Scientific Officer

We have a fantastic opportunity to join our Animals in Science Department (ASD) and to play a key role in supporting and implementing the Society's work regarding animals used in research, testing and education.

As Scientific Officer, your role will support the department with respect to furthering the implementation of the 3Rs (Replacement of animal experiments; the principal goal, Reduction and Refinement) and promoting robust ethical review of animal use, so this really is a key role within the team.

This is a hybrid working role, which will entail mainly home working with occasional travel to the Southern Regional Centre, Horsham or our London Hub, Blackfriars, as required. Also travel to external meetings, some of which would include overnight stays (UK/international).

Why work for the RSPCA?

It's an exciting time to join us in the decade of our bicentenary as we focus on our Strategy to 2030. The RSPCA works 365 days a year, rescuing all animals of all types from abuse, neglect, and injury.

Here's some of the key work that you will be doing...
- Monitor, share and analyse policies, reports, news and announcements (including answers to Parliamentary Questions) from relevant bodies (such as the European Commission, Home Office and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology), proactively and on request, in order to help maintain the Animals in Science Department's knowledge base.
- Search for articles, research papers and general information relevant to the Department's work, to support the work of the scientific staff and maintain the Department's knowledge base regarding research animal welfare and use, ethics and the 3Rs.
- Undertake departmental administrative tasks as required, such as helping to organise meetings; laying out and formatting publications; writing up meeting reports for publication.
- Work closely with the Digital Media team, providing and updating content for the RSPCA website relevant to the Society's work to help laboratory animals, and official social media channels.
- Help produce content (eg. articles, infographics) for the public and other stakeholders, to inform these audiences of issues relating to animal research and testing and of the RSPCA's work in this area.
- To represent the RSPCA at relevant forums and give presentations at relevant meetings or workshops, internally and externally.

What we are looking for in you...

We think this is a great role and to add value we are seeking a match of these skills, but don't worry if you don't tick every box, we'd still love to hear from you.
- Awareness and understanding of the debate around animal experiments and the range of perspectives involved
- Ability to identify animal welfare and ethical issues.
- Good oral and written communication skills, with proven ability to be able to communicate complex scientific information to a broad range of audiences.
- Experience of completing critical reviews of scientific literature and presenting summarised results.
- Excellent attention to detail.
- Competent IT skills.
- A proven ability to use initiative, be self-organised and able to work independently.
- Excellent researching and information-processing skills.
- Good interpersonal and influencing skills, as this is a sensitive area.

If you have a positive can-do approach to daily tasks and thrive in an inclusive people orientated environment then we'd love to hear from you

Our Values

We are compassionate
- We are inspirational
- We are committed
- We are expert
- We act with integrity.

What's in it for you?

We value and recognise our employees' contribution and are proud to offer an extensive benefits package that includes:
**Great Annual Leave benefits**:

- All staff receive 25 days annual leave on entry rising to 30 days after five years service and 31 days after six years service plus an additional Society day around Christmas. Staff can also carry over up to five days leave to the next leave year. We also offer a generous pension scheme with associated life assurance and group income protection scheme; access to private healthcare scheme; support for professional development after qualifying period and access to our employee assistance programme.

**Flexibility in Hours ** - We understand the importance of work-life balance and we offer our colleagues the flexibility to vary their location between both the office and home. Core Hours (currently being trialed) with agreement staff can work their 35 hours flexibly across Monday to Friday. Provided the core hours of 10:00-1500 are covered start and finish times each date can be flexed (prorated for part time staff) If you are looking for further flexibility, speak to us at the interview stage so that we can consider your request.

Did we mention our offices are dog friendly too?....

All online information and documents are available in alternative formats, including Braille and large font, upon request from the Resourcing team.

**Please note we are not accepting