Laboratory Technician & Estates Support (Dubai) - Dubai Operations - 97569 - Grade 6

Description

Position Details

Dubai Professional Services, External Relations

University of Birmingham, Dubai campus

Salary: Competitive

Grade 6

Full time

Permanent

Location: Dubai, UAE

Closing date: 19 June 2021

University of Birmingham Dubai

Having established ourselves in Dubai International Academic City in 2018 we are now moving to a new and exciting phase of our development with the opening of our new state-of-the-art campus in September 2021. This post represents an excellent opportunity to join an ambitious World Top 100 University as we continue to grow our long-term strategic mission in Dubai, the UAE and the wider region. Our campus reflects the very best of Birmingham through our presence in Dubai.

Professional Services Ethos

Our ethos as a Professional Services team has been developed in line with the principles of being a Birmingham Professional. In particular, here in Dubai, this means that all Professional Services colleagues seek to collaborate effectively to ensure the needs of the whole campus community and our stakeholders are met. It also means that we work constructively together to provide a flexible range of service and support that adapt to the changing needs of the Campus as we grow. There are specific focal points in the academic cycle when all Professional Services team members will be expected to contribute regardless of their primary role, for example Welcome or Graduation. In addition, the duties listed below are illustrative of the general nature and level of responsibility of this post which is likely to change over time in response to the needs of the Campus and as you develop your experience and skills. You will have the opportunity to develop and may also need to specialise your duties further, over time, in agreement with your manager.

In order to contribute to the success of the team and the University's vision for the Dubai Campus the Professional Services team will be seeking to continue to recruit and develop colleagues who display:

• a high level of intellectual aptitude;
• strong agility and a portfolio of skills that can adapt to meet changing circumstances;
• an innovative and creative mindset; and
• both an enterprising and entrepreneurial nature to support our growth and pursuit of excellence.

Department Overview

The Operating & Developing Campus Services are a key part of the Professional Services support for the University's Dubai campus. This area of professional Services support delivers and maintains the campus environment in which students, staff and visitors can be taught, study, work and connect. The service provides the infrastructure and services that enable the campus to support the breadth of activity that makes a University community and supports an excellent student, staff and visitor experience. This includes a whole range of campus services from IT, AV, Lab support, health & safety and building management to managing contracts for the provision of IT service support, facilities management, security, catering and transport. The team will work closely together in a flexible way to support the needs of the campus and to address day to day issues in a timely manner.

Job summary

The post-holder will be expected to provide support for a broad range of duties, working alongside the Specialist Laboratory Technician and the Estates and Building Services Officer. The role requires flexibility to provide support as required between the Laboratories and Estates, particularly during busy periods and covering for leave.

Working alongside the Specialist Laboratory Technician, the ideal candidate will be a problem-solver who thrives in a fast-paced environment, working with many different people from a variety of backgrounds. They will be experienced in designing and developing lab experiments, with a focus on electronics, sensors, circuits, mechanical fabrication, and maintenance. The post holder must also have a good understanding of local and national health and safety guidelines, and be prepared to play a major role in writing and maintaining experimental risk assessments. The post holder will also contribute to the smooth running of the lab by maintaining stocks of routine consumables, and by assisting with maintaining a safe and organised workplace.

Working alongside the Estates and Building Services Officer, the post holder will be responsible for; ensuring that buildings remain in a good state of repair; managing the security of College buildings; arranging and managing accommodation moves and assisting with both small and large scale works to improve space utilisation and functionality. The post holder will provide significant contribution in the management of health & safety carrying out inspections and tests to ensure compliance with statutory and University policies.

Supporting the Estates Asset Management and Building Services Officer, you will use your excellent organisational skills and attention to detail to ensure that the tasks you carry out are completed to a high quality in a timely manner. The Estates support element of the role includes areas like:

• routine inspection of the building and external grounds, including Health and Safety assessments
• responding to reports of defects
• resolution of issues, either by simple fixes or using service contracts
• post room
• car parking
• Fire Warden

Main duties

General

• Promotes equality and values diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.
• Actively manages equality, diversity and inclusion through monitoring and evaluation and actively challenging unacceptable behaviour.
• Undertake continuous personal and professional development.

Job Specific Duties

• Working with research staff to design, develop and build experimental equipment.
• Instruct and provide high level technical support for students in the correct and safe handling of equipment.
• Training new staff and students in the safe operation of equipment; assisting with upkeep and maintenance of appropriate training records and providing laboratory inductions.
• Demonstrate equipment use, high level techniques and procedures to staff and students.
• Trouble-shoot and respond to problems, which may occur during practical sessions, using your in-depth knowledge and your ability to diagnose/resolve problems and suggest solutions.
• Assisting in the production and updating of a variety of risk assessments and standard operating procedures and ensuring that this documentation is available as required.
• Preparation of a diverse range of materials used during practical sessions.
• Oversee that the laboratories are suitably prepared for practicals and the setup/takedown of equipment/materials used during sessions.
• Monitoring that the control measures specified in risk assessments are being followed. Assisting with the reporting of accidents and incidents.
• Assisting the Specialist Laboratory Technician in ensuring that the laboratory is maintained in a safe manner. This may include the safe storage of hazardous substances and the safe disposal of hazardous waste.
• Upholding the correct waste disposal stream as governed by College and local policy for laboratory.
• Ensuring that regular maintenance processes are carried out and that appropriate records are maintained.
• Developing specialist knowledge of supporting the IT/AV needs of the Laboratories on campus and providing basic technical cover on occasions in the absence of IT/AV team.
• Undertake routine monitoring of the campus and respond to problem reports to ensure it is maintained in a clean, functional and safe state.
• Address campus issues via simple fixes or via service contracts and escalate any problems through the appropriate channels.
• Manage a log of routine inspections, issues and resolution.
• Manage the post room /stores to ensure deliveries and collections are structured and secure valuable deliveries until collection.
• Carry out routine monitoring of the car park to address any issues over inappropriate parking, blocking etc.
• Provide support for special events and visits.
• Act as a Fire Warden and assist with practices and evacuation planning.
• You may be required to contribute to internal and external audit procedures and to regulatory inspections.
• Supports equality and values diversity, moderates own behaviour to avoid unfair discriminatory impact or bias on others
• Any other duties as may reasonably be required.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• Extensive relevant workplace experience, professional qualification or degree in an appropriate subject.
• GCSE level 2 (A*- C) or equivalent level 2 qualification in mathematics and English.
• In-depth practical knowledge of relevant technical and scientific methods.
• Extensive experience of similar laboratory-based work, together with familiarity with a wide range of laboratory equipment.
• Ability to work under minimal supervision and function as part of a team.
• Familiar with health & safety requirements, writing risk assessments and working safely with electrical/electronic equipment.
• Positive attitude and an enthusiasm for working with a variety of people to design & develop experiments, taking time to understand the requirements, and to solve problems.
• Able to organise and manage own work load and to demonstrate flexibility in terms of work practices/requirements, including working both independently and as part of a team.
• Able to use computer systems to maintain building log and engage service suppliers.
• Willingness to act as a fire warden.
• The post holder should have a well-developed working knowledge of facilities and health and safety management (COSHH, fire safety, statutory testing etc.). This is crucial to enable a fast and appropriate response largely without consultation with others.
• The ability to communicate with a wide range of people including internal staff, external contractors and other businesses.
• Competence and ability in manual handling due to the physical lifting and carrying aspects of the role.
• Experience of health and safety compliance monitoring. In particular, the identification and resolution of simple faults.
• Good verbal and written communication skills.
• A willingness to attend relevant training to develop knowledge, awareness and skills relevant to the role; such activities would form part of continued professional development. Working towards professional recognition/accreditation would be strongly encouraged.
• Understands the importance of equality and diversity in the workplace
• Ability to identify and respond to equality and diversity issues in line with relevant policies and procedures.

Dimensions

• You will have no direct staff management responsibility, but you will be expected to act as a role model to staff and students. The role is focused on maintaining the campus and the delivery of a quality service to customers, working collaboratively with colleagues. You will provide specialist expertise in your area and provide advice and support to a range of customers.

Planning and organising

• Working closely with the Laboratory Technician and the Estates Asset Management and Building Services Officer, you will deliver appropriate solutions across the working hours of the campus. You will be required to work independently on daily, weekly and monthly tasks, but also on projects with medium-longer-term horizons without daily supervision. You will ensure that you have the resources required, which will require planning ahead and procurement of goods.

Problem solving and decision making

• You will be able to research, modify and adapt protocols after consulting relevant manager, and prepare for teaching or research experiments. You will be able to uphold Health and Safety procedures. You will need to be confident in identifying problems, breaking them down and implement solutions. Although you will work under the direction of more senior staff you will be able to carry out your work with a large amount of autonomy.

Internal and external relationships

• You will work closely with the Laboratory Technician Officer and the Estates Asset Management and Building Services Officer. This role will be advising and supporting staff and/or students, and with external contacts such as company representatives.

As interest in all of the advertised posts has been extremely high, we encourage you to apply online, tailoring your skillset against the listed criteria in the application form.

Valuing excellence, sustaining investment

We value diversity and inclusion at the University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community and are open to discussions around all forms of flexible working.