Facility Technician

The Garvan Institute of Medical Research; Australia; Remote; AUD 30,000 - 50,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Ample training opportunities

International research environment

Flexible start/finish times

18 weeks paid parental leave

Health insurance discounts

Lifestyle discounts

Job summary

The Garvan Institute of Medical Research is seeking a Facility Technician to support animal care operations at ABR in Moss Vale. You will clean cages, prepare consumables, and maintain high hygiene standards to ensure a continuous supply of clean materials for animal rooms.

Role involves managing equipment such as cage washers and autoclaves, with potential forklift use. Casual employment with flexible start times and opportunities for training.

Qualifications

• Experience in cleaning to a high standard.
• Ability to follow instructions in using high-tech equipment such as autoclaves.
• Must have a good level of fitness, including ability to lift and perform manual labour.
• Strong commitment to animal welfare.
• Ability to work independently or as part of a team.
• Ability to follow instructions and work to a schedule.
• Good communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Wash cages, trolleys and protective clothing using cage washers and tunnel washers.
• Prepare clean boxes, bedding and consumables for autoclaving.
• Supply clean boxes and equipment for animal rooms.
• Prepare water pouches for animal rooms with water pouch machine.
• Fumigate equipment and materials as required.
• Deliver equipment to animal holding areas and labs.
• General cleaning and room hygiene in work areas.
• Transport food and bedding from stores to the animal facility.
• Operate forklift/pallet jack if required.
• Maintain PPE in line with safety procedures.

Skills

Attention to detail

Ability to follow instructions

Team player

Good communication

Manual handling and fitness

Tools

Cage washer

Autoclaves

Forklift (optional)

Job description

The Australian BioResources Facility, owned and operated by the Garvan, breeds high-quality laboratory mice for Garvan’s medical research programmes. This facility, based in Moss Vale in the Southern Highlands, uses advanced technology to provide an optimal environment for the production of high-quality animals for medical research.

THE OPPORTUNITY

The primary function of Facility Technician is to provide support to animal care staff looking after animals used in medical research. This involves cleaning and re-filling caging, and sterilising other equipment and consumables to ensure there is a continuous supply of clean materials to animal rooms. In addition, cleaning of the support areas such as staff room, administration area and change rooms may be required. These vital tasks contribute indirectly to the high standards of hygiene required for ABR.

Salary: Up to $35.85/hour + 12% super

Employment Type: Casual

SNAPSHOT OF BENEFITS

• Ample opportunities for on-going training and development
• Stimulating, diverse and highly international research environment
• Flexible work arrangements e.g. start / finish times
• 18 weeks paid parental leave for both parents including paid superannuation
• A range of additional leave types to meet your personal needs including cultural leave, conference leave, community service and study leave
• Discounted Health Insurance
• Lifestyle discounts with our community partners

WHAT YOU WILL DO

• Washing cages, trolleys and protective clothing. This involves the operation of high-tech equipment including cage washer and tunnel washer.
• Preparation of clean boxes, bedding and consumables for autoclaving. This involves the use of high-tech equipment – autoclaves.
• Filling and supply of clean boxes and associated equipment for animal rooms.
• Preparation of water pouches for animal rooms. This involves the operation of the water pouch machine.
• Preparation of equipment and materials for fumigation within the fumigation lock.
• Delivery of other equipment and materials to animal holding areas, laboratories and associated work areas
• General cleaning and room hygiene, including staff room, administration rooms, staff change rooms and access corridors.
• Collection of food and bedding from stores area and transportation to animal facility.
• Operation of forklift and pallet jack may be required.
• Compacting of water pouches and other materials.
• Consistently use and maintain personal protective equipment (PPE) in accordance with workplace safety procedures to ensure personal and team safety.

All staff are required to comply with Garvan’s workplace polices (as amended from time to time) and especially Garvan’s Work Health & Safety (WHS) Policy, including working in accordance with the WHS management system at all times, as safety is Garvan’s number one priority.

All staff have a responsibility to: Take reasonable care for the health & safety of self and others at Garvan/ABR. Cooperate with Garvan policy and/or management directives to ensure a safe working environment. Identify all hazards associated with work tasks and complete risk assessments and safe work procedures. Immediately notify supervisors of both actual & potential hazards. Immediately report to their supervisor/manager all injuries/illnesses. Observe and practice the correct safe work procedures. Wear or use safety equipment as specified ie PPE. Participate in safety training. Follow health and safety instructions. Keep work areas clean and tidy. Depending on the level of your role within the organisation, additional health and safety responsibilities may also apply. The Work Health & Safety (WHS) Duties, Roles & Responsibilities document should be used as a guide to determine your full WHS responsibilities at Garvan.

ABOUT YOU

Formal Qualifications No qualifications are required. On the job training will be provided

The key skills and experience include:

• Experience in cleaning to a high standard
• Ability to follow instructions in using and cleaning high tech equipment such as autoclaves.
• Must have a good level of fitness, including ability to lift and perform general manual labour.
• Possess a strong commitment to animal welfare.
• The ability to work individually or as a member of a team.
• The ability to follow instructions and work according to a schedule.
• Strong customer focus and commitment to quality.
• Good communication skills.
• Reliability and patience.

Desirable Experience or understanding of working within a clean room facility. Experience in cleaning commercial buildings. Experience in the operation of cage wash equipment and autoclaves. Possess a current driver’s licence.

ABOUT GARVAN

Garvan Institute of Medical Research is an independent Medical Research Institute (MRI) in Sydney, delivering scientific and clinical impact on a global basis and in partnership with organisations that share our vision. We are proud to be one of Australia’s largest and most highly regarded MRI’s. Our vision is global leadership in discoveries to impact and our enduring purpose is to impact human health, by harnessing information encoded in our genome. We seek to see our world-class discovery research achieve life-changing impacts, not only for individual patients with rare diseases, but for the many thousands affected by complex, common disease. Garvan promotes a diverse workplace and is committed to the principles of equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging. We are always looking for culture ‘add’, not culture ‘fit’ and are building diverse teams with great sets of complementary styles and skills to help deliver our important work effectively.

The Garvan Institute of Medical Research brings together world leading researchers and clinicians, collaborating locally and globally, to improve human health. Ourmissionis to harness all the information encoded in our genome to better diagnose, treat, predict and prevent disease. From the individual patient with rare disease, to the many thousands affected by complex, widespread illness, we are pioneering discoveries across diseases that have the deepest impact on our community. Through our key scientific strengths in data, genomics, cellular, translation and clinical science, we aim to catalyse research from fundamental discovery to transformational impact. Enabled by cutting-edge technology and world-class facilities, and the support of our passionate Garvan family; our researchers and professional staff strive, every day, to create a future where everyone lives longer, healthier lives.

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