Field and Laboratory Technician (Rothamsted Long-Term Experiments)

Rothamsted Research is seeking to recruit a Field and Laboratory Technician to work on the Long-Term Experiments - National Bioscience Research Infrastructure (RLTE-NBRI) project.

The successful candidate will be primarily responsible for carrying out a programme of field and laboratory work on the Long-Term Experiments (LTEs) at our Harpenden (Hertfordshire) and Woburn (Bedfordshire) sites using well-established protocols.

The candidate will:

Conduct some demanding field and laboratory work, including sampling of crops, soils and drainage waters from the LTEs,
Prepare Samples for analysis (drying, chopping, milling, filtering, batching, and weighing),
Add Samples to the Rothamsted Sample Archive (RSA).
Other important duties include supporting electronic and hard-copy documentation procedures, curating analytical data and creating data summaries.

The candidate will also provide occasional support to the UK Environmental Change Network (ECN) in collecting samples from the Harpenden site and processing them for analysis.

The ideal candidate:

Will support internal and external colleagues in the collection of samples from the LTEs and RSA for other projects through a sample request system.
Be able to support knowledge exchange and communication activities associated with the project, such as meeting a range of visitors (scientists, farmers, students, general public).
Help prepare outputs such as posters and presentations.
Maintain the resources required for the project (consumables, equipment, workspaces).
Training will be provided on all aspects of the post. There is also opportunity for the successful candidate to receive further training to enhance their own personal development.

The successful candidate will be educated to at least NVQ Level 3 or A/AS-level (preferably to degree level) and will have experience of working in agricultural research (or similar) and conducting field and laboratory work using specialist technical equipment.

Experience in standard software packages and basic data analysis, and good skills in record-keeping, time management, and communication are prerequisite.

A full driving license covering use of manual transmission vehicles is essential, and experience in driving off-road is desirable., Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.

This is a full-time fixed-term appointment up to 31 March 2028 in the first instance, reflecting the duration of the current RLTE-NBRI project, with a salary in the range of £24,225 to £26,573 per annum based on 37 hours per week.