Animal Welfare Specialist_OAVCR Animal Welfare Office

University of Mississippi Medical Center•Jackson, MS

14h•Onsite

About The Position

Deliver and supplement the day-to-day support services provided to the overall institutional research mission and daily management of the office of animal welfare (OAW) in planning, development, modification, and implementation of programmatic support services provided to the institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC) to ensure all animal welfare standards are met or exceeded for the animals used in teaching, testing and research at UMMC.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree and two (2) years of experience in animal welfare, research compliance, or laboratory management.
Excellent communication skills (oral and written) necessary to interact with multiple individuals and entities across a large organization, including public speaking, familiarity with academic research; knowledge and respect for other cultures, demonstrate leadership qualities and the ability to work cooperatively with diverse multi-disciplinary researchers, knowledge of IACUC-related management practices in animal research, knowledge of accreditation standards and processes and strong analytical skills, in-depth knowledge and understanding of applicable federal regulations, demonstrated knowledge and experience conducting animal research and the complexity of regulatory and ethical requirements as they relate to animal research, demonstrated leadership and supervisory skills and ability to work independently and make decisions.
Proven ability to effectively influence multiple stakeholders and produce tangible results.
Ability to review and comprehend the scientific language in research proposals; ability to accurately perform multiple duties simultaneously.
Computer experience is essential.

Nice To Haves

Certified Professional IACUC Administrator (CPIA) certification preferred.

Responsibilities

Provides high level research support and leads efforts to improve compliance with animal welfare policies and procedures, with a focus on continuous improvement.
Confers with the director to review and evaluate IACUC policies and procedures on an ongoing basis to proactively identify issues/concerns that may impact the institution's compliance with laws, regulations, policies and guidelines related to the humane care and use of laboratory animals.
Consults with research investigators, analyzing complex research documents including protocols. Identify ethical and regulatory issues, identify acceptable resolutions and effectively communicate those resolutions to the IACUC or investigators.
Provides support for the wide variety of daily and cyclical administrative tasks and the tasking of staff, allowing the director the opportunity to pursue other duties; initiates and promotes activities associated with the ongoing management of IACUC functions.
Designs and plans special projects identified to enhance office procedures, IACUC performance or overall animal welfare protections.
Manages and verifies training & occupational health and safety requirements for personnel working with live animals.
Provide/schedule training opportunities for IACUC members, researchers and lab personnel.
As content manager expert for the IACUC website, provides support for all web changes and enhancements of information.
Attend seminars and training sessions to fully develop proficiency with regulatory requirements.
Performs duties of director in director's absence.
The duties listed are general in nature and are examples of the duties and responsibilities performed and are not meant to be construed as exclusive or all-inclusive. Management retains the right to add or change duties at any time.