Job Responsibilities
The Laboratory Manager with proven competences in environmental/chemical/biomedical engineering, will
- Oversee the management of the laboratory infrastructure, which will include the procurement, servicing and maintenance of a huge variety of state-of-the art analytical instruments such as laser absorption spectroscopes, gas-chromatographs, near-infrared spectrometer (NIRS) and other instrumentation, wet chemistry laboratory instruments used in field and laboratory research at ILRI.
- Oversee the develop of laboratory protocols for processes and equipment, programming of equipment. Examples are: measuring greenhouse gas fluxes from livestock systems, measurements of water and/or air pollution.
- Develop and maintain plans, permits, and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for environmental and bioscience projects.
- Keep abreast with new technologies and advise on the suitability, acquisition and implementation of any new procedures or equipment.
- Manage external requests for sample analysis in terms of planning according to laboratory capacity and generate the necessary invoices.
- Provide technical support training to scientists and technical staff in the use of instrumentation and will contribute and lead the research and development of new products and procedures.
- Supervise laboratory technicians to build their technical capacity in order to meet highest analytical standards.
- Work with other internal units to ensure quality and timely outputs. Provide support to facilities at Kapiti and in BioSciences, in the management of high-precision analytical equipment.
Requirements
The ideal candidate should have
- An MSc in the field of environment, biomedicine and/or chemistry and/or other relevant technical disciplines. A PhD degree in relevant disciplines is an added advantage.
- 5 years’ work experience in a state of the art environmental or bioscience laboratory working with and maintaining analytical instruments such as laser absorption spectroscopes, gas-chromatographs, and near-infrared spectrometer (NIRS).
- The ability to independently plan, design and implement experiments both in the laboratory and out in the field.
- Solid knowledge of international best practice for laboratory procedure and protocols, maintenance of analytical equipment, sample analysis, data management and data curation.
- Experience in micro-meteorological measuring techniques.
- Experience with statistical software such as R, Python and/or Matlab and laboratory programs such as Labview.
- Proven ability to supervise and train technical officers and provide necessary quality control.
- Excellent written and spoken English.
- Experience managing laboratory finances and budgets.
- The ability to effectively communicate in a multicultural context.
- The ability to collaborate with technicians and scientists from other disciplines (animal nutrition, ecology, sociology, economy etc.) in an interdisciplinary and multicultural team.
Post location: The position will be based in Nairobi, Kenya
Position level: The position level is 4C.
Duration: 3 years with the possibility of renewal, contingent upon individual performance and continued funding.
Benefits: ILRI offers a competitive salary and benefits package which includes 15% Pension, Medical insurance, Life insurance and allowances for: Education, Housing, Relocation, Home leave, Annual holiday entitlement of 30 days + public holidays.