Safety & Compliance Officer

University of South Florida; Tampa (FL); On-site; USD 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of South Florida's Research Integrity & Compliance (RIC) unit in Tampa seeks a Biosafety Compliance Specialist to support the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) and IACUC programs, conduct lab inspections, and help ensure regulatory biosafety compliance.

You will develop training materials for BSL-2/BSL-3, assist in incident investigations, write IACUC reports, and help implement internal standards and procedures aligned with federal, state, and local biosafety regulations.

Qualifications

• Experience with biosafety training development and delivery.
• Familiarity with IBC/IACUC regulations and biosafety standards.
• Strong regulatory and documentation skills.

Responsibilities

• Train and educate researchers on biosafety requirements and procedures.
• Perform on-site inspections of lab facilities to ensure compliance with biosafety regulations and assist in incident investigations.

Job description

Organizational Unit

Research Integrity & Compliance (RIC) is a unit within the USF Research, vice presidential area. The main function of RIC is to ensure compliance with federal and state regulations pertaining to the responsible conduct of research. RIC is responsible for such programs as the Human Research Protection, Animal Safety, Diving Safety, Radiation Safety, Biosafety, Scientific Misconduct, Conflicts of Interest in Research, and HIPAA, among others. The department has 32 employees and an annual budget of nearly $3 million. Clients are USF research faculty, students, and staff, as well as researchers at affiliated institutions.

Job Description

Organizational Unit

Research Integrity & Compliance (RIC) is a unit within the USF Research, vice presidential area. The main function of RIC is to ensure compliance with federal and state regulations pertaining to the responsible conduct of research. RIC is responsible for such programs as the Human Research Protection, Animal Safety, Diving Safety, Radiation Safety, Biosafety, Scientific Misconduct, Conflicts of Interest in Research, and HIPAA, among others. The department has 32 employees and an annual budget of nearly $3 million. Clients are USF research faculty, students, and staff, as well as researchers at affiliated institutions.

Position Summary

This position is to support compliance-assurance activities related to the Institutional Biosafety program (IBC) and the Institutional Animal Care and Use (IACUC) program. Perform duties required to ensure the Institutional compliance with federal, state and local regulations. He/she will conduct lab/facility inspections in support of both the programs; assist in investigating incidents related to biological exposures or releases and potential non-compliance reports/events. The selected candidate will provide general biosafety and laboratory specific biosafety training. Responsibilities include developing lesson plans and preparing presentations for BSL-2, BSL-3 and ABSL-3 training. He/she will also assist in the development of internal laboratory standards, procedures and practices to ensure compliance with Biosafety regulations and industry best practices. She/he coordinates the Semi- annual IACUC inspections and will be responsible for writing IACUC reports and documentation.

Responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities for this position include:

• 30% - Conduct training: promote fundamental knowledge and compliance with biosafety regulations; prepare teaching materials; ensure timely and smooth operation of the training presentations; planning, leading, supervising, and overall management of a biosafety training initiative. Plan, implement, and evaluate a variety of biosafety general and technical development programs for all USF faculty, staff, and students using biohazardous materials in research and testing activities. Assess training needs in consultation with biosafety program manager to accomplish the strategic goals of the department and university; oversee curriculum development and training programs to ensure customer needs are met; plan, organize, implement, and evaluate continuing education programs, in-services, skills training, and other training programs as needed.
• 30% - Inspect laboratories/facilities, processes, procedures, and ensure safety practices; Perform on-site regulatory/policy compliance reviews of facilities to be used for biohazardous agent manipulations; inspect, assess, and report on suitability for use; interface with lab personnel, investigators, and others as needed to ensure follow up and correction of problems. Conduct inspections of BSL-2 laboratories (biomedical facilities utilizing moderate level microbial pathogens) prior to approval of