Laboratory Assistant

​Position Description:

• The role of Laboratory Assistant ensures that the laboratories to which they are assigned operate efficiently and effectively, enabling the laboratory analysts to have everything they need to deliver work to the clients safely, to a high level of quality and on time.

• The Laboratory Assistant maintains the availability of clean glassware and consumable items, manages waste streams, and ensures general laboratory cleanliness while operating in a safe and compliant manner.

Behaviours and Competencies

• Safety Consciousness: Prioritise safety by consistently wearing appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), adhering to safety guidelines, raising safety observations and encouraging others to do the same.

• Communication Skills: Maintain clear and effective communication with team members, reporting any issues or discrepancies promptly and documenting all activities accurately.

• Team Collaboration: Work well with others, helping when needed, sharing knowledge, and contributing to a positive team environment.

• Problem-Solving Abilities:  Demonstrate the ability to think critically and solve simple problems, especially when unexpected situations arise.

• Organisational Skills: Keep the work area clean and organised, ensuring glassware (if applicable) and consumables are properly stored and labelled.

• Reliability and Trust: Take ownership of your tasks, completing them with high reliability and meeting deadlines consistently, building trust with team members.

• Adaptability and Flexibility: Flexible and able to adapt to new ways of working, and changes in the laboratory environment.

• Continuous Learning: Stay up to date with the latest safety practices and QSOP updates, seeking out opportunities for professional learning and development.

• Attention to Detail: Follow protocols and procedures to ensure accuracy and safety in every task.

• Compliance with Regulations: Ensure all activities comply with relevant SOP’s and protocols, demonstrating integrity and professionalism.

Knowledge: including education, qualifications and training

• Educated to A-level / HNC level (or equivalent) and / or have appropriate industry experience to be able to fulfil role requirements.

• Good understanding of basic lab equipment

Skills/Leadership Competencies

• Accountable, honest, hardworking and able to work efficiently in a team

• Flexible and adaptable to meet customer/business requirements in an efficient manner whilst under time pressure

• Meticulous attention to detail and an ability to follow written instructions.

• Good written and verbal communication skills.

• Self-motivated, enthusiastic and quick to learn.

• Well organized and capable of working on multiple activities concurrently.

• Computer literate in standard MS office applications

Technical

• The responsibilities are listed below but are not exhaustive. Additional tasks may be required to fulfil the requirements of the Laboratory Assistant’s role:

• (60%) Perform dishwasher duties on glassware from all laboratories linked with admin team’s site, ensuring adherence to all SOP’s to minimise the risk of glassware contamination and avoidance of chips / breakage of glassware.  Re-stock glassware storage locations to keep stocks at a level suitable for scientist work.  Raise issues regarding glassware stocks with line manager.

• (10%) Manual washing of glass pipettes as per QSOP-83 and QRA-100

• (5%)(WR) Maintain stocks of consumables within the laboratories, including but not exclusively: various pipette tips, tissues and paper rolls, laboratory gloves of various sizes, cleaning wipes, vials of various sizes (glass and plastic), glass Pasteur pipettes, printing paper

• (WR) Removal of full glass bins in all laboratories linked with admin team’s site and replace with new glass bins.

• (WR) Ensure the waste solvent fume hood contains all required correctly labelled containers, including a non-halogenated and halogenated solvent container.

• (5%) Ensure general laboratory cleanliness, including but not exclusively windowsills, glass store area, dishwasher area, balance areas, and sinks.

• (WR) Remove any full waste containers to the Grundon store, ready for collection

• (20%) Safety/Quality(reading and acknowledging distributed documents)/Completing compulsory MDLZ training courses/Personal Development

Always

(WR) When Required

(%) Average Time Percentage Expected to Spend on Accountability

Quality and EHS

• Ensure a thorough understanding of the tasks to be executed before initiating the assigned activity.

• Complete EHS training including the reading & acknowledgment of all required safety SOP, COSHH documents and risk assessments, seeking clarity from the EHS representative or line manager as required.

• Work in a safe manner to ensure self and others are not harmed in execution of any laboratory activities.

• Maintain good housekeeping of all areas in which work is performed.

• Complete all quality training as required through training with the QAU team.

• Complete assigned quality actions accurately and in a timely manner.

• Read, acknowledge & abide by all SOPs and QSOPs distributed, including strict adherence to all aspects of QSOP-10, QSOP-22, QSOP-45, QSOP-72, QSOP-76, QSOP-80, QSOP-83 & QSOP-103

• Support the investigations of any CAPA’s (OOS’s / DEV’s etc.) with required information in a timely manner.

• Understand and work to the requirements of GMP and UKAS.

• Ensure training records are accurate and up to date.