JOB SUMMARY
At Houston Methodist, the Animal Care Technician I position is responsible for delivering exceptional animal care to the research animals at Houston Methodist Academic Institute (HMAI) Comparative Medicine Program (CMP) under the direction of the Comparative Medicine Animal Care Technician Supervisor. This position performs daily animal care and husbandry of laboratory animals including operating specialized cage wash equipment in a research environment.
Requirements:
PRIMARY JOB RESPONSIBILITIES
Job responsibilities labeled EF capture those duties that are essential functions of the job.
PEOPLE - 20%
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Establishes and maintains working relationships and communicates effectively with the Houston Methodist Academic Institute (HMAI) animal care, veterinary and research teams. (EF)
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Practices Houston Methodist ICARE values in a dynamic, multi-cultural and international work environment. (EF)
SERVICE - 30%
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Provides daily animal husbandry and care for a variety of laboratory animal species including routine cage change out, daily health checks and feed/water maintenance. (EF)
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Performs animal handling for a variety of laboratory animal species and effectively communicates related issues to the CMP Animal Care Supervisor. (EF)
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Performs sanitization of caging and equipment using tunnel and rack washers, bulk autoclaves and other specialized laboratory equipment. (EF)
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Performs daily animal census using an electronic Radio Frequency Identification scanning system. (EF)
QUALITY/SAFETY - 20%
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Ensures that animal room records are maintained in conformance with institutional policies and federal regulations including the Animal Welfare Act, Good Laboratory Practices and the standards required for Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care accreditation. (EF)
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Ensures the CMP facility remains prepared for routine Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care and United States Department of Agriculture inspections and meets occupational health and safety standards. (EF)
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Performs scheduled room and equipment sanitation to meet established CMP quality control standards in animal housing areas. (EF)
FINANCE - 10%
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Identifies and communicates cost saving initiatives within the department and is self-motivated to independently manage time effectively and prioritize daily tasks. (EF)
GROWTH/INNOVATION - 20%
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Generates and communicates new ideas and suggestions that improve quality and service for a variety of husbandry animal care procedures and facility support practices. (EF)
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Embraces opportunities to acquire additional knowledge regarding guidelines and regulations that affect CMP’s animal research facility. (EF)
This job description is not intended to be all inclusive; the employee will also perform other reasonably related business/job duties as assigned. Houston Methodist reserves the right to revise job duties and responsibilities as the need arises.
Qualifications:
EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS
o High School diploma or equivalent education (examples include: GED, verification of homeschool equivalency, partial or full completion of post-secondary education, etc.)
EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS
o One-year animal handling and husbandry technician experience
CERTIFICATIONS, LICENSES AND REGISTRATIONS REQUIRED
o None
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES REQUIRED
o Demonstrates the skills and competencies necessary to safely perform the assigned job, determined through on-going skills, competency assessments, and performance evaluations
o Sufficient proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing the English language necessary to perform the essential functions of this job, especially with regard to activities impacting patient or employee safety or security
o Ability to effectively communicate with patients, physicians, family members and co-workers in a manner consistent with a customer service focus and application of positive language principles
o Ability to operate various cage wash and laboratory equipment include rack and tunnel washers, autoclaves and pressure washing systems
o Ability to perform animal husbandry duties using specialized IVC equipment and species-specific caging
o General animal handling skills involved with cage cleaning and animal transporting
o Ability to recognize animal health concerns
SUPPLEMENTAL REQUIREMENTS
Work Attire Yes/No
Uniform No
Scrubs Yes
Business professional No
Other (dept approved) No
On-Call* No
Note that employees may be required to be on-call during emergencies (ie. Disaster, Severe Weather Event, etc) regardless of selection above.
Travel**
May require travel within No
Houston Metropolitan area
May require travel outside No
of Houston Metropolitan area
**Travel specifications may vary by department.
Please note any other special considerations to this job: __________________________
Company Profile:
Houston Methodist Academic Institute was formed to rapidly and efficiently translate discoveries made in the laboratory and the clinic into new diagnostics, therapies and treatments. The Research Institute was created in 2004 to provide the infrastructure and support for these endeavors and to house the technology and resources needed to make innovative breakthroughs in important areas of human disease. A 540,000-square-foot building dedicated to research and clinical trials, the Academic Institute houses over 2,110 credentialed researchers conducting 1,387 ongoing clinical protocols.
