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Job Summary:

The primary responsibility of this position is to develop and provide training to the CCM Animal Care Staff and research personnel through training sessions. To help ensure that CCM is in compliance with CCM standard operating procedures and all federal, state and local guidelines. 

Please note: Work hours are typically 8-5 but can be flexible and should add up to 40 hours per week. Workstations are close to each other and workspace is limited. Work may require extended hours sitting at a computer terminal and/or several hours of standing and walking in and around the animal facility.  Position requires travel between the Evanston and Chicago campuses. Work will require access to the animal facilities. Must be enrolled in the university’s occupational health program which entails filling out a health questionnaire. The health questionnaire is submitted to the university’s occupational health provider for review. Must be willing to undergo job-related background check.

Specific Responsibilities:

• Provide training to CCM Husbandry Staff and research personnel.  Provide new employee orientation to CCM Husbandry Staff and research personnel. Provide on-the-job training to Husbandry Staff based on Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), policies, guidelines and forms.  Assess the competency of Husbandry Staff through continued observation and assessment of compliance with SOPs, policies, guidelines and forms. 
• Assist with the writing and development of SOPs, policies, guidelines and forms relevant to the husbandry training program. Develop and provide oversight to Husbandry Technical Trainer. Develop, implement and administer new training documents and resources. Document training of CCM Husbandry Staff and research personnel. Serve as a quality assurance representative to assess internal SOPs and good practices.
• Assist with the writing and development of corrective actions relevant to non-compliance issues as it applies to technical accuracy and internal practices.
• Assist with the administration and training of AALAS certification classes. Assist with the administration and implementation of CCM’s Staff Continuing Education Program, i.e. Monthly Animal Care All Staff Training and weekly staff meetings as needed.
• Assist the Manager of Quality Assurance and Training with other duties and projects as assigned.

Miscellaneous 

• Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Associate's Degree or Bachelor’s Degree in a science-related field or equivalent course work or experience.
• 7 years’ experience in the laboratory animal field.
• American Association of Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) certification at the LAT level
• 3 years’ experience working in a teaching/training environment or quality assurance environment.

Minimum Competencies: (Skills, knowledge, and abilities.)

• Customer service oriented
• Lab Animal Care
• Organization
• Communication –proficient in both verbal and written communication
• Efficiency/Dependability
• Judgment
• Computer Literate – power point and multimedia experience
• Multi-tasking

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s Degree in a science-related field or equivalent course work or experience.
• American Association of Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) certification at the LATG level
• Greater than 5 years experience working in a teaching/training environment or quality assurance environment.

Preferred Competencies: (Skills, knowledge, and abilities)

• Development of Self/Others
• Initiative
• Planning
• Problem Solving
• Research Regulations
• Project Management

About Northwestern University - Center for Comparative Medicine

The Center for Comparative Medicine is a core service, teaching, and training unit dedicated to supporting humane animal care and use in research and education at Northwestern University. We provide quality animal care and promote animal welfare and regulatory compliance through efficient operations and positive collaborations with faculty, students and staff. Northwestern University is a private research university with 12 schools and more than 21,000 students across three campuses. Beyond being a dynamic learning organization, research thrives at Northwestern University, with teams working to solve society's problems and facilitate clinical and commercial use of their innovations.

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