Junior Technician

Applications are invited for the above permanent, full-time post working in the College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering.

Duties will include providing technical support within the College with a particular focus on support for the animal care facilities, primarily in the School of Natural Sciences.

Candidates should have four GCSEs at grades A - D including English and Maths or have an NVQ level I (or equivalent) in a relevant subject. Candidates must be able to carry out physical activities associated with animal care for the greater part of the working day including accessing pigeon lofts and aviaries, cleaning animal tanks and enclosures. The role will involve some element of manual handling.

Candidate must be organised, have an enthusiastic proactive attitude with good communication skills and happy to work alone or as part of a team.

The successful candidate will be expected to commence as soon as possible.

Applications will also be considered to carry out this role on a part-time or job share basis.

Applications will only be accepted via our on-line recruitment website, jobs.bangor.ac.uk. However, in cases of access issues due to disability, paper application forms are available by telephoning 01248 383865.

Closing date for applications: 31 May 2023

Committed To Equal Opportunities

Overview

The College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at Bangor University is one of the leading centres in the UK for teaching and research in a range of science subjects. We aim to educate and train a new generation of scientists aware of societal and environmental needs in a world-class, research-led environment.

The College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering comprises of the Schools of Natural Sciences; Ocean Sciences; and Computer Science & Electronic Engineering.

School

The School of Natural Sciences conducts world-leading research and teaching across a diverse range of topics including zoology, biology, forestry, geography, agriculture and conservation. The School boasts cutting-edge laboratories and analysis equipment, a research farm, animal care facilities, aquaria, growth rooms and greenhouses, and even a natural history museum, all of which are used by our students and research teams.

Purpose of the Job

Under the direction of Senior Animal Care Technician and working as part of a small team, the post holder will be responsible for providing technical support to the animal care facilities and aquaria, primarily in the School of Natural Sciences.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Aquaria

Cleaning tanks.
Changing water and checking water quality.
Occasional feeding.

Pigeon loft and other aviaries

Cleaning lofts and aviaries.
Occasional provision of food and water.

Rodent rooms

Cleaning and setting up fresh animal enclosures.
Cleaning rodent rooms.
Occasional provision of food and water.

Reptile rooms

Cleaning reptile and amphibian enclosures.
Cleaning reptile rooms.
Basic husbandry of reptiles and frogs.

General technical support

Occasional support of the College teaching technical teams as directed by the Chief Technician.
Maintain records as directed by Senior Animal Care Technician.
Report damages or faults via an appropriate system
Undertake basic preventative maintenance measures as directed by supervisor.

The postholder's work will be carried out in a number of Bangor University buildings including Brambell and Treborth Botanical Garden.

Other Duties and Responsibilities

The post holder will be expected to participate in performance review and developmental activities.
The post holder will be expected to comply with the University equal opportunities policies, Dignity at Work and Study Policy and the University’s Welsh Language Policy and the Welsh Language Standards.
The post holder has a general and legal duty of care in relation to health, safety and wellbeing and must take all reasonable steps to ensure a safe and healthy working environment for themselves and for other members of staff, students and visitors affected by their actions or inactions. The post holder is also required to comply with all applicable health and safety policies, procedures and risk assessments.
The post holder must comply with relevant legal and financial policies and procedures and be aware of their responsibilities in terms of the legal requirements of their post.

Person Specification

Qualifications/Training

Essential

Minimum of 4 GCSEs at grades A* - D (incl. English and Maths) or NVQ level 1 in a relevant subject area (or equivalent).

Desirable

NVQ level 2 in a relevant subject area.
GCSE in a Science subject.
Qualified first aider.

Experience/Knowledge

Essential

Basic knowledge of health and safety in order to follow basic instructions in a safe manner accordingly.

Desirable

Experience of working with animals.
Experience of working in a laboratory.

Skills/Abilities

Essential

Ability to carry out physical activities associated with animal care for the greater part of the working day including accessing pigeon lofts and aviaries, cleaning animal tanks and enclosures. The role will involve some element of manual handling.
Full UK driving licence to enable travel between work locations across Bangor and Menai Bridge in all weathers.
Ability to wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE).
Ability to maintain accurate records and possess good organisational skills.
Ability to work under direction and implement agreed plans to deadlines.
Good interpersonal skills and an enthusiastic proactive attitude.
Ability to communicate effectively with staff and students from diverse backgrounds.

Desirable

The ability to communicate through the medium of Welsh is desirable for this role. If applicants are not able to speak / write in Welsh at present, there are many opportunities to learn if the successful candidate wishes to do so.

General

The University is committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity and to creating an inclusive working environment. We believe this can be achieved through attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse range of staff from many different backgrounds. We strive to develop a workforce from all sections of the community regardless of sex, gender identity, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, trans identity, relationship status, religion or belief, caring responsibilities, or age. We promote and facilitate the use of the Welsh language through our progressive Welsh Language Policy. We comply with the Welsh Language Standards and are committed to equality of opportunity. You are welcome to apply for any job in English or Welsh and all applications submitted will be treated equally.

We are a member of Advance HE's Athena SWAN Gender Equality charter and hold a Bronze award in recognition of our commitment to and progress towards gender equality within the University's policies, practices, and culture. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.

All members of staff have a duty to ensure their actions are in line with the overall environmental aims of the University and minimise their environmental impact.

All offers are made subject to proof of eligibility to work in the UK and receipt of satisfactory references.

We have a legal responsibility to ensure that you have the right to work in the UK before you can start working for us. When you apply for this post you will be required to explain the basis upon which you believe you will able to live and work in the UK legally on the commencement date of the role should your application be successful. If you do not have the right to work freely in any position in the UK already, any offer of employment we will make to you will be subject to you obtaining a right to work visa. The following link provides information on the various visa routes into employment and the eligibility requirements (including switching visa status where permissible) https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas. If you are successful in your application we will discuss visa options with you at the time of making the offer of employment.

Please note that, in the event of applications being received from candidates on the University's Redeployment Register with a reasonable skills match to the post specification, these applicants will be given prior consideration.