Instrument Operations Section Leader

Location: Rutherford Appleton Laboratory Harwell, Oxfordshire

Together our scientist, technologists, engineers, and business support team explore the unknown and turn what they find into work that changes the world around us. Whether it’s sending probes into space or finding new ways to treat cancer, everyone here plays a vital role in making a positive difference to society. Come and discover how much you can achieve when you’re surrounded by world-leading experts, encouraged to constantly learn; and empowered to explore your curiosity.

STFC’s ISIS Neutron and Muon facility is a leading centre of material science excellence. The facility performs innovative research into the structure and properties of materials at an atomic and molecular level. It is the most productive research centre of its type in the world. Each year we welcome around 2000 visiting scientists who complete over 600 experiments.

About The Role
The Experimental Operations Division has a vacancy for a Technical Manager to provide operational support to the neutron and muon instruments. With a creative flair and a hard working approach, the successful candidate will also be responsible for the delivery of upgrades to the ISIS instrument suite.

You will manage a team of approximately five technical staff, and lead installation project teams of contractors and technical authorities too. The role requires ability to discuss the scientific needs, strong leadership capability, effective time management, prioritisation, and delegation skills.

You must encourage, empower, support and mentor your teams, applying standard practice and a continuous improvement philosophy as well as introducing new concepts and innovations.

About You

You will have a formal scientific, or engineering qualifications or relevant equivalent experience. You will need to care about the customers and their outcomes. Therefore high quality communication, interpersonal and influencing skills are essential. In this role, you will develop a detailed understanding of scientific requirements and use that knowledge to guide engineers and technical staff in delivering reliable, robust and operable instrumentation.

You will need to be able to develop the expertise that enables you to not only understand day-to-day operational demands, but also to apply operational strategies in a constantly evolving innovative scientific facility.

Essential Criteria:

• Degree (BEng or BSc) in science or engineering subject area, or equivalent experience.
• Management expertise of an operational nature within a Research, Technical or Engineering setting.
• Experience in operational management.
• Experience in leading technical teams
• Enthusiastic and interested in problem solving.
• Wide range of technical engineering experience.
• Customer focused and driven to provide world class services.
• Able to connect with Scientists and Technical authorities alike, presenting options and ideas.

Special Requirements:
Able to work as a classified worker.

Willingness to take part in travel outside the UK.

We ask some of the biggest questions in the universe, to answer some of the biggest challenges in the world. Whatever our role, we have the freedom to explore, learn and connect, as part of a community that loves to share knowledge and support one another. As one of Europe’s largest research organisations, this is a place where there’s always something new to learn –about the world around us, about your career, but most of all, about yourself. Join us and discover what’s possible.

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