Specialist Technician; Virology; School of Chemistry Grade 6

Job Description Position Details

School of Chemistry

Location:

University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

As this vacancy has limited funding the maximum salary that can be offered is Grade 6, salary £35,608.

Grade: 6

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to August 2030

Closing date: 20 th September 2026

The University of Birmingham is a global institution working within a diverse and vibrant City, offering an inspiring education to our students, and undertaking critically important research. We are a place of open, critical thinking, and the creation, sharing and dissemination of knowledge. Professional Services put students at the heart of all they do and enable an exceptional educational experience. They provide outstanding support to our researchers and help the University to grow its influence regionally, nationally, and globally.

They ensure the University’s resources are used wisely, manage and improve the infrastructure which sits at the heart of the institution, and support decisions to be made quickly and based on sound evidence. Our Birmingham Professional programme operates across the University, supporting colleagues to network and collaborate, offering opportunities to learn and develop, contributing to the delivery of the University’s objectives, and helping everyone to understand the broader context within which we work.

The School of Chemistry at the University of Birmingham is a vibrant and thriving academic community with over 140 academic and research staff, 25 professional services staff and over 600 students. With a strong focus on its three main research themes, energy, sustainability and health, and a number of interdisciplinary interest groups, the School has ambitious plans to grow research activity;

combined with investment from the University for the new Collaborative Teaching Laboratory and Molecular Sciences Research Building, we are entering an exciting period.

The successful candidate will support the creation of knowledge by undertaking a specified range of activities within an established research programme and/or specific research project. Specifically, the appointed technician will work as part of an EPSRC funded project aimed at the design, synthesis, characterisation and testing of polymers as antivirals. Their role will specifically be focused on supporting the virology aspects of this funded project and the wider research group.

You will provide technical expertise, support and guidance in research support. You may supervise a number of technical staff but even where you do not directly supervise staff you will still be expected to act as a role model and coach others as appropriate.

You will need an in-depth understanding of the research questions, techniques and experimental protocols. You will be able to use your in-depth knowledge to advise on procedures, diagnose and resolve problems, and proactively suggest solutions to issues which arise. You may need to operate out of normal working hours to accommodate experimental procedures.

• You will be responsible for assisting in managing the experimental (class II) biological laboratories within the School of Chemistry.
• You will be required to support activities within class I biological labs more widely within the School of Chemistry.
• You will use your in-depth knowledge of methods and procedures to advise on techniques and experimental procedures being used by researchers and/or students. This will involve communicating with colleagues at a range of levels and inexperienced students.
• You will need to be able to diagnose and resolve problems and suggest solutions in regard to techniques and experiments.
• Carry out specialist technical and experimental…