Pollution Research Laboratory Assistant

Permanent, Full-Time (37 hours per week)
Based at our Wallingford site
Salary: £28,125 - £29,636 (dependent on skills and experience)
Closing Date: Monday 6th February 2023, we reserve the right to close this vacancy early, should we receive sufficient applications.
Provisional Interview Date: Wednesday 15th February 2023, at our Wallingford site We are an independent, not-for-profit research institute. Home to 600 scientists, supported by our experienced professional service teams, we provide the data and insights that researchers, governments, and businesses need to tackle some of the major environmental challenges we face today.

We want you to love what you do whilst looking after yourself, so we support you with excellent benefits such as:

• 27 days annual leave, rising to 29 days after 5 years
• Above standard pension contributions
• Enhanced maternity and paternity leave
• A flexible approach to work, enabling you to maintain a healthy work/life balance
• 24 hour, 365-day access to support with physical, mental, social, health or financial issues

Plus loads more - https://www.ceh.ac.uk/employee-benefits A bit about you... Are you motivated, have an interest in understanding the natural environment and willing to learn? If so, we have a great opportunity for you! Working with our world leading Ecotoxicology Research Team, you’ll be assisting them in the practical maintenance and running of experiments, studying the effect of microplastics, nanomaterials, metals and pesticides on species and ecosystems.
We want to help you to develop, so you’ll be trained in the detection and analysis of microplastics in the environment to help us understand the fate of plastic pollution and its effect on nature!
You are creative when solving challenges, balancing your workload across multiple areas and developing adaptive solutions to technical problems. Confident to use computer systems for data recording or manipulation and can produce clear and concise written material.
Main Responsibilities

• Spectroscopic analysis and data manipulation, including Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and Laser Direct Infrared (LDIR) microscopy for the detection of microplastics in environmental samples
• Routine culturing of soil invertebrates and bacteria species
• Assist in running experiments into the effects of legacy and emerging chemical threats such as microplastics, nanomaterials, metals and pesticides on species and ecosystems
• Sample management and preparation (drying, weighing, wet sieving, vacuum filtration, chemical extractions) for a wide range of environmental samples
• Simple lab measurements such as pH, water holding capacity of soils etc
• Assisting in stock control and purchasing of chemicals in the laboratory

Here are some essential skills we are looking for:

• A level or degree in science
• Experience of working in a laboratory and production environment
• Demonstrated ability to work to agreed methods to generate quantitative results
• Ability to work with technical instrumentation

We would be delighted if you also had the following skills/experience:

• Understanding of the major pollution challenges and an interest in understanding them
• Scientific laboratory experience during study or work
• A level qualification in mathematics or physics and biology
• Driving licence is preferable if field work is required

If you are excited about joining us, please send us your CV and covering letter, telling us how amazing you would be for this role, by clicking the “apply” button.
Once the closing date has been reached this job ad will disappear, so we recommend you take a copy now!