View Vacancy -- Study Manager- MLC 2759

Overall purpose:

To oversee management of studies as part of the in vivo team in the Mary Lyon Centre (MLC) at MRC Harwell.

This post would be responsible for executing studies planned by the in-vivo project managers for external academic researchers or biotech companies. These studies involve mouse models of human diseases, including cancers, mitochondrial disease, kidney disease and other areas. Most studies involve phenotyping tests, dosing and welfare assessment, followed by tissue dissection after study termination.

This role requires excellent organisation skills to plan studies across teams, organise workflows and ensure work is completed on time and of high quality. This role is also a critical step in the quality control process, ensuring that day-to-day changes in the study plan are well thought out and appropriate, and that detailed records are kept and reported back to senior managers and researchers. Whilst the post-holder will need to carry out some procedures, such as dosing and tissue dissection, the primary purpose of this post is organisation and record keeping.

The post-holder will line manage a team of two technicians who will carry out many of the dosing and imaging experiments and will liaise closely with other managers and teams of technicians who work together to complete these studies.

Main duties/key responsibilities:

Line Management

• Line management of technicians working in the in vivo projects team, including pastoral care, career development, managing performance etc.

Study Management

• Day-to-day responsibility for running allocated studies, which includes scheduling mouse cohorts, arranging technicians to cover tests, calculating doses and diluting drugs, organising appropriate training, ensuring that full plans are in place and that relevant paperwork (e.g. risk assessments and SOPs) is signed off by technicians
• Allocate workload of technicians under direct line management, as well as discussing with other managers to ensure distribution of workload across teams
• Develop SOPs and ensure these are read and adhered to
• Troubleshoot problems that arise in studies, using your experience to make appropriate judgment on the best course of action
• Work flexibly to manage changing priorities in a busy working environment
• Generate study records and ensure that they are up to date and accurate
• Ensure that all studies are compliant with Home Office regulations; i.e., that they are covered by the Project Licence and that technicians working on the study are licenced, trained and competent
• Work alongside other managers in the MLC to ensure that mice are appropriately looked after and welfare is taken care of as a priority
• Carry out basic plotting to check data such as mouse body weights vs treatment
• Carry out quality control of data relevant to your studies, helping the data management and project management teams to ensure that all data is complete and correct

Advisory role / responding to enquiries

• Liaise with internal and external users in response to enquiries about studies under your supervision

Training

• Undergo training to achieve a Home Office Licence to allow work on mice
• Carry out training of technicians, particularly in good laboratory skills, making up solutions and calculating doses

Working relationships:

The post-holder will work within the in vivo projects team and will be line managed by the In Vivo Project Manager. They will work closely with 8-9 other managers; together these managers look after all the teams working with mice in the Mary Lyon Centre and share resources to get the studies done. This requires someone with excellent teamwork skills and the ability to build good working relationships and support both their own team and the teams they work alongside.

Education/Qualifications/Training Required:

Essential:

• Master’s degree or a bachelor’s degree, with extensive biological experience in an academic or commercial research setting.

Desirable:

• Home Office licence

Previous Work Experience Required:

Essential:

• Extensive research experience, including working in a laboratory environment
• Study or project management

Desirable:

• Experience of working with any laboratory animals
• Experience of working under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986

Knowledge and Experience:

Essential:

• Proficient in the use of Microsoft packages
• Ability to accurately follow protocols/SOPs
• Ability to calculate concentrations and doses
• Experience in accurate record keeping for multiple studies

Desirable:

• Experience with laboratory information management systems
• Experience of writing SOP’s
• Experience of quality control processes

Personal skills/Behaviours/Qualities:

Essential:

• Excellent communication skills
• Excellent attention to detail
• Flexible and adaptable in approach to work to ensure changing priorities and deadlines are met
• A service-delivery focus
• Ability to work on day-to-day functions both independently and as part of a team

Desirable:

• Experience in training others

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