Research - Grade 6
Example job roles: Technician, Research Technician, Research Assistant
Level: Developing/SkilledÌý
Experiences
Activities and responsibilities likely to be required when working at this level
Health & Safety responsibilities
- Complete routine equipment maintenance and repairs
- Liaise with suppliers and manufacturers to resolve simple problems
- Advise novice users on basic equipment capabilities
- With the academic lead, establish and maintain a safe/compliant working environment
- Assist/complete and update routine safety paperwork (dependant on the risk owner)
- Hold specific safety responsibilities
- Organise and complete compliance tasks
- Maintain up-to-date health and safety knowledge, providing support and advice to others
Core responsibilities
- Ensure effective delivery of objectives by planning and managing own workload
- Assist the academic lead with the day-to-day running and supervision of laboratory spaces
- Allocate work to one or more students
- Work collaboratively to deliver objectives, including sharing best practiceÌý
- Contribute to progress and management meetings
- Manage a small budget, monitoring resource usage and maintaining supplies of key items
- Assist with stores operations including ordering, receiving, processing, and distributing goods
- Source and negotiate with suppliers for routine items
- Provide a high standard of research support, including contributing to reports and publications
- Provide a high standard of teaching support, including preparing for classes and field work – (experimental work and analyse data)Ìý
- Conduct research experiments following protocols
- Support taught course projects by contributing to experimental design and data acquisition
- Prepare and manufacture a range of simple specimens/samples
- Report infrastructure faults and support small-scale building works
- Manage equipment bookings, calculate charges/costs and assist with re-charging
- Update and deliver local inductions, and provide training and demonstrations of techniques and equipment
- Input data and maintain databases
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Personal and professional development
Development options to consider when working towards this level
Learning on the jobÌý
- Write advanced reports and read papers in relation to the testing, compliance and routine maintenance of equipment
- Take on responsibility for more complex tasks e.g. completing personal licence application (Home Office) and undertaking licenced procedures
- Seek out opportunities to learn new skills
- Take on a specific role within a research project
- Develop a level of expertise in a specific piece of equipment
Learning from othersÌýÌý
- Work shadow colleagues to gain an understanding of new or different work practices
- Join a Community of Practice
Formal learning
- Manufacturer-led training for highly specialised equipment/processes
- Accreditation/certification from a recognised Professional bodyÌý
- Apply for training through a mid-career apprenticeship programme
Transferable skills and competencies
°×С½ãÂÛ̳ uses the Universal Competency Framework (UCF) to discuss transferable skills. Find out moreÌýdetails on the framework.
Deciding and initiating actions
- Making decisions
- Taking responsibility
- Acting with Confidence
- Acting on own initiative
- Taking action
- Taking calculated risks
Applying expertise and technology
- Applying technical expertise
- Building technical expertise
- Sharing expertise
- Using technology resources
- Demonstrating physical and manual skills
- Demonstrating cross-functional awareness
- Demonstrating spatial awareness
Working with people
- Understanding others
- Adapting to the team
- Building team spirit
- Recognising and rewarding contributions.
- Listening
- Consulting others
- Communicating proactively
- Showing tolerance and consideration
- Showing empathy
- Supporting others
- Caring for others
- Developing and communicating self-knowledge and insight
°×С½ãÂÛ̳ Ways of Working
These describe expected behaviours in line with °×С½ãÂÛ̳ culture and values.Ìý For Ways of Working indicators and steps to development please refer to theÌýWays of Working website.Ìý
4 January 2024
“Career Pathway roles are indicative and are not intended to be a description of the role in terms of responsibilty and duties.
Print versions
Career case studies
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Neil Hughes
Head of Technical Staff for the Department of Earth Sciences