microscopy facility manager position at Sussex

[Helfrid Hochegger]

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Hi everyone,

Just wanted to draw your attention to a job for a microscopy facility manager at the university of Sussex.
We are looking for someone at failry senior level (on a senior lecturer pay scale) to manage initially the
facility of the genome damage and stability centre and later the unification of all life science equipment in a new building.

We have a thriving microscopy department here with confocal, wide field and super resolution systems,
so this will be an interesting and challening job.

Please look at the proper add below. This will also be posted in Nature and Jobs.ac.uk

All the best,

Helfrid




UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX
 

1 Advertisement  
REF 1099
School of Life Sciences
Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Facility Manager
Full Time, Grade 8
Starting at £38,896 and rising to £46,414 per annum
Anticipated start date: 1 November 2016

The School of Life Sciences is at the forefront of research in the biological sciences in the UK, coming in the top 10 in the REF 2014.

We wish to appoint a Microscopy Facility Manager to manage a high level analytical and quantitative light microscopy (AQLM) facility. Initially, the post holder will coordinate and develop the existing facility in the Genome Damage and Stability Centre, which contains bright field, wide field fluorescent and spinning disc confocal equipment. Subsequently, the post holder will be responsible for unifying all communal AQLM facilities within the School of Life Sciences, including scanning confocal equipment, under the umbrella of a new research building. The main roles will include: technical support of the microscopes, liaison with manufacturers and engineers to maintain the equipment in an optimal state, routine training and day-to-day support of imaging experiments; management and development of the AQLM facility, support for quantitative imaging analysis using Micromanager, ImageJ, Huygens, Imaris, and Matlab. The post holder will also be expected to expand the facility according to developments in the imaging field, supporting funding applications for equipment grants in collaboration with appropriate researchers.

You should hold a PhD or equivalent in a relevant discipline. Previous experience in managing imaging equipment, as well as advanced skills in computer programming languages relevant to image analysis is essential. You should also have excellent written and spoken communication skills and be strongly motivated to interact with staff and students at all levels to provide a supportive and productive imaging facility.  

The School is committed to equality and valuing diversity, and currently holds an Athena SWAN Silver Award. Applications are particularly welcomed from women and black and minority ethnic candidates, who are under-represented in academic posts in science and engineering at Sussex. The School of Life Sciences welcomes applications to academic posts from candidates who wish to work part-time or as job-sharers.

The University offers various schemes to provide real benefits to parents, these can be found at http://www.sussex.ac.uk/humanresources/personnel/familyfriendlypolicies

Potential candidates are strongly encouraged to make informal contact with the Subject Chaisr for Microscopy  Prof. A. Carr Prof. Leon Lagnado, or the Head of the School of Life Sciences (Professor Laurence Pearl FRS), before applying.

Applications should be accompanied by a full CV, a statement of research interests and aspirations (not more than 4 pages), and the names of three academic referees.
Closing date for applications: 6 weeks from publication
Interviews will be held on : September/October 2016

For full details and how to apply see www.sussex.ac.uk/jobs
The University of Sussex is committed to equality of opportunity

2. The School/Division

The School of Life Sciences is the largest School in the University in terms of research activity with an annual research income of over £12m, and one of the largest in terms of student and staff population. The School has a teaching and research faculty of nearly 70, over 150 research fellows and technicians, and a small professional services team. Life Sciences have played a major role in the research and teaching of the University of Sussex since 1961. The original School of Biological Sciences (BIOLS), founded by John Maynard Smith FRS, trained some of the world’s leading biologists and biomedical scientists, and was a beacon of innovation and creativity in its integrated approach to research and teaching.

The current School of Life Sciences was formed in 2009 when Professor Laurence Pearl FRS was appointed as founding Head of the new School. Under his leadership the School adopted a unified structure with no formal departments. Instead there are six research Subject Groups – Neuroscience; Evolution, Behaviour and Environment; Genome Damage and Stability; Biochemistry and Biomedicine; Chemistry and the Sussex Drug Discovery Centre. Each research subject group is chaired by a prominent scientist, who is responsible for research leadership in their subject. The School currently has six Fellows of the Royal Society (FRS) and seven Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci) on its Faculty.

The University has committed to building a new teaching and research building, which will bring life scientists from all disciplines together. Planning for this building is well under way and will provide both academic and social spaces to improve the culture and interaction in the School. The building is scheduled for delivery in 2017-18.

The School admits around 400 undergraduates each year on to a range of BSc and MSci degrees, with around 75 students on post-graduate taught degrees in Genetic Manipulation and Cell Biology, Cancer Cell Biology and Neuroscience. Taught programmes are firmly based on our research excellence, and offer students substantial opportunities for personal research experience along with conventional lecture, seminar and tutorial teaching. We offer 3-year BSc and 4-year integrated Masters degrees (MSci) in Biochemistry, Biomedical Science, Biology, Ecology, Genetics, Neurosciences, and Zoology, and Royal Society of Chemistry accrediated BSc and MChem degrees in Chemistry and Chemistry and Drug Design. We also offer a Foundation Year in Biological Sciences which is ideally suited for students whose A-level (or equivalent) qualifications don’t meet the requirements for direct entry on to our BSc/Masters degrees. The first intake on the MPharm is in October 2016.

We have a large and vigorous post graduate research community with over 170 PhD students undertaking cutting-edge research across all our areas of interest. As well as standard PhD programmes in all the Subject Groups, we also offer a highly interdisciplinary 4-year Neurosciences PhD incorporating a first year with laboratory rotations, run in partnership with the Schools of Psychology and Engineering and Informatics, and the Brighton and Sussex Medical School.

In the REF2014 more than 96% of the School’s research was rated as ‘world leading’, ‘internationally excellent’, or ‘internationally recognised’. Our Biological Sciences research in particular was ranked 10th in the UK overall, and 8th on quality of our research outputs – putting us comfortably above the majority of Russell Group institutions.

The University of Sussex is a medium sized research intensive University based on a single campus in Falmer, just outside Brighton in East Sussex. The University has ambitious plans to develop its teaching and research; for example, to move from a taught student population of c13,000 to one of c18,000 by 2018.

3. Senior Leadership and management
The Vice-Chancellor (Professor Michael Farthing) is the senior academic officer and, as Chief Executive, is responsible to the University Council for management of the University. He is supported by an executive group which includes the three Pro-Vice-Chancellors, the Registrar and Secretary, the Director of Finance and the Director of Human Resources. The Heads of the Schools of Studies at Sussex report to the Pro-Vice-Chancellors.

The Registrar and Secretary heads the Professional Services of the University. In addition, under the University Statutes, the Registrar and Secretary is Secretary to the University Council. The Director of Finance reports to the Vice-Chancellor. The Director of ITS reports to the Registrar and Secretary, and the Librarian reports to one of the Pro-Vice-Chancellors.

4. CORE JOB DESCRIPTION



Job Title: Light Microscopy Academic Research Manager

Grade: Grade 8

School: Life Sciences

Location: GDSC

Responsible to: Profs Antony Carr and Leon Lagnardo

Professionally reporting to: Leon Lagnado

Direct reports: Antony Carr

Key contacts: Life Sciences Faculty, School and University, School Officers, academics in the field in other institutions.


Role Description The postholder will be expected to take full responsibility to provide a functional and state-of-the-art imaging facility and help in the design, execution and analysis of imaging experiments. They will be responsible for the management of equipment already present and work with staff towards the further development of the facility. They will also train new members of staff and PhD students in the responsible use of the equipment.
                                                                                                ___




PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES

1. To manage and develop a state of the art AQLM facility in the School of Life Sciences.   The appointment will begin in the Genome Damage and Stability Center but a key part of the role will be to oversee the transition to a unified imaging facility in the new Life Sciences building.

2. To effectively manage junior technical support providing assistance to microscopy users.

3. To be responsible for the technical management and supervision of grant funded AQLM equipment and users.

4. To provide expertise for the development of new applications of microscopy within the biological sciences.
                                                                       
5. Liaison with manufacturers regarding servicing and emergency repairs to ensure availability and usability of equipment for research.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Role-specific duties

1. Provision of high level training for research staff and postgraduate students in the execution and quantitative analysis of light microscopy experiments in their research. This includes basic imaging using bright field, fluorescence widefield and confocal microscopes as well as advanced techniques such as FRAP, FRET, TIRF and FLIM.

2. Contributing to the development of new strategic research initiatives where analytical and quantitative light microscopy play an important role.

3. Contribute to grant applications that require AQLM support, and initiate and oversee funding application to acquire new equipment.

4. Co-authoring high-impact publications with collaborators in the School and elsewhere.

5. To represent the School and University at national and international specialist workshops and committees relating to AQLM.

6. To continuously keep track of developments in the AQLM field and regularly attend courses and workshops to transfer knowledge to the facility.


2. Research, Scholarship & Enterprise

1. Contribute to School research strategy and themes.

2. Conduct research projects in collaboration with others.

3. Assess, interpret and evaluate outcomes of research and develop ideas for their application.

4. Contribute to and, where appropriate, co-author high-impact publications within the school and elsewhere that can contribute to the School’s REF submission.

5. Make presentations at conferences or exhibit work at other appropriate events. Identify ways to disseminate research outputs informally via the internet, the media and other forms of public engagement.

6. Identify sources of funding and secure, or contribute to the process of securing, bids.

7. Identify and secure, or contribute to the process of securing, opportunities for enterprise activity, knowledge exchange income and/or consultancy.

8. Actively build internal and external contacts, and play a key role in internal networks and relevant external networks in order to, for example, identify sources of funding, secure student placements, and build relationships for future activities.

9. Supervise postgraduate taught and research students as part of a supervision team.

10. Contribute to a recognised national professional body.

11. Continually update knowledge and understanding in field of specialism, and engage in continuous professional development.

12. Conduct risk assessment and take responsibility for the health and safety of others as required.


3. Teaching & Student Support

1. Engage in the planning, delivery and assessment of innovative high-quality undergraduate and postgraduate teaching in liaison with the relevant programme and course convenors.

2. Develop high-quality inclusive methods and approaches and take responsibility for their implementation. Where appropriate, and in consultation with relevant programme and course convenors, ensure that these meet defined learning objectives.

3. Collaboratively with relevant programme and course convenors ensure that teaching materials remain up-to-date and relevant, incorporating advances in the subject area into the course of study.



4. Contribution to School & University

1. Attend and contribute to School meetings.

2. Undertake additional administrative duties, as required by the Head of School.

3. Mentor less experienced colleagues, supporting them in developing heir microscopy research techniques.




This Job Description sets out current duties of the post that may vary from time to time without changing the general character of the post or level of responsibility entailed.
 
INDICATIVE PERFORMANCE CRITERIA


• Evidence of efficient maintenance and running of the shared microscopy facilities within the School of Life Sciences.

• Evidence of contributions to establishing AQLM techniques in the form of peer reviewed publications.

• Other evidence of original research contributions to the field, such as through invited conference contributions, membership of editorial panels etc.

• Evidence of successful co-supervision of taught and research students.

• Evidence of contribution to the process of obtaining competitive/peer reviewed research support funding.



PERSON SPECIFICATION


ESSENTIAL CRITERIA

1. Normally educated to doctoral level, or other equivalent qualification, or appropriate level of experience, as appropriate to the discipline (see role-specific criteria below).

2. Evidence of significant independent contribution to the design and execution of relevant microscopy techniques.

3. A track record of contributions to publications in reputable journals or other appropriate media of similar standing.

4. Excellent presentation skills, with the ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with students, colleagues and external audiences.

5. Ability to work individually on own initiative and without close supervision, and as part of a team.

6. Evidence of ability to innovate, creatively solve problems and implement novel technical solutions.

7. Excellent organisational and administrative skills.

8.   Ability to prioritise and meet deadlines.

9. Ability to manage budgets.


ESSENTIAL ROLE-SPECIFIC CRITERIA

1. Evidence of ability to manage a complex technical infrastructure requiring interactions with a variety of individuals.

2. Experience with a wide range of imaging software and hardware.

3.  Experience of training others in microscopy techniques.

4.  Awareness of current developments in optical microscopy techniques applied to biology.


DESIRABLE CRITERIA

1. Experience of generating research or knowledge exchange income.

2. Experience of supervising postgraduate research students.

3. Ability to design and assemble custom microscopes.