Animal Attendant - Associate (Entry Level)

Job Description

Responsible for providing species appropriate husbandry services, to include operating and maintaining the associated facilities and equipment, in support of research animals maintained at the institution.

Responsibilities

• With limited supervision, provide daily husbandry services for multiple laboratory animal species to include daily health checks/observations, provision of food and water to individual cages, adhering to biosecurity procedures, animal handling/restraint, transport of animals, bulk feed, bedding, and caging within a vivarium, and changing large numbers of cages/cage racks.
• Provide animal room services to include maintaining daily room logs (records of animal inventory, room environment and consumable supplies), adhering to expiration dates for consumables, equipment maintenance schedules, special husbandry instructions related to research needs, sanitizing animal rooms and equipment with disinfectants and detergents in compliance with species specific regulations and policies.
• Adhere to complex and numerous regulations enforced by federal, state and local agencies (USDA, CDC, AAALAC, IACUC, Environmental Health and Safety).
• Process requests for cages and ensures detailed information is transcribed to cage identification cards for various species.
• Works closely with diverse research staff to ensure proper coordination between husbandry duties and research activities.
• Operate various types of cage and rack washer equipment, conventional and pass- through autoclaves and other equipment associated with the animal facility; performs maintenance and repair of existing equipment.
• Perform all other duties as assigned.
  
  

Qualifications

• Ability to work with a diverse customer base and provide exceptional and professional customer service.
• Understanding of normal physical appearance, ambulation and behavior of animals used in research.
• Attentive to the individual needs of the animals.
• Detail oriented and precise.
• Ability to remain focused in a highly distracting environment.
• Ability to operate a motor vehicle (valid driver's license).
• Knowledge of basic computer skills.
  
  

Education

• High school diploma or GED is required.
• College or technical training hours from an accredited institution is preferred.
  
  

Experience

• No experience is required.
  
  

Preferred

• One (1) to two (2) years experience performing husbandry and handling of animals at an accredited research institution or veterinary practice is preferred.
• College or technical training hours from an accredited institution is preferred.
  
  

License And Certification

• Assistant Laboratory Animal Technician Certification (ALAT) through American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) is preferred.
  
  

Required Skills

No experience is required. One (1) to two (2) years experience performing husbandry and handling of animals at an accredited research institution or veterinary practice is preferred.

About Us

Benefits Overview

UT Health San Antonio offers an excellent benefits package for its employees. Employees who work at least 20 hours a week, with an appointment of at least 4.5 months, are eligible for benefits.

Medical - UT SELECT Medical insurance is offered free for employees and administered by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas. Family members can be added to the plan through payroll deduction. Employees and their dependents can also receive discounted copays and coinsurance when using UT Health Physicians, a network of 800 premier physicians including more than 100 specialists.

Dental - Three dental insurance plan options are available for employees and their families through Delta Dental Insurance Company, two PPOs and one dental HMO plan. Both PPO plans allow employees to choose any licensed dentist.

Vision - Fully insured Vision Care benefits are offered by Superior Vision Services. Two vision plan options that offer either standard or enhanced vision benefits. Life Employees receive $40,000 of group term life insurance and $40,000 of basic accidental death and dismemberment insurance for free, with options to purchase additional employee and dependent coverage for both at group rates.

Retirement - Employees are eligible for either the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) or the Optional Retirement Plan (ORP). TRS is a defined benefit retirement plan which UT Health matches employee contributions. ORP is for eligible faculty staff employees. Voluntary retirement programs are also available to invest before- or after-tax dollars with the choice of five quality retirement plan providers.

Time Off - A generous leave program offers multiple paid leave options:

• Front-loaded Paid Time Off: 128 to 208 hours (16 to 26 days) of Paid Time Off based on years of service, given at the start of each fiscal year. PTO may be prorated in year one based on date of hire.
• Extended Illness Bank: 8 hours (1 day) accrued per month which can be used for illness or injury after one day of Paid Time Off is taken.
• Paid Family Leave: Up to 240 hours (6 weeks) to care for a spouse, child, or parent after 6 months of consecutive employment.
• Holidays: 12 set paid holidays each year.
  
  

FSAs - Employees can enroll in flexible spending accounts (FSAs) to set aside money from earnings before taxes for qualifying dependent day care expenses or out-of-pocket health care expenses.

Discounts - Employees enjoy a range of discounts on services, tickets, and gym membership.

EEO Statement

UT Health San Antonio is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer. It is our policy to promote and ensure equal employment opportunity for all individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, national origin, age, sexual orientation, disability, or veteran status.