Job Description

View Vacancy - Animal Technician - MLC 2707

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Open Date

29/08/2025, 10:15

Close Date

21/09/2025, 23:55
Research Institute
MRC Mary Lyon Centre
Research Institute / Unit Information
The Mary Lyon Centre at MRC Harwell (MLC) is located in an expanding science and innovation campus in Oxfordshire and is an internationally renowned centre at the forefront of genetics research. As the hub of the new National Mouse Genetics Network, the specialist facilities and capabilities of the MLC support a number of research groups across the UK to accelerate our understanding of human diseases, such as cancer, developmental disorders and neurodegeneration.
UK Research and Innovation is a new entity that brings together nine partners to create an independent organisation with a strong voice for research and innovation, more information can be found at www.ukri.org

Band
MRC - 5
Location
Harwell Campus, Oxfordshire
Salary
30,911 - 32,843 per annum, dependent on skills and experience, pro rata if part time
Contract Type
Permanent
Job Type
Technical & Scientific Professionals
Full Time / Part Time
Full or Part Time options

Overall Purpose:

We are looking for an Animal Technician to work in the Mary Lyon Centre (MLC) team to carry out high quality husbandry and experimental procedures to fulfil scientific needs. This includes working under Home Office licensing (The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, amended 2012) to carry out procedures to advance medical research, including meticulous record keeping of all animal-related work. In addition this post will need to ensure that the needs of the animals are met in terms of clean cages, food, bedding and health checks.

Main Duties/Key Responsibilities:

Carrying out husbandry duties for genetically altered mice, including cage changing, weaning, breeding, randomisation of mice into studies and taking ear biopsies Checking the health and welfare of mouse stocks and addressing their welfare needs Attending meetings with researchers to update them on genetically altered stocks, and to discuss future projects and breeding strategies Providing procedural services, this will include a variety of procedures such as dosing, taking blood samples, and phenotyping tests Computerised record keeping Reading and adhering to standard operating procedures (SOPs) and risk assessments Working weekends on a rota basis

Working Relationships:

The post-holder will be a member of a team working under the supervision of a line manager and ward supervisor. Animal technicians work in teams and support each other to ensure that all the work is carried out to a high standard. Good communication and the ability to work with others is essential. The post-holder will also liaise with members of other teams, including MLC maintenance, phenotyping and necropsy, and with teams of researchers.

Additional Information:

Must be able to work overtime to cover animal requirements.


This role is offered as a full time position (36 hours per week) however part time hours of 25 - 30 hours will be considered.



Person Specification

Education/Qualifications/Training Required:

Essential:

5 GCSEs at grade C or above
Desirable:

Home Office Licence Further qualification in biology or chemistry

Previous Work Experience Required:

Essential:

Experience of working in a busy environment
Desirable:

Experience of working with laboratory animals Experience in assessing and treating health concerns in animals Experience of working in a laboratory environment, including working to SOPs and risk assessments Experience in procedures such as dosing or phenotyping

Knowledge and Experience:

Essential:

Genuine interest in the welfare of animals Basic computer skills, including the ability to use digital record keeping systems and common software packages (for example, Excel)
Desirable:

Ability to train other members of staff Experience in animal husbandry

Personal skills/Behaviours/Qualities:

Essential:

Excellent attention to detail Ability to work as part of a team or autonomously when required Self-motivated and positive influence on other team members

Further Information

Equality & Diversity:

The MRC values the diverse skills and experience of its employees and is committed to achieving equality of treatment for all. Our objectives are that all individuals shall have equal opportunities for employment and advancement on the basis of their skills, aptitudes and abilities. The MRC is committed to the engagement and retention of the best possible talent and to creating an environment that encourages excellence in scientific research through good equality and diversity leadership and management.

Corporate/Local Responsibilities & Requirements:

The post-holder must at all times carry out their responsibilities with due regard to the MRC's:

Code of Conduct Equality and Diversity policy Health and Safety policy Data Protection and Security policy

The above lists are not exhaustive and the post-holder is required to undertake such duties as may reasonably be requested within the scope of the post. All employees are required to act professionally, cooperatively and flexibly in line with the requirements of the post and the MRC.



The MRC is a unique working environment where scientific researchers and professional support staff can actively partake in world class innovation and collaboration opportunities and their skills and knowledge through accessing a wide catalogue of training & development, including professional registration with the Science Council.


In addition, MRC (part of UKRI) provides its community of employees access to a whole host of useful benefits, including a defined benefit pension scheme and excellent holiday entitlement (30 days plus 2.5 privilege days & 8 bank holidays), family friendly policies (6 months full pay maternity & adoption leave), a range of shopping/travel discounts, access to our Employee Assistant Programme Scheme, Health and Wellbeing Support and a salary sacrifice cycle to work scheme. Please follow this link to find out more - Benefits




Our success is dependent upon our ability to embrace diversity and draw on the skills, understanding and experience of all our people. We warmly invite people from diverse backgrounds and heritage, including people who identify as having a disability, to apply for a role that excites them. As "Disability Confident" employers, we guarantee to interview all applicants who have disclosed they have a disability and who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy.


UKRI supports research in areas that include animal health, agriculture and food security, and bioscience for health which includes research on animals, genetic modification and stem cell research. Whilst you may not have direct involvement in this type of research, you should consider whether this conflicts with your personal values or beliefs.


We will conduct a full and comprehensive pre-employment check as an essential part of the recruitment process on all individuals that are offered a position with UKRI. This will include a security check and an extreme organisations affiliation check. The role holder will be required to have the appropriate level of security screening/vetting required for the role. UKRI reserves the right to run or re-run security clearance as required during the course of employment.