Displays Institute values and embraces Institute culture.

Terms of Appointment
This position is an ongoing role in a full/part time capacity. Salary Professional Services Employee Level 7 ($101911 to $110320). Up to 17% superannuation and very attractive salary packaging options are available.

General enquiries can be directed to Michele Cook

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