Animal Care Technician I

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia•Philadelphia, PA

18h•Onsite

About The Position

This role is responsible for providing a variety of animal husbandry/care services in support of CHOP's mission. Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is the nation's first hospital devoted exclusively to the care of children. Since our start in 1855, CHOP has been the birthplace for countless breakthroughs and dramatic firsts in pediatric medicine. Built on a foundation of delivering safe, high-quality, family-centered care, the Hospital has fostered medical discoveries and innovations that have improved pediatric healthcare and saved countless children’s lives. Today, families facing complex conditions come to CHOP from all over the world, and our compassionate care and innovation has repeatedly earned us a spot on the U.S. News & World Report's Honor Roll of the nation's best children's hospitals.

Requirements

High School Diploma / GED Required
At least six (6) months of animal husbandry/care experience Required
Solid verbal and written communications skills
Solid time management skills
Solid organizational skills
Ability to maintain confidentiality and professionalism
Ability to be flexible and adaptable to change (i.e., assignments, schedules)

Nice To Haves

Previous animal husbandry/care experience in a clinical practice, laboratory animal, agricultural or zoo animal setting
Previous cage wash operation experience
Assistant Laboratory Animal Technician (ALAT) - American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) - upon hire - Preferred
Laboratory Animal Technician (LAT) - American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) - upon hire - Preferred
Laboratory Animal Technologist (LATG) - American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) - upon hire - Preferred

Responsibilities

Performs daily front line animal health checks and reports animal health concerns to veterinary staff and/or DVR management.
Assist with the restraint, handling and manipulation of various animal species as directed by DVR management (i.e., euthanasia, sexing/weaning, and minor treatment administration).
Provide clean animal caging and enclosures to research animals, providing and ensuring access to feed, water and enrichment devices according to SOPs, and/or specific approved protocols and the schedules established by veterinary staff and/or DVR Management.
Maintains cleanliness and sanitizes animal holding rooms, procedure spaces, and ancillary areas of the vivarium. Tracks environmental parameters and reports deviations and observations to DVR Management (i.e., vivarium temperature and humidity readings, lighting, air pressure differentials).
Performs minor equipment maintenance that is pertinent to maintain daily operations. Report any needed repairs to DVR Management (i.e., physically damaged or broken/missing equipment items, damage to vivarium room surfaces, system failures).
Assists with animal receipt and transport activities, including proper operation of animal management software.
May be assigned to perform cage wash duties (i.e., processing caging and accessory equipment appropriately, including putting bedding into cages and autoclaving cages and supplies) as per DVR Management request. Must be able to safely and effectively operate cage wash equipment.
Properly document daily activities as per SOPs, policies, and DVR Management instruction.
Understand and follow appropriate SOPs, policies, safety procedures, and quality assurance guidelines. Complete all trainings as required.
Must possess good communication skills and present a professional demeanor and attitude at all times. Must be flexible in schedule depending on assignment and be adaptable to change.
Performs all other duties as assigned.