National Reference Laboratory Support for Exotic Bacterial Pathogens (CR 1737)
| Posting date: | 15 September 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £38,795 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 02 October 2025 |
| Location: | KT15 3NB |
| Company: | Government Recruitment Service |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 427216/1 |
Summary
The Science Directorate (SD) delivers high quality, high impact and highly relevant multidisciplinary science. Our People are diverse, talented, engaged and inspired to deliver innovative outcomes.
You will support a number of National Reference Laboratories (NRLs) for exotic bacterial pathogens ensuring that laboratory capability is in place with tests validated and accredited and support any legislative requirements around these laboratories. You will also oversee Brucella reagent production and diagnostic test work of a team and supporting research by undertaking both immunological and cultural work.
Working to ISO 9001:2015 and, as applicable, ISO 17025:2017, quality standards will also be a vital part of your role.
- Ensure that APHA has the necessary capability in place, or access to capability, to detect and diagnose disease caused by bacterial agents including, but not limited to, Brucella canis, Brucella ovis, Burkholderia mallei, Francisella tularensis, and Histoplasma farciminosum.
- Develop and maintain knowledge and technical skills for the production and maintenance of APHA’s existing brucellosis serodiagnostic assays.
- Capability requirements for each organism varies but includes bacterial culture, agent inactivation, detection of specific DNA and serodiagnosis. The postholder will be expected to be sufficiently knowledgeable in all these disciplines.
- Execution of bacteriological culture methods for agent detection and definition (working in ACDP3/SAPO3 biological containment facilities).
- Participate in the development and validation of new or improved (cultural, molecular, serological) assays in support of national / internationally funded research projects or commercial and international trade.
- Ensure test results are reported to stakeholders in a timely and appropriate manner.
- Communication with disease consultants and international experts to ensure best practices are in place to deliver NRL functions.
- Write, review, and maintain Risk Assessments and SOPs specific to the role.
- Obtain and maintain UKAS Accreditation status for relevant tests.
- Provide reportable and notifiable disease outbreak and case management support when required.
- Contribution to delivery of projects led by disease consultants, this includes contributing to the groups international activities including training of visitors on site or overseas as needed.
- Identifying and developing new opportunities for work/funding that enhance the capability of the APHA.
- Maintain contemporary expert knowledge in laboratory detection and diagnosis of disease caused by the above pathogens.
- Line management of one EO.
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