CONTRACT : 6 months initial

Schedule : Monday-Friday, 6:00am-2:30pm

MUST HAVES:

• Education: High school diploma (HSD) or general education degree (GED) required.
• Experience: 6-12 months related experience in animal husbandry. An equivalent combination of education and experience may be accepted.

BASIC SUMMARY :

Maintain, monitor and document the health, production, and physical environment within the customer's varied animal care facilities.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES :

• Reviews, comprehends and complies with all SOP's and quality assurance standards pertaining to specific area.
• Monitors daily animal health and welfare while performing daily animal health observations, animal husbandry duties to maintain quality and health of research animals, to include: perform daily water bottle /automatic water line and cage checks; provide appropriate food and water; perform cage changing and/or cage cleaning as required; record animal health concerns per SOP and/or
• specified protocols.
• Maintains accurate records of animal breeding, health, and housing/isolator or support areas as required by Institute and facility.
• Assists with restraint, handling and manipulation of various animal species as assigned by the onsite Supervisor or facility veterinarian.
• Strictly follows all procedures necessary to maintain animal housing areas or semi-rigid isolator environments, including room or facility personnel entry; personnel protective equipment use, spraying in all equipment and materials into controlled areas.
• Receives, inspects and puts away incoming animals; ensures and provides for sentinel animals in each rodent housing area.
• May be involved in strictly maintaining and following breeding and weaning procedures to ensure appropriate production levels.
• Operates equipment and uses supplies according to safety guidelines; performs general housekeeping and adheres to safety procedures.
• Maintains required attendance level and adherence to work schedule in accordance with required staffing levels in order to ensure that assigned duties are completed.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS :

• Education: High school diploma (HSD) or general education degree (GED) required.
• Experience: Six to twelve months related experience in animal husbandry. An equivalent combination of education and experience may be accepted as a satisfactory substitute for the specific education and experience listed above.
• Certification/Licensure: None.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES :

• Must be able to follow verbal and written instructions and exhibit interpersonal skills that are conducive to effective communication and that contribute to a congenial work environment.
• Maintain positive work atmosphere by behaving and communicating in a professional manner with clients, customers, coworkers, and supervisors.
• Ability to read, write, speak and understand high school level English.
• Computer literacy using timekeeping, training software and word processing required; database record keeping helpful.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS :

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand; use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls; and reach with hands and arms. The employee frequently is required to walk and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee is occasionally required to sit.
• The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 50 pounds and occasionally lift move up to 100 pounds.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT :

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee frequently works near moving mechanical parts; is exposed to fumes or airborne particles, laboratory animal caging of various species including mice, rats, and other rodents and possibly rabbits and is occasionally exposed to wet and/or humid conditions, toxic or caustic chemicals, biohazard materials/agents, infectious disease and risk of electrical shock.
• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Additional Requisition Requirements :

• 1 year laboratory husbandry experience (mouse/rat)

COMMENTS :

• Normally 40 hours per week. Required to participate in weekend husbandry coverage on a rotational basis and work occasional later hours upon client approval to complete essential duties.
• Cares for the animals used in research and development studies. Performs duties related to the maintenance of experimental animals such as feeding and caring for animals, cleaning cages, holding animals for treatment by laboratory technician or maintaining inventory and animal identification records.
• Performs cleaning/sanitation of animal facility and equipment. Responsible for bio-safety and bio-security of the animals.
• May partner with pre-clinical investigators to assist and support veterinarians with surgery, dosing, post-op care and monitoring of animal studies.