West Virginia University Looking for Animal Care Technician – Office of Laboratory Animal Resources – Health Sciences Center Full Time

Description 

The Office of Laboratory Animal Resources (OLAR) at West Virginia University is currently accepting applications for an Animal Care Technician. 

About the Opportunity

As an Animal Care Technician, you will be responsible for performing animal care duties on a variety of lab animal species used in biomedical research. This position involves work during weekends, weekdays, holidays or after hours. This position also requires initial and periodic Medical Monitoring exams through the Occupational Medicine Program.  

We strongly believe in work-life balance and keeping time for things we love outside our work. WVU offers generous benefits, including:

• 37.5-hour work week 
• 13 paid holidays (staff holiday calendar)
• 15 annual leave (vacation) days per year or more based on years of service (employee leave)
• 18 sick days per year (for when you’re ill, for when you need time to care for sick family, for your own, or your family’s, regularly scheduled medical appointments. Who is family for the purpose of this leave? A lot of people in your life including immediate relatives and in-laws as well as others considered to be members of your household living under the same roof)
• WVU offers a range of health insurance and other benefits
• 401(a) retirement savings with 6% employee contribution match, eligibility to continue health insurance, and other retiree perks. Looking for more retirement benefits information? Check out retirement health insurance benefits, retirement income, and FAQ’s.
• Wellness programs

PAY GRADE: 10

Work Hours: Must be able to work weekdays and weekends. 

What you’ll do:

Animal Husbandry Duties:

• Disassemble rodent caging and separate equipment.
• Dump soiled cages in cage wash area and run soiled cages through rack and tunnel washer.  
• Operate cage washers for sanitizing and sterilizing rodent cages.  
• Prepare routine daily maintenance on cage washers as described in SOP’s and as directed by supervisors.
• Reassemble rodent cages, auxiliary equipment, other cages and equipment.
• Prepare cages for room setups and cage changes.
• Provide cage setups and general support to the “Core Facilities” within the perimeter of the vivariums.
• Remove trash daily, provide general custodial duties for work area and support areas.

Animal Care Duties:

• Observe animals in assigned animal rooms and report any abnormalities to the supervisor or veterinary staff.
• Provide food and water to animals and cage changes as described in the SOP’s and daily work schedule.
• Set up for newly arrived animals and put newly arrived animals in cages as directed by the Supervisor.
• Provide topical and other basic clinical treatments as prescribed by veterinary staff.
• Document all procedures performed in animal rooms including room logs, temperature/relative humidity and monthly room duties as described in logbook.
• Report to supervisors any abnormalities with equipment in animal rooms or abnormalities that require immediate attention. 

Facility Maintenance Duties:

• Maintain vacuum cleaners in animal rooms.
• Change and maintain filter for change stations and ventilated racks. 
• Operate floor scrubbers and pressure washers for animal room sanitation and support area cleanliness. 
• Remove animal carcasses weekly from cold room and refrigerators and packed into boxes for removal by outside contractor.
• Stock PPE cabinets and other area where supplies need to be stocked.
• Assist in unloading feed truck and putting feed away.  
• Assist in receiving all other supplies to the vivariums. 
• Assist in transport of caging and other equipment between vivariums. 

Other Duties:

• Attend all training sessions and complete all on-line required training.
• Attend all mandatory staff meetings.
• Responsible for laundry for staff scrubs and other items in vivarium that require laundering. 
• Perform other duties as assigned by supervisors.     

Qualifications

• Associate degree, or an equivalent combination of education and experience. 
• 0-6 months of experience working with either laboratory animals or farm animals preferred.
• Perform tasks in washroom in timely fashion by working efficiently and effectively as a team with co-workers.
• Ability to wear proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) including a PAPR (personal air purification respirator).
• Good observation skills. Good manual dexterity for handling small laboratory animals (i.e., mice and rats).
• Ability to follow written and oral instructions in English. 
• Ability to perform tasks which require exposure to animal species including rodents, pigeons, rabbits, pigs, sheep, swine and other animals as needed for our primary species.
• Must be able to accept exposure (with proper PPE and respirator protection) of animal dander, dusts and fecal matter, fumes from various cleaning solutions and chemicals. Also, exposure to hot humid environment of cage washer and autoclaves and cold extremities for working outside with farm animals.
• Ability to pick up small animals with one hand while using the other to hold cage or equipment. 
• Ability to be flexible to perform all types of tasks and comprehend changes and be able to implement changes immediately. Provide feedback when changes are implemented.
• Ability for compassion toward animal welfare in a research environment.    

Certifications:

• Certified by the American Association of Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) as a Certified Assistant Laboratory Animal Technician (ALAT) preferred.

Requirements

• Medical Monitoring — This position may or may not require Medical Monitoring, including periodic health monitoring and/or training.  

Physical Demands & Physical Coordination:

• Must be able to lift 50 pounds and be able to move caging racks and cages which are on casters.
• Constant standing, stooping, bending, kneeling, walking, and crouching.
• Must be able to work in hot steamy washroom where cage washers and autoclaves are operating at high temperatures.
• Cold extremities when working outside with farm animals.
• Have the ability to walk, stand, stoop and bend for long periods of time, including working in a crouching position for a period time to observe animals in cages.
• Must be able to move large size caging and racks which are on casters.
• Must be able to accept exposure (with proper PPE and respirator protection) of animal dander, dust, fecal matter, fumes from various cleaning solutions and chemicals.   

About WVU

At West Virginia University, we leverage our talents and resources to create a better future for our state and the world. As West Virginia’s land-grant university, WVU has three campuses that touch each corner of the state. The WVU System includes 518 buildings on 15,880 acres, Extension Service offices in all 55 counties, ten experimental farms and four forests. 

From the groundbreaking R1 research of our flagship campus in Morgantown to the career-oriented programs of WVU Potomac State in Keyser to the technology-intensive programs at WVU Tech in Beckley – the contributions of WVU employees directly impact the 1.8 million people of West Virginia every day, no matter their role or position. 

Service, curiosity, respect, accountability, and appreciation are the core values that unite Mountaineers, inspiring one another to work tirelessly and support others as they seek to reach new heights. After all, when you’re a Mountaineer, impossible is just another mountain to climb.

Creating an inclusive, engaged, and dynamic learning environment is core to WVU’s academic mission. We welcome candidates who can contribute a range of ideas, approaches and experiences.

To learn more about West Virginia University, visit go.wvu.edu. View current career opportunities at careers.wvu.edu.

West Virginia University is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer and is the recipient of an NSF ADVANCE award for gender equity. The University values diversity among its faculty, staff, and students, and invites applications from all qualified applicants regardless of race, ethnicity, color, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, nationality, genetics, disability, or Veteran status.

 

Job Posting: Mar 27, 2024

Posting Classification: Classified

Exemption Status: Non-Exempt

Benefits Eligible: Yes

Schedule: Full-time