Senior Technician

The University Of Wolverhampton; Walsall; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

The University Of Wolverhampton is seeking an experienced Senior Technician to join our technical team. This hands-on role supports teaching, research and external activities with independent work and strong teamwork.

You will prepare equipment, calibrate and maintain facilities, assist with bookings, and provide practical technical guidance to students, academics and researchers in a busy university environment.

Qualifications

• Relevant technical experience within a laboratory, workshop, studio or similar environment.
• HND or equivalent subject matter expertise with practical experience.
• Health and safety qualifications such as IOSH/NEBOSH would be advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Set up and clear away equipment for teaching sessions.
• Support use of specialist facilities and manage spaces/equipment bookings.
• Provide practical technical advice, demonstrations and inductions for staff and students.
• Maintain inventories and assist with procurement and equipment repairs.

Skills

Hands-on

Problem solving

Equipment handling

Lab safety

Independence

Teamwork

Education

HND in a relevant subject

IOSH/NEBOSH (advantage)

Tools

Calibration equipment

Job description

Senior Technician – Grade UW6

We are looking for an experienced, practical and enthusiastic Senior Technician to join our technical team.

This is a varied and very much hands-on role. We are looking for someone who is attentive, can think on their feet and enjoys solving problems. You will need to be comfortable taking responsibility, using your own initiative and getting stuck in when something needs doing.

This isn't a role for someone who wants to spend all day behind a desk. One minute you could be preparing equipment for a teaching session, the next helping a student or member of academic staff, investigating an equipment fault, dealing with a safety issue or working out how we can do something better.

The role provides high-quality technical support for teaching, research and external or commercial activities and requires someone capable of working independently when needed while remaining part of the wider technical and academic team.

What will you be doing?

You will help with the safe and effective day-to-day running of our teaching and research facilities. This includes planning and preparing practical activities, setting up and clearing away equipment and materials, supporting the use of specialist facilities and helping manage the booking and availability of spaces and equipment.

A key part of the role is working directly with students, academics and researchers. You will provide practical technical advice, demonstrate equipment and techniques, deliver inductions and training and help ensure that people can undertake their work safely and effectively.

You will also help keep our facilities and equipment working properly. That includes setting up, cleaning and calibrating equipment, carrying out maintenance and minor repairs, identifying faults, working with contractors and suppliers when necessary and helping identify replacement equipment or improved ways of working.

There is an organisational side to the job too. You will help maintain inventories and asset registers, manage equipment loans, monitor stock and consumables and support purchasing and procurement activities.

Depending on the work taking place, you may also support research and commercial projects, experiments, data collection and analysis, specialist software and first-line technical IT support.

The person we're looking for

Above all, we are looking for a doer and a problem solver.

You should be attentive enough to notice when something isn't right, confident enough to investigate it and practical enough to find a sensible solution.

Things don't always go according to plan in a busy teaching or research environment. Equipment fails, priorities change and unexpected problems appear. We need someone who can stay calm, think quickly, prioritise and adapt, while knowing when something needs to be escalated or when specialist advice is required.

You will have relevant technical experience within a laboratory, workshop, studio or similar specialist environment and a good working knowledge of the equipment, regulations and safe working practices appropriate to your area.

You should also be comfortable working independently. The role specifically requires someone who is self-motivated, able to use their own initiative, prioritise workloads and work effectively without close supervision.

At the same time, this is very much a people-facing role. You will work with students, academics, researchers, technicians, professional services colleagues, contractors and external organisations, so being approachable and able to communicate clearly is just as important as having technical knowledge.

Safety matters

We want someone who takes safety seriously and understands that good technical support isn't simply about getting something working – it's about getting it working properly and safely.

You will contribute to maintaining a safe and compliant working environment, including safe operating procedures, risk assessments, COSHH assessments and other relevant health and safety processes. You may also support accident reporting, waste and hazardous-material management, Portable Appliance Testing and first-aid provision where appropriate to the role.

Qualifications and experience

You will normally have an HND in a relevant subject or equivalent relevant experience, together with the appropriate general education and practical experience for the role.

A degree or degree apprenticeship, relevant health and safety qualifications such as IOSH or NEBOSH, professional technical accreditation, teaching/tutoring experience or certification in relevant specialist software would be advantageous.

We are interested not only in qualifications, but in what you can actually do: your practical experience, technical judgement, ability to solve problems and willingness to continue developing your knowledge and skills.

How we work

How you approach the job matters just as much as the tasks you carry out.

Our work reflects the University of Wolverhampton's ARIA values – Accountable, Resilient, Inclusive and Ambitious.

Accountable means taking ownership of what you do, looking after our equipment and facilities and taking pride in doing a job properly.

Resilient means being adaptable when plans change, keeping a positive and practical approach when problems arise and finding a way forward.

Inclusive means being approachable, respectful and supportive. Our facilities are used by people with different levels of experience and from a wide range of backgrounds, and everyone should feel comfortable asking for technical help.

Ambitious means looking for better ways of doing things. We want someone who doesn't simply accept "that's how we've always done it" when there is a safer, smarter or more effective solution.

Those behaviours fit particularly well with the University's wider emphasis on operational excellence, student success, research and knowledge exchange, and an inclusive and supportive culture.

Does this sound like you?

If you are practical, attentive, organised and approachable, enjoy solving problems and would rather get involved than watch from the sidelines, we'd like to hear from you.

We're looking for someone who notices what needs doing, takes responsibility for it and works with others to get it sorted – safely, professionally and with the needs of our students, staff and researchers at the heart of what they do.