Animal Care - Floater

Position Summary:

Midnight Sun is seeking an Animal Care professional to support a Federal contract with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) in Durham, NC. NIEHS is one of 27 institutes and centers of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). NIEHS's broad focus on the environmental causes of disease makes the institute a unique part of the NIH. NIEHS is home to the National Toxicology Program (NTP), the nation's premier program for testing and evaluation of agents in our environment. The focus of the NIEHS research is to discover how the environment affects people to promote healthier lives.

The Animal Husbandry Support Contract for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences provides care, maintenance, and technical services for laboratory animals, seven (7) days per week, including weekends and holidays, for 72,447 square feet of laboratory animal facility space (which includes ancillary support areas outside of the main facility, including a separate facility located approximately one mile from the main facility). The contractor is responsible for the care and maintenance of the animals, the sanitation of equipment, technical training, and the general maintenance of the facilities in such a manner as to maintain the highest level of Accreditation from the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care, International (AAALAC, Intl.) The services provided by this contract are considered mission critical.

The Animal Care Floater is a full-time position that will provide coverage as needed for the contract to ensure the proper care, handling and maintenance of on-site animals, equipment, and facilities. Hours are 7:00am to 3:30pm, Monday through Friday, unless otherwise assigned. Some coverage on weekends and holidays may be required. The ideal candidate will have great communication skills, work well with a team, be adaptable, dependable, and act in a positive, professional, and helpful manner. Midnight Sun employees are forward-thinking, and always seek to assist in quality performance of all contract requirements.

Duties/Responsibilities:

• Read, comprehend, and follow all project SOP's and Performance Standards.
• Provide maintenance and care for laboratory animals such as mice, rats, rabbits, guinea pigs, frogs, and fish.
• Perform twice daily animal health checks and report any abnormal animal & aquatic conditions to the appropriate veterinary technician, supervisor, and/or veterinarian.
• Ensure excellent animal care by providing animal cage changing, to include feed and water, following project SOP's and cage changing schedules established by management.
• Sex and wean animals according to project schedules and SOP's.
• Monitor animal room environment conditions such as temperature, humidity, lighting, and airflow. Report discrepancies to supervisor immediately.
• Maintain daily animal census sheets, room equipment, and other forms according to project SOP's.
• Clean and sanitize animal facility according to project SOP's and schedules set by management.
• Maintain animal caging and support equipment.
• Provide appropriate receiving for incoming animal shipments according to project SOP's.
• Provide handling/restraint and manipulation of various animal species.
• Perform euthanasia according to project SOP's.
• Dispose of dead animals according to project SOP's and policies.
• Responsible for breeding records such as male breeding, female breeding, weights, colony management reports, retired male records, euthanasia records, standing order forms, and other bar-coded cage cars via the Granite System.
• Perform copulatory plugs and/or sperm positive smears on mice and rats.
• Perform ear punching for identification purposes.
• Perform animal weights, separation of females, and animal sexing.
• Provide gestation specific dams.
• Separate females for parturition.
• Monitor male and female breeders for performance and make adjustments as necessary.
• Assist with inventories.
• Perform any other duties as assigned by management.

Minimum Requirements:

• High School Diploma or equivalent.
• Current ALAT certification, or certified within one year of eligibility and possess the appropriate training and experience.
• Must have the capability of performing the duties above without supervision.

Physical Demands:

Employees are subject to adverse variables of environmental conditions, both inside and outside. Work areas are often hot, humid, and noisy due to operation of cage washing machines and autoclaves. Employees are potentially exposed to minor injuries such as cuts, bites, scrapes, pulled muscles, burns and unpleasant odors, and the possibility of exposure to hazardous materials including radioisotopes. Employees are exposed to animals and animal urine, feces, and dander that can act as allergens or as potential sources of zoonotic disease.

Animal care personnel are required to wear a contractor supplied, washable cotton/polyester two-piece uniform of scrub pants and a long sleeve, snap-front shirt (a one piece cotton coverall may be substituted), safety shoes, disposable shoe cover, head cover, surgical mask), and gloves when working in the animal rooms.

Protective clothing is required to be worn by ALL personnel entering an animal room from the return corridors. The disposable PPE identified above is furnished by the Government. The contractor is responsible for an annual fit test of all personnel required to wear an N95 respirator.

Must be professional and able to handle multiple tasks and support multiple projects simultaneously. Contract may have vaccination requirements.

Benefits:

KIC offers a comprehensive benefits package to eligible full-time employees including: Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance, 401k with Match, Life and ADD Coverage, Short and Long Term Disability, Paid Time Off and Holidays, Education Assistance/Tuition Reimbursement, Employee Assistance Program, Employee Discount Program, and more!

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Disclaimer:

This is not to be an exclusive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of the person in this job. KIC is an Equal Opportunity Employer as to all protected groups, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. Pursuant to The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act 43 U.S.C. Sec. 1601 et seq., and federal contractual requirements, Kikiktagruk Inupiat Corporation may legally grant certain preference in employment opportunities to KIC Shareholders and their Descendants. Successful candidates must adhere to KIC's Drug and Alcohol policy/testing requirements and may be required to pass a background and/or Motor Vehicle Records check. The salary range for this position is based on several factors, including relevant experience, education, skills, and current market conditions.