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Animal Facility Supervisor

Employer
European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)
Location
Heidelberg
Closing date
15 Jun 2023

View more

Discipline
Life Science
Job Type
Research Assistant
Employment - Hours
Full time
Duration
Fixed term
Qualification
Professional certification
Sector
Academia

About the team/job

EMBL is Europe’s life sciences laboratory – an intergovernmental organisation with more than 110 independent research groups and service teams covering the spectrum of molecular biology. It operates across six sites in Heidelberg (headquarters), Barcelona, Cambridge, Grenoble, Hamburg and Rome. Our mission is to perform basic research in molecular biology; train scientists, students and visitors at all levels; offer vital services to scientists in the public and private sectors within the member states; develop new instruments and methods; and engage actively in technology transfer.

EMBL HD Laboratory Animal Resources (LAR) as a central support service provides resources to institutional animal care and use programmes and operates different vivaria with a variety of animal species and models used in EMBL research projects.


Your role

The role combines two levels of responsibility: supervisory duties for a staff team and overseeing of daily operations and workflow within a specific LAR area. Under the direction of the head of LAR, the supervisor will maintain the laboratory animal facilities including daily operations, facility space, equipment, animal husbandry, environmental enrichment, technical support, and ensure that LAR policies and facility SOPs are implemented across the program.

Duties and responsibilities:

  • Overall supervision of their assigned team of animal technicians including scheduling of work, training new hires, and keeping employee records.
  • Oversee staff in their area to ensure completion of daily work tasks to established standards.
  • Communication and assignment of tasks to team members and ensure a balanced workload within the team.
  • Handle short-term redistribution of team resources (i.e. assignment of team members depending on changing needs in different areas).
  • Liaise with the head of LAR for approval of leave requests and vacation planning.
  • Monitor progress of team members and adjust as LAR needs and standards evolve.
  • Provide hands-on training/advice to team members as needed, applying a continuous development approach.
  • Provide training of prescribed policies (SOPs) regarding animal husbandry to users and staff.
  • Act as first point of contact for questions from animal technicians.
  • Understand and ensure personnel follow EMBL institutional policies.
  • Participate in LAR meetings/rounds as needed.
  • Promote a team-building, collaborative atmosphere.
  • Maintain a supportive work environment and a solve conflicts in a constructive, professional manner.
  • Oversee daily facility operations in their assigned area and ensure daily practices and processes comply with applicable regulations.
  • Handle all aspects related to the daily care of the animals in their assigned area.
  • Oversee of breeding and experimental animal colonies as assigned.
  • Monitor and oversee repair and report malfunction of any animal facility equipment. Contact outside vendors or appropriate EMBL personnel for equipment repair.
  • Ensure adequate quantities of relevant stocks (reagents, consumables, etc.) are available at all times in the assigned area.
  • Order supplies and consumables as needed.
  • Oversee the receipt of animals, collection of census information, animal transfers within and between different animal areas/rooms.
  • Assist LAR Manager with the acquisition, import and export of animals from/to external institutions.
  • Participate in the execution of the Animal Health Surveillance program (sampling, coordinate with lab, handling samples, etc.).
  • Ensure relevant records and animal tracking system are kept up to date.
  • Liaise with LAR manager to ensure H&S policies are properly implemented.
  • Ensure animal environment is in compliance with EMBL policies, LAR SOPs and IACUC directions.
  • Ensure that care, housing and husbandry of animals meet EMBL SOP and policies.
  • Participate in the writing and updating Standard Operating Procedures.
  • Interact with research investigators concerning research protocols, procedures and other related techniques. Advise researchers and staff regarding experimental techniques and procedural issues.
  • Help researchers in scheduling and conducting animal related procedures as appropriate.
  • Work with LAR management to address investigator non-standard husbandry requests.
  • Interpret relevant policies and procedures for incoming users as needed.

You have

  • Relevant qualification and experience of at least 3 years in an animal facility with a similar role.
  • Function A, C and D as per European Directive 2010/63/EU.
  • Strong interpersonal skills.
  • Ability to build trust amongst team members.
  • Very good organizational skills.
  • Excellent problem-solving skills.
  • Professional attitude to handling and solving conflicts.
  • Competent to lead a diverse team in a challenging environment.
  • Computer skills.
  • Able to communicate in English in a professional environment.

You might also have

  • Advanced German language abilities an advantage.

Why join us

EMBL is curiosity-driven, community-oriented and international. As an inclusive, equal opportunity employer, we believe that diversity enables us to collaborate more effectively and be innovative in our approaches. We are, therefore, committed to creating an inclusive and flexible culture - one where everyone can realise their full potential and make a positive contribution to our organisation. 

We encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing team – we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and personal experiences reflect the diversity of the populations that our science serves. We actively encourage applications from all genders and cultures, ethnic groups and all demographics to help us avoid perpetuating biases and oversights at this transformational point in our people strategy.

EMBL offers attractive conditions and benefits appropriate to an international research organisation with a very collegial and family-friendly working environment. Competitive salary and social security benefits, financial support for relocation, a relaxed culture, professional development, an on-site nursery, canteen and other staff facilities make EMBL a great place to work.

**Don’t meet every single requirement? We are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply nevertheless.


What else you need to know

We are Europe’s flagship research laboratory for the life sciences – an intergovernmental organisation performing scientific research in disciplines including molecular biology, physics, chemistry and computer science. We are an international, innovative and interdisciplinary laboratory with more than 1900 employees from many nations, operating across six sites, in Heidelberg (HQ), Barcelona, Hinxton near Cambridge, Hamburg, Grenoble and Rome.

Our mission is to offer vital services in training scientists, students and visitors at all levels; to develop new instruments and methods in the life sciences and actively engage in technology transfer activities, and to integrate European life science research. The working language of the institute is English.

Please note that appointments on fixed term contracts can be renewed up to 9 years in total, depending on circumstances at the time of the review.

EMBL is a signatory of DORA. Find out how we implement best practices in research assessment in our recruitment processes here.

Please apply online through: www.embl.org/jobs

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