Laboratory Support Specialist

Do you have a background in, and/or experience of, working with explosives? Are you keen to develop your career with a company that provides comprehensive training and development along with every other Friday off? Then a career at AWE could be for you!



Laboratory Support Specialist

Location: Reading

Salary: £26,200 - £39,300 (dependant on suitability and level of experience )

Closing Date: 31st May 2023



As part of our People Promise, AWE (one of the best 25 big companies to work for in the UK) has a range of benefits to suit you. These include:

• 
  
  Time to recharge your batteries with 270 hours of annual leave (plus every other Friday off work)
• 
  
  Consideration for flexible working arrangements so that your work may fit in with your lifestyle. Just let us know on your application if you wish to work part time
• 
  
  Opportunities for Professional Career Development that include funding for the annual membership of a relevant professional body, access to mentors and training
• 
  
  Employee Assistance Programme and Occupational Health Services
• 
  
  A generous defined contribution Group Personal Pension (we will pay between 9% and 13% of your pensionable pay depending on your own contribution)
• 
  
  Life Assurance
• 
  
  Discounts - access to savings on a wide range of everyday spending
• 
  
  Special Leave Policy including paid time off for volunteering, public service (including reserve forces) and caring for your family
• 
  
  A host of voluntary & core benefits to suit your health and wellbeing - more information available on our careers site

This role will provide support to Explosive Materials and Initiation Science department (eXMIS), working closely with deputy facility manager and Operations Manager, to deliver a range of tasks to support the day to day running of scientific laboratories. Specific focus will be on one diverse facility, with a view to develop in a wider supporting role.



Responsibilities for the role include:

• 
  
  Supporting Operations Manager in their role
• 
  
  Supply chain management, stock and stores inventory
• 
  
  Sample and chemical receipt into the building
• 
  
  Undertake building management tasks
• 
  
  Undertake lab management tasks
• 
  
  Facility representative, providing escorting for visitors
• 
  
  Help develop work instructions and safe systems of work
• 
  
  General facility housekeeping tasks
• 
  
  SharePoint admin

We are particularly interested in hearing from candidates with knowledge and/or experience of working in a lab environment. It is desirable that candidates can demonstrate some understanding or experience of some of the following:

• 
  
  Working with hazardous materials
• 
  
  Good laboratory practices
• 
  
  Problem solving and troubleshooting
• 
  
  Relevant experience in a comparable role
• 
  
  Excellent Stakeholder and/or Change Management skills with proven ability to influence
• 
  
  Able to build and maintain effective internal and external working relationships
• 
  
  Capable of effective multi-task working, identifying and managing priorities and working to challenging time frames
• 
  
  Abilities in using Microsoft office tools (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint)

We are interested in candidates that can have:

• 
  
  Good communication skills (oral & written) and able to articulate information at all levels of the business in a clear and concise manner
• 
  
  The ability to work with others collaboratively in a team setting
• 
  
  Good listening skills and is capable to translating requests into action plans.
• 
  
  Enthusiastic, positive, proactive, have a flexible attitude and able to take the initiative
• 
  
  Appreciating the need for quality

This is an excellent opportunity to build on your knowledge of working in a Laboratory to support the UK's Nuclear defence programme and be part of a team of remarkable people achieving extraordinary things.

Candidates must be willing and able to obtain and maintain the necessary security clearance for the role and be willing and able to work in designated areas.