View Vacancy -- Animal Technician - MLC 2738

The Mary Lyon Centre at MRC Harwell (MLC) https://www.har.mrc.ac.uk/ is located in an expanding science and innovation campus in Oxfordshire and is an internationally renowned centre at the forefront of genetics research.  As the hub of the new National Mouse Genetics Network, the specialist facilities and capabilities of the MLC support a number of research groups across the UK to accelerate our understanding of human diseases, such as cancer, developmental disorders and neurodegeneration.

Overall Purpose: 

To work in the Mary Lyon Centre team and provide high quality husbandry and experimental procedures to fulfil scientific needs. This includes ensuring that the needs of the animals are met in terms of clean cages, food, bedding and health checks. Working under Home Office licensing (The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, amended 2012) to carry out procedures needed to help advance medical research, with meticulous record keeping of all animal-related work.

 Main Duties/Key Responsibilities: 

• Checking the health and welfare of experimental mice
• Participation in the rota for cleaning and watering of animal cages
• Addressing the welfare needs of mouse colonies
• Maintaining cleanliness in the animal rooms
• Computerised record keeping
• Reading and adhering to standard operating procedures (SOPs) and risk assessments
• Taking samples for genotyping

 Working Relationships: 

Member of a team working under supervision of a line manager and ward supervisor. 

Additional Information: 

Must be able to work overtime to cover animal requirements.

Education/Qualifications/Training Required:

Essential:

• Five GCSEs at grade C or above

 Desirable:

• Institute of Animal Technology Level 2 Diploma in Laboratory Animal Science and Technology
• Home Office Licence

Previous Work Experience Required:

Essential:

• Experience of working with animals, or in a capacity in which a caring approach in the post is required, and attention to detail are essential (for example, in kennels, care homes, working with young children) 

Desirable:

• Basic animal husbandry

Knowledge and Experience:

Essential:

• Genuine interest in the welfare of animals
• Basic computer skills, including the ability to use digital record keeping systems and common software packages such as Excel 

Desirable:

• Experience of working to SOPs

Personal skills/Behaviours/Qualities:

Essential:

• Excellent attention to detail
• Ability to work as part of a team under supervision
• Self-motivated and positive influence on other team members
• Ability to carry out manual tasks such as cage changing

The Medical Research Council (MRC) is a great place to work and progress your career.  The MRC encourages the integration of clinical and discovery research to elucidate both disease processes and potential new therapies. The MLC provides vital scientific support for the UK biomedical community and focuses on preclinical research using mouse models, which supports clinical research and therapy discovery.

Equality & Diversity:

The MRC values the diverse skills and experience of its employees and is committed to achieving equality of treatment for all.  Our objectives are that all individuals shall have equal opportunities for employment and advancement on the basis of their skills, aptitudes and abilities.  The MRC is committed to the engagement and retention of the best possible talent and to creating an environment that encourages excellence in scientific research through good equality and diversity leadership and management. 

Corporate/Local Responsibilities & Requirements:

The post-holder must at all times carry out their responsibilities with due regard to the MRC’s:

• Code of Conduct
• Equality and Diversity policy
• Health and Safety policy
• Data Protection and Security policy 

The above lists are not exhaustive and the post-holder is required to undertake such duties as may reasonably be requested within the scope of the post.  All employees are required to act professionally, cooperatively and flexibly in line with the requirements of the post and the MRC.