Laboratory Manager at International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)

Key Responsibilities

The lab manager, with proven competences in environmental/chemical/biomedical engineering or related discipline, 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 jointly with a team of research technicians and research associates.
• 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.
  • Have the freedom to contribute and/or develop own project ideas which related to the overall scope of the Mazingira Centre.

Requirements

The ideal candidate will have:

• An MSc or higher degree in the field of environment, biomedicine and/or chemistry and/or other relevant technical disciplines
• Minimum of five 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, data management and sample analysis.
• Experience in micro-meteorological measuring techniques is an asset.
• Experience with statistical software such as R, Python and/or Matlab and laboratory programs such as Lab view.
• 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: This is an internationally recruited position at job level HG17

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 medical insurance, life insurance and allowances for: education, housing, home leave, and annual holiday entitlement of 30 days + public holidays.