Technical and Scientific Officer, National Fisheries Laboratory - 22996

We are seeking Technical and Scientific Officers to join the National Fisheries Laboratory in Brampton, Cambridgeshire, a high achieving national team that contributes to the protection and development of freshwater fisheries across England.
These roles will involve work across several disciplines to help ensure delivery of our services to Environment Agency area operational teams and external fishery customers.
Our technical and scientific officers have varied roles and work to the highest standards across a range of laboratory diagnostic areas. This includes in support of fish disease incident investigations, with involvement of ageing, parasitology, histology, bacteriology, micro-biology and molecular disciplines. They also perform fish health checks, fish ageing, and support non-native fish investigations.
Duties are likely to include fish dissection and the collection, management, and preparation of samples for analysis and processing across our state-of-the-art laboratories, as well as vital reporting elements.
Duties will also likely include operational laboratory support, with responsibilities to maintain accurate records and laboratory supplies, assist with maintenance and servicing contracts and ensuring laboratory, fish holding and associated waste facilities (i.e. chemical and clinical) are well managed. You will also actively embody the highest standards of health, safety, and wellbeing, in line with EA guidance

The National Fisheries Laboratory team act as a single point of expertise to identify, monitor and limit the impact of current and future threats to fisheries and the aquatic environment from fish disease, parasites, pathogens, non-native species and ageing.
A laboratory and office-based team, our work consists of the delivery of post-mortem and laboratory diagnostics (parasitology, bacteriology, histology, molecular, ageing) and the provision of technical advice and guidance to inform our regulation.

A background and interest in fish biology/ecology/disease, fisheries management and/or working in a laboratory environment is preferred.
You will be self-motivated and organised with excellent attention to detail and problem-solving skills.
You will have demonstrated experience of customer service, will be an excellent communicator with the ability to convey a variety of information to different audiences.
You should be able to prioritise demanding workloads, be comfortable working to tight deadlines, and have a pragmatic approach to achieving objectives.
A strong team ethic is essential, as is an ability to work independently.
Knowledge of one or more of our core disciplines would be of benefit, namely fish ageing, microbiology (bacteriology), molecular diagnostics (extractions, PCR, qPCR), parasitology, histology and fish dissection.
A full UK driving licence would be beneficial.

These permanent posts will be office and laboratory based, situated within the National Fisheries Laboratory, Brampton, Cambridgeshire. Occasional travel for meetings, events and site visits may be required.
The Environment Agency offers a generous employee offer, including access to a Local Government Pension scheme as well as a host of other employee benefits.

If you have any other questions, please contact the hiring manager Emma Nolan at emma.nolan@environment-agency.gov.uk

Please provide an example that demonstrates your ability to work efficiently and effectively under pressure and within tight deadlines. Please highlight how you planned and prioritised your work.

Please provide an example to demonstrate the skills /methods you use to build and sustain effective relationships within your team and / or with other teams at work.

Please give us an example of when you have encountered a problem at work and describe how you used your analytical knowledge and experience to identify the root cause and rectify it.

Knowledge of fish biology, fish ecology, fisheries management, and any experience across our fundamental laboratory disciplines would be beneficial. Please tell us about your experience of this.