Site: The General Hospital Corporation

Mass General Brigham relies on a wide range of professionals, including doctors, nurses, business people, tech experts, researchers, and systems analysts to advance our mission. As a not-for-profit, we support patient care, research, teaching, and community service, striving to provide exceptional care. We believe that high-performing teams drive groundbreaking medical discoveries and invite all applicants to join us and experience what it means to be part of Mass General Brigham.

Job Summary:

A Research Animal Specialist 1 provides basic husbandry, health surveillance, and compliance monitoring to laboratory animals. Responsibilities also include performing equipment sanitation, maintaining husbandry equipment records, and supporting the facility teams in daily work as needed. All Research Animal Specialists are required to work in a team environment following Lean Management principles and participate in continuous improvement projects. This position involves daily exposure to laboratory animals, their waste products, and possibly chemical agents, radioactive isotopes and ABSL2 hazards. Rotating weekend and holiday work hours are required.

Qualifications:

PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

The Following Duties are performed daily with minimal supervision: • Performs Facility Cage Wash Operations.
o Operate and maintain automated cage wash equipment and sterilizers in order to sanitize primary animal holding cages, support equipment, and general access areas.
o Assemble caging.
o Prepare acidified water bottles using an automated bottle filler.
o Receive, transport, process, store facility supplies, animal feed, bedding, and enrichment

• Provides Facility Maintenance and Sanitization.
  o Maintain animal rooms so that secondary enclosure is free of infectious agents and other contaminates by following the sanitation monitoring program standard operating procedures (SOPs).
  o Report facility and environmental issues that fall outside animal welfare regulatory requirements (as defined in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals).
• Provides Animal Husbandry Tasks.
  o Serve as a member of a research animal care team, which is responsible for daily animal husbandry and welfare checks in the facility.
  o Perform daily work involving the handling of genetically engineered animal models, animals with immuno-compromised health status, and animals recovering from surgery or other invasive procedures, etc.
  o Assemble caging supplies with proper handling to ensure sterility level of equipment, feed and water.
  o Perform daily animal pen/caging sanitization or changing. Following aseptic technique, ensuring animals are not contaminated when outside primary enclosure.
  o Provide compliance monitoring of cage conditions. (Overcrowded cage management, spot changing of dirty cages, etc.).
  o Track progress of neonates, notification of team members & PI staff, and weaning of cages per SOPs.
  o Ensure animals are provided with food and water daily.
  o Record critical facility data/documentation on a daily basis required by local, state and federal regulatory agencies.
  o Perform routine euthanasia on laboratory animals according to the American Veterinary Medical Association’s (AVMA) Panel on Euthanasia
• Provides Animal Health Monitoring
  o Evaluate animal’s health each day and report abnormal clinical signs to the team lead and veterinary staff per SOP.
  o Provide follow-up notification and treatment of common health concerns prescribed by the veterinary staff per SOP.
  o Reports progress of therapies to the team, veterinary staff, and PI staff via health card notifications and email.
• Performs Facility Support Functions.
  o Use current technology including PDAs and bar code application to record daily cage census.
  o Comply with CCM and MGH policies and SOPs.
  o Provide facility support functions as assigned. (bioware trouble shooter, van driver, etc.)
• Works within a Team Environment following Lean Management Principals.
  o Utilize lean management tools in conjunction with the Team Lead and other teammates, such as value stream mapping and 5S, in order to problem solve and continuously improve operations.
  o Attend team meetings and training sessions on all aspects of laboratory animal care and uses of animals in biomedical research as scheduled.
  The Following Duties may be performed daily under supervision from the Team Lead or Manager:
• Perform husbandry and health monitoring of animals in ABSL2 areas.
• Assist the Team Lead or designee with housing incoming animals.
• Provide research support services.
• Collect sentinel samples processing and evaluation.
• Perform husbandry and health monitoring of USDA covered species, updating Individual Animal Records when required.
• Ordering and receiving facility supplies, monitoring material replenishment systems.
• Assist in the creation, validation and maintenance of visual controls within the facility.
• Comply with CCM and MGH policies and standard operating procedures.
• Provide treatment and follow-up of non-standard health concerns as prescribed by the veterinary staff.
• Works holiday and weekends as assigned.
• Other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• High school diploma or equivalency degree required
• Experience in care of animals preferred
• SKILLS / ABILITIES / COMPETENCIES REQUIRED
• Proficient in verbal and written English and Mathematics pertinent to the duties of this position and situations encountered in the animal facility.
• Ability to lift and move 50 lbs on a regular basis
• Long periods of standing
• Has a customer-focused attitude and enjoys working with similarly dedicated persons in a team fashion within a high-energy research environment.
• Ability to learn and use bar code/PDA technology and basic computer skills including email and Microsoft Outlook.
• Valid drivers license (for specified facilities).
• WORKING CONDITIONS
• The animal facility has a variety of environmental conditions. Specifically, employees may be exposed to noise, dust, chemicals, extreme heat, and animal waste products. The duration of exposure to any of the above is dependent on the assigned duties. Some aspects of this position may expose the incumbent to potentially fatal zoonotic diseases. Appropriate protective clothing and equipment may be required and will be provided, accompanied by appropriate training.
• Travel between facilities may be required. Driving MGH vans to transport animals and equipment may be required.
• This position may also expose the employee to animals treated with chemical hazards, radioactive dyes and other induced conditions as part of approved protocols.
• Employees are expected to conduct all work in a safe manner that includes maintaining knowledge of animal handling techniques consistent with the condition of the animal, protocol, regulations and department policy, including radioactive treatments and bodily fluids.
  SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY
  No direct reports.
  FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY
  Responsible for economical use of resources and time

Additional Job Details (if applicable)

Remote Type

Onsite

Work Location

399 Revolution Drive

Scheduled Weekly Hours:

0

Employee Type

Temporary

Work Shift

Day (United States of America)

Pay Range

$17.50 - $23.44/Hourly

Grade

3

At Mass General Brigham, we believe in recognizing and rewarding the unique value each team member brings to our organization. Our approach to determining base pay is comprehensive, and any offer extended will take into account your skills, relevant experience if applicable, education, certifications and other essential factors. The base pay information provided offers an estimate based on the minimum job qualifications; however, it does not encompass all elements contributing to your total compensation package. In addition to competitive base pay, we offer comprehensive benefits, career advancement opportunities, differentials, premiums and bonuses as applicable and recognition programs designed to celebrate your contributions and support your professional growth. We invite you to apply, and our Talent Acquisition team will provide an overview of your potential compensation and benefits package.

EEO Statement:

1200 The General Hospital Corporation is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, age, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation, military service, genetic information, and/or other status protected under law. We will ensure that all individuals with a disability are provided a reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. To ensure reasonable accommodation for individuals protected by Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Vietnam Veteran’s Readjustment Act of 1974, and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, applicants who require accommodation in the job application process may contact Human Resources at (857)-282-7642.

Mass General Brigham Competency Framework

At Mass General Brigham, our competency framework defines what effective leadership “looks like” by specifying which behaviors are most critical for successful performance at each job level. The framework is comprised of ten competencies (half People-Focused, half Performance-Focused) and are defined by observable and measurable skills and behaviors that contribute to workplace effectiveness and career success. These competencies are used to evaluate performance, make hiring decisions, identify development needs, mobilize employees across our system, and establish a strong talent pipeline.