Animal Care and Use Specialist

Updated: about 1 year ago
Deadline: 10 $59,408 - $82,223 per year; Jan 24, 2023

This position is a part of the Non-Academic Staff Association (NASA).

This full-time position offers a comprehensive benefits package which can be viewed at: Faculty & Staff Benefits .

Location

This role is hybrid with a mix of remote and in-person and work primarily takes place at North Campus Edmonton. 

Working for the University of Alberta 

The University of Alberta acknowledges that we are located on Treaty 6 territory, and respects the histories, languages and cultures of First Nations, Métis, Inuit and all First Peoples of Canada, whose presence continues to enrich our vibrant community.

The University of Alberta is teeming with change makers, community builders, and world shapers who lead with purpose each and every day. We are home to more than 40,000 students in 200+ undergraduate and 500+ graduate programs, over 13,000 faculty and staff, 260,000 alumni worldwide and have been recognized as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers for over a decade.

Your work will have a meaningful influence on a fascinating cross section of people—from our students and stakeholders, to our renowned researchers and innovators who are quite literally curing diseases, making discoveries and generating solutions that make the world healthier, safer, stronger, and more just.

Position

Reporting to the Senior Officer, Animal Care and Use, the Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC)Specialist supports the University’s research mission by providing significant content and process expertise to support the preparation, submission, review and ongoing administration of animal care and use applications to a portfolio of Faculties, Departments and administrative units. As a key member of an integrated research ethics administration team, this role supports and advises researchers and their staff on the preparation of Animal Use Protocols (AUP), amendments, full renewals and annual renewals, which includes drawing on extensive knowledge of animal care and use issues and requirements, knowledge of CCAC guidelines and compliance with Institutional policies and procedures. This position supports and advises the ACUC Chairs and members with regard to compliance with applicable CCAC guidelines, regulations, policy and legislation. The position conducts or contributes to training and education activities for a range of audiences, including internal and external Faculty and student researchers and Committee members. In addition, this position contributes to the development of written standard operating procedures and guidelines for use by all the ACUCs, reviewers and researchers.

Duties

Application/Researcher Support:

  • In accordance with UA policy, receive and process ethics applications, and post-approval applications (ie. New AUP’s, amendments, full renewals, renewals, closing reports and post-approval monitoring reports) for review by the ACUC and/or acceptable delegated reviewer (ie. Chair and/or Sub-Committee).
  • Conducts an independent pre-review and communicates requests to researchers related to conformance with application standards, while also advising of appropriate methods and/or accepted practices to address these issues.
  • Post review, communicate changes requested by reviewers to applicants and assist researchers to develop appropriate solutions to problems identified by the reviewers.
  • Take effective action to advance applications that are delayed in the process due to poor understanding, missing documentation, or other issues.

Reviewer, Committee & Meeting Support:

  • Scheduling, setting agenda, recording and preparing minutes for ACUC meetings.
  • Evaluating ACUC membership requirements, ensuring quorum can be met, managing overall committee composition including highlighting requirements for replenishment when required.
  • Responsible for onboarding of Committee members maintaining the membership database, collecting of onboarding documentation, provisioning access to ARISE and drafting appointment letters.
  • Share updated communication releases, guidelines and training materials to Committee members for ongoing sharing of knowledge and information.
  • Through an in-depth understanding of the applicable guidelines, interpretations, best practices and regulatory requirements related to research, teaching and testing involving animals, the ACUC Specialist contributes to the review of a file and discussion at the ACUC meeting.

Support for Animal Care and Use Program within the RIS portfolio:

  • Support and deliver educational resources for researchers, application training, online system training and programs offered by relevant organizations (e.g. CALAS, AALAS,CCAC).
  • Manage registrations for the Institutional Animal User Training Program - duties include member registration and ensuring the training is complete prior to course delivery for the AALAS program and related UA e-class course requirements.
  • Contribute to the development and process of approval of written standard operating procedures and guidelines including institutional SOP’s.
  • Participate in local and national organizations associated with the ethical review of research involving animals.
  • Perform other duties as required.

Qualifications

  • Undergraduate degree required, preferably in biological, agricultural or general sciences and/or animal health technician certification. Canadian Association of Laboratory AnimalSciences (CALAS) RLAT, RMLAT and/or equivalent studies an asset.
  • Must have technical knowledge of common animal use models in research and associated technical procedures.
  • Knowledge of Canadian Council on Animal Care standards and guidelines and/or other recognized standards (ie. Canadian Association for Laboratory Animal Sciences, Codes of Practice for the Care and Handling of Farm Animals, Canadian Biosafety Standard, Containment Standards for Facilities Handling Aquatic Animal Pathogens).
  • Minimum two years of relevant work experience, in an academic research environment preferably.
  • This position must have a demonstrated ability to consistently and effectively apply high-level critical thinking, decision-making and communication skills in a high-volume, fast-paced environment. In addition, the individual must have well-developed administrative and office skills, including knowledge of committee and meeting support techniques.
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office and University business systems (PeopleSoft, ARISE, Zoom, SharePoint etc.), and internet applications is essential.
  • Must be a self-starter with proven initiative who can learn quickly, and is willing to change direction as priorities change.
  • Demonstrated ability to work as part of a team is required.

Note: Online applications are accepted until midnight Mountain Standard Time of the closing date.

We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those individuals selected for an interview will be contacted.



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