Laboratory Assistant

Job Description

Laboratory assistant performs the following duties and responsibilities:

1) collaborates with the Faculty and Teaching Assistants of the School in the preparation of laboratory sessions; 

2) prepares necessary consumables and equipment for laboratory sessions; 

3) conducts modeling of laboratory sessions together with Teaching Assistants;

4) conducts regular visits of the laboratories; 

5) performs activities related to the installation, maintenance, configuration, and ongoing testing of laboratory equipment; 

6) maintains laboratory equipment in good working condition, if necessary, with the assistance of the Office of the Provost - Engineering and Technical Services;

7) conducts an inventory of laboratory equipment and consumables regularly;

8) determines the need for protective equipment and other necessary supplies for laboratories in conjunction with the Health and Safety Department (hereinafter referred to as HSD);

9) conducts instructions in the laboratory for students/laboratory users, within the framework of his/her official duties and powers;

10) develops standard operating procedures (SOP) for equipment and health and safety instructions for potentially dangerous types of work in conjunction with the HSD;  

11) conducts training sessions on the use of equipment for persons assigned to work in the laboratory; 

12) assists in preparing the budget requests for the relevant reporting period, including preparation of justifications; 

13) prepares technical specifications for procurement of goods together with the initiator; 

14) participates in acceptance, verification, testing of the purchased equipment and consumables for the laboratory as a member of the acceptance committee; 

15) participates in the annual inventory of fixed assets of the School together with concerned structural divisions of the University; 

16) prepares documents for writing off the necessary consumables from the University's warehouses; 

17) provides reports, information, and data at the request of the structural divisions and organizations of the University, in agreement with the School's management, within the competence; 

18) ensures the safety of documents within the framework of supervised direction; 

19) maintains correspondence within the scope of his/her functional responsibilities; 

20) participates in the identification, evaluation, management, and monitoring of risks within the framework of supervised direction;

21) temporarily performs the duties (replaces) of the other Laboratory assistant during his/her   temporary absence (up to one month);

22) timely and properly executes the tasks of the line manager and the University`s management;

23) observes the requirements of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Employer`s internal documents;

24) is responsible for exercising the labor and performance discipline;

25) is responsible for ensuring the integrity of official documents, and prevention of the disclosure or leakage of confidential and business information, as well as information of restricted access by the legislation, Charter, and internal documents of the Employer;   

26) in case of dismissal, is responsible for the timely transfer of all paper documentation, digital information, inventory to another employee as instructed by the line manager (to be certified by the act of acceptance-transfer). 

Qualifications

Education 

Higher-professional, preferable from the higher education institutions with the English language of instruction; 

Priority specializations: 

- Engineering and Technical;

- Chemistry and Technologies;

- Engineering and Construction;

- Computer science

Work experience

One year minimum. No working experience with a master`s degree in the relevant area

Knowledge

- Knowledge in the relevant field: Engineering and technical/Chemical-technological/Engineering-construction/Computer science;

- knowledge of the basic principles of preparing a technical specification for equipment or consumables;

- knowledge of safety regulations when working in the laboratory;

- knowledge of MS Office, Excel, PowerPoint programs;

- fluent in English, Kazakh, and Russian languages.

Skills 

- Skills in preparing and conducting presentations;

- skills in working with basic laboratory equipment

Other requirements 

- Commitment to the goals and values of the University;

- ability to work independently, as well as part of a team;

- sociability;

- responsibility;

- initiative;

- responsible approach to work

Additional Information

Recruitment and selection process

Recruitment and selection at Nazarbayev University include preliminary selection based on experience and qualifications, followed by assessments and formal interviews. Formal interviews are typically based on organizational values and behaviors and conducted in English.