Animal Technician

**Details**:
**Reference number**:

- 357302**Salary**:

- £25,976 - £30,264- A Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27%**Job grade**:

- Executive Officer**Contract type**:

- Permanent**Type of role**:

- Science**Working pattern**:

- Full-time**Number of jobs available**:

- 2Contents

Location

About the job

**Benefits**:
Things you need to know

Location
- Porton Down, SalisburyAbout the job

**Job summary**:
**Animal Technician**

**Grade EO (National) - £25,976 to £30,264**

**UKHSA Porton Down**

**Permanent Contract**

The Biological Services Group offers in-vivo research services in high containment settings, with the main goal of safeguarding the UK public from various health threats. Some of the current areas of work are vaccine quality testing, influenza, COVID-19, tuberculosis, anthrax, and new human pathogens. We are looking for a new team member, who has experience in working with animal models, to help us achieve our research and health protection objectives. The role involves providing animal care, husbandry, and procedures in a high containment facility that operates under several regulatory authorities, such as Home Office, Health and Safety Executive, and Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

**Location**: Porton Down, Salisbury

**Working Pattern - **Full Time, on site, 37.5 hours per week.

**Job description**:

- Work with the team to provide wrap around animal care of the highest standard:

- Ensure animals have ‘five freedoms of animal welfare’
- Maintain an awareness of current best-practice in animal care and welfare, with a view to improve utilised methods and equipment.
- Communicate effectively with team members, NACWO, NVS regarding animals in your care.
- Competently work in high containment facilities, housing animals infected with human pathogens.
- Hold a Home Office Personal Licence, to the required species, and maintain competency to:

- Conduct licenced animal procedures at high containment. under Home Office Licence authority.
- Assist in surgical procedures such as implantation of telemetric devices.
- Manage and maintain anaesthetic systems for delivery of gaseous anaesthesia to animals.
- Perform _post-mortem_ examination and removal of specified tissue from a wide range of species. Be available to carry out emergency _post-mortem_ (out of hours) procedures on animals that have met the specified humane endpoints.
- Operate and maintain specialist equipment (e.g. X-ray apparatus).
- Perform all duties within guidelines laid down by the Home Office, Health and Safety Executive, DEFRA and MHRATake part in rota system for weekend and public holiday working and essential ‘out of hours’ scoring of animals in study.

**Person specification**:
**Essential Criteria**:
**Essential**
- Awareness of the regulatory requirements that the facility operates to, e.g. Home Office, Health and Safety Executive, and Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
- An awareness and understanding of the concept of high containment systems whilst maintaining both animal welfare and staff safety.
- To be able to communicate effectively with peers, managers, and scientists.
- Can demonstrate reliability & the ability to work as part of a team.

**Desirable**
- National Certificate in Animal Technology
- Experience of working in a high containment facility with animals.
- Experience of working in a regulated environment
- Experience of working in a safety critical environment

**_ Please ensure that your statement of suitability does not contain any personal identifiers such as Name, Gender, Location, Marital Status, Sexual Orientation or Religion. The UKHSA operates a fair and open recruitment policy._**

**Benefits**:

- Alongside your salary of £25,976, UK Health Security Agency contributes £7,013 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.- Learning and development tailored to your role
- An environment with flexible working options
- A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
- A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%

Things you need to know

**Selection process details**:
**Selection process details**

**STAGE 1 - APPLICATION & SIFT**:
If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to an interview.

**STAGE 2 - INTERVIEW**

This competition will involve a face to face interview.

Your Statement of Suitability should outline your skills, experience, and achievements, providing evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria (outlined in the person specification section).

**Expected Timeline**:
**Interviews**: 26th/27th June (TBC)

**Eligibility Criteria**

Open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service (including by definition internal applicants)

Nationality requirements
- UK nationals
- Nationals of Commonwealth countries who hav