High Containment Biosafety Officer-Research Safety Affairs

High Containment Biosafety Officer-Research Safety Affairs

- 22000002A3

Market Range: 11

Salary Commensurate with Education and Related Work Experience

Hiring Salary: $5,979.44- $6,833.64/monthly

JOB SUMMARY/ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

Under the direction of Director of the Office of Research Safety Affairs this position will be responsible for managing a comprehensive biosafety and biosecurity program for the UTHSC Regional Biocontainment Laboratory (RBL) - a biosafety level 3 (BSL3), animal biosafety level 3 (ABSL3) and Federal Select Agent Program (FSAP) facility.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Ensures user compliance with UTHSC and federal regulations for work at A/BSL-3 and select agents along with completion and documentation of annual tasks as required by the Federal Select Agent Program.

Develops and provides biosafety training, performs incident investigations, lab inspections, maintains health and safety documentation and acts as a member of the institutional spill response team.

Coordinates annual facility certification/evaluation. Coordinates or performs facility and equipment decontamination.

Performs risk assessments, reviews and approves inactivation protocols and standard operating procedures (SOP), and assists researchers with protocol and SOP development.

Maintains PPE (e.g., respirators) and orders specialized supplies (e.g., biosafe bags, decontamination supplies, etc.). Autoclave programming, verification, failure reports and corrective actions.

Performs Alternate Responsible Official (ARO) responsibilities for the Federal Select Agent Program, lab safety inspections/audits.

Maintains documentation necessary to support RBL operations and the Federal Select Agent Program including records related to training, occupational health, respiratory protection, lab inspections, inventory management, facility access records, facility certification (e.g., biosafety cabinets, HEPA filters, autoclaves, etc.), security risk assessments, autoclave failure reports, etc.

Reviews and update RBL manuals (Lab & Biosafety, Security & Incident Response) annually or as needed, SOPs for BSL3 and ABSL3 studies written by staff and RBL users, Select Agent Program investigators and RBL facility operations.

Coordinates all emergency drills and exercises in collaboration with other UTHSC departments (Safety Affairs, Campus Police, etc.) as well as external personnel (FBI, Memphis Fire Department, etc.).

Conducts exercises as mandated by the CDC select agent program for all Users and Staff and act as a key member of the RBL emergency response team.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

EDUCATION: Bachelor’s Degree in Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Immunology, or related field. Master’s Degree preferred. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED)

EXPERIENCE: Five years of experience in biosafety in a biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) environment. Animal Biosafety Level 3 experience preferred.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES: