Nuclear Stock Assistant - Edinburgh, United Kingdom - Scottish Government

Scottish Government

Verified Company

Edinburgh, United Kingdom

1 week ago

Posted by:

Tom O´Connor

beBee Recruiter

Description

Overview:

SASA, a Division of the Agriculture and Rural Economy Directorate headed by the Chief Plant Health Officer for Scotland, is a community of 170 policy professionals, inspectors, scientists, and support staff with responsibility for providing a range of services in support of arable agriculture, horticulture, food, the environment, and the wider rural economy.

SASA is the certifying authority for seed potatoes in Scotland and, working in conjunction with RPID, is responsible for the management and administration of the Seed Potato Classification Scheme.

The Scottish seed potato industry is an important part of the rural economy, generating a direct income of over £80 million and SASA produce and maintain the starting material for all seed potato crops grown in Scotland.

As the Nuclear Stock Assistant, you will assist the Nuclear Stock Manager in overseeing the production and storage of initial pathogen-free microplants in two distinct work areas; the Nuclear Stock Initiation unit (NSIU) and the Nuclear Stock Maintenance unit (NSMU).

The NSMU, which holds over 900 varieties of potato microplants, is recognised worldwide and it is imperative that both production and freedom from disease are maintained to satisfy demand of starting material for both domestic and export seed potato markets.

This work is mainly laboratory and glasshouse based but some field work may be required.

Responsibilities:

Undertake testing and diagnosis for plant pathogens including carrying out serological testing (ELISA), bioassays and sampling for other pathogen tests as detailed in Standard Operating Procedures.
Using aseptic techniques, initiate microplants and undertake micropropagation to maintain and supply material to the Pre-Basic TC minituber production units in the UK and supply material for trial and experimental purposes for a range of customers in the UK and overseas.
Propagate healthy potato plants and produce virus free tubers in the NSIU glasshouse to be used for field monitoring of clones and supply to SASA's Variety Testing section for the virus tested field collection.
Undertake the day to day running of the NSMU/ NSIU laboratories in keeping with good practice including ensuring that labs and growth rooms are kept clean and tidy, maintaining sufficient stocks of media and consumables, and recording QA temperature checks.
Keep accurate records of all work and ensure that all duties are carried out in compliance with the quality management system.
Undertake other duties as required.

Competencies:

Self-Awareness

Teamwork

Communication & Engagement

Information Management

Essential Criteria & Qualifications:

Essential Criteria:

Proven experience of working within Quality Assurance system in a laboratory environment, with the ability to carry out work accurately and to a high standard.
Excellent record keeping skills and a good working knowledge of IT packages such as Microsoft Word, Excel or Access.
Strong communication skills, both written and oral, and in the capacity to develop and maintain strong working relationships
The ability to work with a high degree of autonomy, identify priorities and work flexibly to accommodate these.

Location:
Rodding Road, Edinburgh, EH12 9FJ

Interview and Assessment:
Dates to be confirmed

Minimum time in post:

You will be expected to remain in post for a minimum of three years unless successful at gaining promotion to a higher Band or Grade.

HOW TO APPLY & ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

How to apply:

Additional information:

For further information, please download and review the "Person Specification" which you will find below.

Person_Specification_Band_A_Updated_9.9.22_PDF

The post is a full-time role, but staff with different working patterns are invited to apply, and we will assess proposed working patterns against the business requirements for this post.

For information regarding this post please contact

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