Scientific Officer

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

- 341871**Salary**:

- £30,827 - £32,074- A Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27%**Job grade**:

- Executive Officer- Scientific Officer**Contract type**:

- Permanent**Type of role**:

- Science**Working pattern**:

- Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time**Number of jobs available**:

- 1Contents

Location

About the job

**Benefits**:
Things you need to know

Location
- New Haw, South East England, KT15 3NBAbout the job

**Job summary**:
Provide an efficient, precise, and reliable service for the serotyping and further testing, such as AMR testing, of _Salmonella_ cultures, for Regional Laboratories, project work and private customers. In addition, the post holder will provide database management, scientific expertise, and administrative support to the Bacteriology department, primarily for the National Control Programmes (NCPs) for _Salmonella _and diagnostic submissions. The post holder will act as joint deputy manager of the _Salmonella _National Reference Laboratory (NRL) and will have line management responsibility for members of the _Salmonella _serotyping NRL team.

The post is full-time, but we may consider part-time staff on a job-share basis if continuity can be arranged. The post is based at the Weybridge APHA laboratories. Attendance at the laboratories is essential and therefore the post holder needs to be able to work from the APHA Weybridge site.

**Job description**:
The post holder will be expected to work flexibly and undertake some of the following activities:

- Serotyping of _Salmonella_ cultures under the National Control Programmes (NCPs), Zoonosis Order and Animal By-Products orders and for project work and private customers using microagglutination, tube and slide agglutination and biochemical techniques.
- Additional testing of submitted _Salmonella _cultures such as AMR testing, and vaccine strain testing.
- Line management responsibility for members of the _Salmonella _serotyping team.
- Acting as joint deputy manager of the _Salmonella _NRL, assisting with day to day running of the laboratory and the team.
- Temperature monitoring and maintenance of equipment, upkeep of all relevant records, cleaning, and housekeeping for _Salmonella_ work area in accordance with UKAS ISO17025 and ISO9001 requirements.
- Responsible for recording and reporting of _Salmonella _results, including approval of Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) results.
- Maintain and troubleshoot problems with databases linked to the National _Salmonella _database and provide timely and accurate data for the Disease Consultant.
- Provide support for all commercial work carried out by the section to ensure it is correctly coded, processed and attributed to correct test codes.
- Liaise with colleagues within the APHA and with external bodies to provide improved communications, troubleshooting and consultancy.
- To provide database management, IT liaison and scientific expertise for work in Field Epidemiology and Surveillance team, carried out under surveillance contracts and for private customers involving serotyping, phagetyping and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of _Salmonella_.
- Provide admin support for the Field Epidemiology and Surveillance team.
- Provide support to Department of Epidemiological Sciences for providing NCP Quarterly Reports and responding to ad-hoc data queries.
- Work in accordance with all health and safety guidelines and procedures.
- Contribution to international project work and training, as part of the NRLs role as a WOAH reference laboratory for _Salmonella_. This may require occasional international travel.

**Person specification**:
This role assists with the delivery of critical statutory disease surveillance for _Salmonella_. It is a mixture of laboratory working and data-base management. This is a Weybridge based post that requires availability for daily laboratory work and laboratory management duties. The post-holder will be motivated with good organisational skills and ability to work effectively with others within and outside the Bacteriology department. Good decision-making skills are required to progress testing and reporting of results appropriately. Excellent verbal and written communication skills are needed to communicate with colleagues within and across departments. Attention to detail will be critical for cleaning of data and ensuring accurate, timely reporting for incorporation into both internal and external reports.
- Laboratory testing experience in bacteriology.
- Knowledge of interpreting results from bacteriology testing.
- Use of software such as Microsoft Office, LIMS, for data management/preparation.
- Working to quality (9001:2015 or UKAS 17025) and safety policies and standards.
- Working to Standard Operating Procedures and Risk Assessments.

**Qualifications**:

- Degree in Biology, Microbiology, Molecular Biology or a related discipline or substantial relevant laboratory ex