Senior Animal Care Facility Specialist

Job Summary

We are seeking a Senior Animal Care Facility Specialist to join our Insourcing Solutions team, located in Seattle, WA.  

The Sr. Animal Care Facility Specialist will be responsible for the oversight and training for employees in the animal care & support series. Prioritizing and completing on-going tasks independently following established policies and guidelines. Liaises with clients to ensure satisfaction with technician performance.

Essential duties and responsibilities:

• Oversee, directly, the daily activities of employees conducting husbandry and support services in the facility. Responsible for personnel management activities such as: mentorship, training & development, providing regular direction and feedback on performance to the client Global Operations management.
• Plan, create, assign and monitor work schedules for employees.
• Communicate with clients, listen to feedback/concerns and respond promptly and professionally, demonstrating strong organizational skills to manage multiple tasks, prioritize effectively, and ensure that client service operations run smoothly.
• Provide mentorship, leadership and motivation to all personnel.
• Participate in meetings with client Global Operations management to keep them informed of vivarium activities.
• Investigate animal welfare concerns as directed by the Attending Veterinarian. Deliver appropriate mitigations to active concerns while preventing future recurrences, solicit relevant information from employee and researchers to accurately assess and effectively promote animal welfare.
• Provide animal husbandry backup on animal welfare checks/receiving, cage changing, and facility support as required.
• Monitor acquisition, receipt, storage and issue of supplies and animals.
• Generate work orders and ensure documentation of all corrective maintenance and preventative maintenance procedures.

Duties Continued

• Follow up to ensure timely resolution to issues and provide update to management when resolved.
• Provide timely, concise and effective communication regarding all facility utilities, infrastructure, process equipment, and supply chain and housing system issues to management.
• Inspect animal housing systems to ensure proper setup and function.
• Coordinate the movement of animals throughout the facility and assign housing locations for receipt of new animals.
• Monitor the use of all space throughout the facility (animal housing, procedural, service, and storage areas) and works with client Global Operations management in assigning space.
• Perform equipment asset management and tracking inventory for reporting purposes.
• Place & receive orders to maintain appropriate levels of inventory of supplies including bedding, feed, cleaning materials and husbandry supplies.
• Frequently conduct QA inspections of all animals holding and support facilities to determine the degree to which established levels of animal health, facilities condition, sanitation levels, environmental parameters and security are being met/exceeded.
• Frequently conduct QA inspections to ensure adherence to room/cage/rack sanitation schedules.
• Participate in all IACUC semi-annual activities including follow-up on any findings for the site and the organization.
• Act as subject matter expert in all animal husbandry and services.
• Identify employee training needs and ensure necessary training is conducted and competence for duties is achieved.
• Deliver consistent practice of site and personnel safety policies, procedures and oversee hazardous work in partnership with EH&S Specialists.

Job Qualifications

To qualify for the Sr. Animal Care Facility Specialist role, you must meet one of the following:

• Bachelor’s degree in animal or life sciences + Minimum four (4) years in a laboratory animal facility of which two (2) years is lead technician experience + LAT certification from AALAS.
• Associate’s degree in animal or life science + Minimum five (5) years in a laboratory animal facility of which two (2) years is lead technician experience + LAT certification from AALAS.
• High school diploma, General Education Degree (G.E.D.)  + Minimum six (6) years in a laboratory animal facility of which two (2) years is lead technician experience + LAT certification from AALAS.

The pay range for this position is $32 to $36 USD per hour.  Please note that salaries vary within the range based on factors including, but not limited to, experience, skills, education, certifications, and location. 

KSA's:

• Working knowledge and understanding of the following guidelines and regulations: “The Guide”, PHS Policy, and AVMA.
• Working knowledge of laboratory animal operations, animal husbandry, and in-vivo technical skills.
• Demonstrate a superior level of client service, including: the ability to show empathy and patience to understand and address client concerns while maintaining a calm and professional demeanor, and ability to adapt and respond timely to needs of all business partners, employees, and clients.
• Ability to perform effectively under conditions of fluctuating workloads and to set priorities which reflect the relative importance of job duties, as well as manage multiple tasks simultaneously when needed. 
• Knowledge of biocontainment procedures and practices.