Advanced Technician (Teaching & Research Laboratories)

Job Family: Technical, Research and Teaching Services

OUR CHARACTERISTICS: We are a globally outstanding centre of teaching and research excellence, a collegiate community of extraordinary people, in a unique and historic setting.    

OUR VALUES: We are inspiring, challenging, innovative, responsible and enabling.

Durham University

Durham University is one of the world's top universities with strengths across the Arts and Humanities, Business, Sciences and Social Sciences. We are home to some of the most talented scholars and researchers from around the world who are tackling global issues and making a difference to people's lives. 

The University sits in a beautiful historic city where it shares ownership of a UNESCO World Heritage Site with Durham Cathedral, the greatest Romanesque building in Western Europe. A collegiate University, Durham recruits outstanding students from across the world and offers an unmatched wider student experience.

Durham University seeks to promote and maintain an inclusive and supportive environment for work and study that assists all members of our University community to reach their full potential. Diversity brings strength and we welcome applications from across the international, national and regional communities that we work with and serve.

It is expected that all staff within the University:

• Contribute to our learning culture by engaging in mentoring, training and coaching.
• Positively contribute to fostering a collegial environment; as well as demonstrating commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.
• Have due regard to Health and Safety requirements appropriate to grade and role.

Family key attributes

Roles in this family provide creative and analytical input to facilitate the delivery of world-class teaching, learning and research activities.

Overall family purpose

• Support stakeholders to ensure the delivery of research, teaching and scholarly activities.
• Align and tailor services to meet strategic and operational research, teaching and learning objectives.
• Prepare and set-up equipment, apparatus and resources to ensure the successful delivery of scheduled academic activities.
• Monitor, manage and maintain teaching, learning or research facilities, workshops, laboratories and experimental environments to ensure compliance with internal and external regulations.
• Contribute guidance, advice and/or professional expertise to increase intellectual and creative capacity for world-class teaching and research outputs.
• Actively participate with peers and specialists internally and externally to expand knowledge and practice.
• Design and construct equipment, environments, tools, techniques and methodologies to meet research and learning objectives.
• Adapt and develop equipment, techniques and methodologies to meet research and learning outputs and timescales.
• Engage and network with internal and external specialists and experts to facilitate knowledge exchange and enhance research, teaching and learning activities.
• Work collaboratively and network across the University with staff in other families to ensure a smooth, timely and high-quality delivery of service.

Link to key strategic plan

• An economically sustainable approach to delivering technical and experimental support services across the University;
• Support and facilitate world-leading research across all academic departments;
• Support and facilitate research that has a positive impact on global, national and regional challenges and which benefits culture, society, health, the economy and the physical environment;
• Support and facilitate a rewarding research environment and an exceptional research-led learning experience;
• Support and facilitate programmes that offer intellectual challenge, cohesiveness and a strong sense of progression;
• A stakeholder-focused orientation, offering satisfying careers to all staff;
• Ensure that an increasingly diverse workforce is treated equally, fairly and with respect, and that all staff are demonstrably valued and actively engaged.

The Department and role purpose    

The Department of Physics at Durham University is one of the top UK Physics departments with an outstanding reputation for excellence in teaching, research and employability of our students. Ranked in the top 10 in REF2022 in terms of power, 96% of Durham Physics research was considered either to be of “internationally excellent quality” or “world leading”.

The post holder will be responsible for assisting with the day-to-day technical functions and operations in the Physics Department, providing technical and engineering related assistance throughout a busy suite of teaching laboratories plus a large and diverse selection of research laboratories, thereby ensuring smooth and efficient operation throughout both areas.

 The post holder will be required to provide flexible technical support as part of a technical team supporting all teaching and research activities conducted within the Physics Department Primarily servicing the needs of teaching, while supporting research in periods of lower demand assisting undergraduates, postgraduates, post doctorates and academic supervisors with regard to everyday laboratory requirements.

Core responsibilities:

• Act as more knowledgeable team member without responsibility for team members.
• Plan and organise own workload with or without involvement with project work streams.
• Resolve queries and requests for information and advice and escalate more specialist and complex queries or issues to more experienced team members.
• Respond to stakeholder needs to deliver and shape an excellent stakeholder experience.
• Apply theory and practice, from academic and professional development and previous knowledge within a service team.
• Contribute to collaborative decision making within the team with service provision to deliver an excellent stakeholder experience in accordance with policy and procedures.
• Work collaboratively across the organisation and/or externally with colleagues and stakeholders to deliver a service.
• Provide guidance and advice to resolve problems and queries for a broad range of service users.
• Collaborate with team members and academic staff to implement service alterations and plan the future development of laboratories.
• Organise and schedule resources, activities and events.
• Identify priorities and monitor processes and activities to ensure success.
• Provide more in-depth qualitative and quantitative analysis activities within the role.
• Analyse work activities to ensure the effective and efficient use of capital and consumable equipment and resources.
• Provide demonstrations and instruction on various laboratory techniques and practices and the operation of particular equipment to others outside the team.
• Support the capture of business requirements from users and work with colleagues to translate these into recommendations for future service provision.
• Liaise with contacts and participate in networks and communities internally and possibly externally, contributing to effective collaborative working.
• Advise others and make recommendations into work processes and procedures for consideration by senior management to improve services.

Role responsibilities:

• Deliver professional technical and experimental services to undergraduates, postgraduates, research assistants and academic staff to support teaching, outreach, research and learning activities to meet sector and professional body standards.
• Ensure the smooth running of a teaching or research facility and/or a range of laboratories, workshops, studios and/or experimental facilities, maintaining facilities to a safe standard for student use.
• Apply knowledge and skills to build, adapt, construct and repair test set-ups, experimental scenarios and laboratory equipment for demonstration lectures.
• Utilise new and existing resources to deliver teaching, research and/or learning objectives.
• Prepare and set-up equipment and facilities for the delivery of teaching, learning and research activities, including various outreach activities and summer schools.
• Liaise with others to identify resource requirements, store and deliver resources and keep accurate records of stock levels.
• Liaise with outside agencies, local authorities, industries, visitors, academic staff, students and colleagues across the University to ensure a smooth and efficient service.
• Provide supervision for teaching, learning and research activities, including students and staff.
• Prepare safety documents and risk assessments for teaching, research and learning activities, e.g. COSHH.
• Record, monitor and collate information, analyse patterns and trends as part of teaching, learning and research activities.
• Develop, construct and/or repair mechanical, electrical, electronic and digital equipment and tools, including simple electronic circuits, under the supervision of more experienced staff and in collaboration with Electronic Engineering Services staff.
• Assist and advise students working in research laboratories on technical aspects of their research projects.
• Control of laboratory spending, monitoring expenditure to the appropriate budget code and cost centre.
• Support and assist with the provision of health and safety whilst adhering to set guidelines.
• Any other reasonable duties.

Recruiting to this post 

In order to be considered for interview, candidates must evidence each of the essential criteria required for the role in the person specification. In some cases, the recruiting panel may also consider the desirable criteria, therefore we recommend you evidence all criteria in your application.  

Please note that some criteria will only be considered at interview stage.

How to apply 

We prefer to receive applications online.

Please note that in submitting your application Durham University will be processing your data. We would ask you to consider the relevant University Privacy Statement https://www.dur.ac.uk/ig/dp/privacy/pnjobapplicants/ which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data.

Information if you have a disability

The University welcomes applications from disabled people.  We are committed to ensuring fair treatment throughout the recruitment process.  We will make adjustments to support the interview process wherever it is reasonable to do so and, where successful, adjustments will be made to support people within their role.

If you are unable to complete your application via our recruitment system, please get in touch with us on [email protected]

What you are required to submit

Please ensure that you submit all documentation listed above or your application cannot proceed to the next stage.

Contact details 

For further information please contact; 

Mr Wayne Dobby, Technical Services and Facilities Manager ([email protected])

At Durham University, our aim is to create an open and inclusive environment where everyone can reach their full potential and believe our staff should reflect the diversity of the global community in which we work.  We welcome and encourage applications from members of groups who are under-represented in our work force including people with disabilities, women and black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.

We will notify you on the status of your application at various points throughout the selection process, via automated emails from our e-recruitment system.  Please check your spam/junk folder periodically to ensure you receive all emails.

Person specification - skills, knowledge, qualifications, and experience required

Essential Criteria:

Desirable Criteria: