Animal Care Supervisor

Applicants must submit a resume and cover letter detailing qualifications for the position.

Stanford University, located between San Francisco and San Jose in the heart of California's Silicon Valley, is one of the world's leading teaching and research universities. Since its opening in 1891, Stanford has been dedicated to finding solutions to big challenges and to prepare students for leadership in a complex world. The Veterinary Service Center (VSC) at Stanford University provides Laboratory Animal Care and operates within the Department of Comparative Medicine. We are fully accredited by the Association for Accreditation and Assessment of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC). Our vision is to pioneer in laboratory animal care, driving research innovations from bench to bedside.

Stanford University is seeking an Animal Care Supervisor to schedule, monitor and supervise the animal husbandry and sanitation duties of Animal Care Technicians across multiple facilities, with species including mammals, aquatics, and birds, to ensure program and facility compliance with the USDA Animal Welfare Act and National Institutes of Health Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. Provide ongoing training, education, and supervision of husbandry staff, including customer service and training for investigators and research personnel on animal welfare, compliance, and husbandry best practices.

As the Animal Care Supervisor, you will be working with an unparalleled leading-edge community of faculty and staff that are fundamentally changing the world of health care. You will have the opportunity to influence and drive change with your innovative ideas, the ability to make a difference, and participate in medical advancements. Our culture is fast paced, energetic and growing.

The Animal Care Supervisor will schedule, monitor, and supervise the animal husbandry and sanitation duties of Animal Care Technicians across multiple facilities, with species including mammals, aquatics, and birds, to ensure program and facility compliance with the USDA Animal Welfare Act and National Institutes of Health Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. The employee will also provide ongoing training, education, and supervision of husbandry staff, including customer service and training for investigators and research personnel on animal welfare, compliance, and husbandry best practices.

The expected pay range for this position is $52.40 to $55.00 per hour.

Duties include:

·       Schedule, monitor, and supervise Animal Care Assistants performing animal husbandry and sanitation duties to ensure program and facility compliance for multiple locations. Coordinate staffing needs with other supervisors and facility managers to maintain adequate coverage of animal husbandry per operational needs.

·       Provide ongoing education to technicians on best husbandry practices (weaning, sexing, housing, health observations, and cage cleaning); analyze any observed or reported abnormalities in animal health or behavior and discuss with staff veterinarians when warranted; stay abreast of new technologies in the industry and make recommendations for adapting standard protocols to incorporate these advances.

·       Coach and develop technicians, and evaluate, provide feedback and document their performance. Counsel employees within the guidelines of the bargaining unit service agreement and work directly with the Human Resources Manager and Employee and Labor Relations in disciplinary proceedings.

·       Orient and train technicians on workplace protocols and safety, including but not limited to: proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE) (requirements vary according to animal room); material safety data sheets (MSDS); awareness of unique research animal facility environmental hazards; development of new or modification of existing standard operating procedures (SOPs) to meet current or future needs; completion of accident and injury investigation documentation, and identification of the root cause and appropriate remedy in a timely manner.

·       Partner with research personnel to provide information and best practices regarding the treatment of animals, disease control measures, and nutritional requirements; on a daily basis, provide orientation to policies and procedures, enforce/audit compliance to internal policies, and use judgment to determine level of recourse when policy violations occur.

·       Develop and implement strategies for assigning space to investigators to ensure efficient and effective use of animal facility space; enable maximum utilization in terms of the number of animals and caging; use independent discretion to reorganize space requirements to resources.

·       Maintain appropriate documentation of animal husbandry, i.e. room check sheets, morbidity/mortality reports, and other documentation as requested by regulatory agencies and other reports needed by the Assistant Facility Operations Manager; analyze data to identify changes or trends that impact the research program.

·       Oversee performance management of assigned staff; contribute recommendations on hire and fire decisions.

* - Other duties may also be assigned