Postharvest Research Assistant and Facility Manager

We are looking for someone to join us at the Natural Resources Institute of the University of Greenwich as Facility Manager for a world leading centre of excellence supported by the largest fresh produce storage research facility within the UK.  

The Natural Resources Institute (NRI – https://www.nri.org/) carries out specialised research, teaching, training and consultancy with a focus on food, agriculture, environment & sustainable livelihoods. NRI’s work is globally respected and has won many awards including a recent Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Further and Higher Education. 

The Produce Quality Centre (PQC) of NRI is a centre of excellence focusing on maintaining quality and reducing waste during handling and storage of perishable produce.  The PQC runs the largest fresh produce storage research facility in the UK based at the Jim Mount Building located at the East Malling Enterprise Centre. Over the past decade, the PQC has been key to providing support to the fresh produce industry in many areas, including optimising controlled atmosphere (CA) storage for fruit and vegetables for static storage and in transit, improving potato storage, improving energy use efficiency during storage, postharvest cooling strategies, testing a wide range of novel postharvest treatments & technologies through to the development of sustainable packaging solutions. The facilities are also used for practical classes and projects for the Institute’s Masters programmes. 

As a facility manager, you will oversee a suite of refrigerated and controlled atmosphere storage facilities. Your key responsibilities will include managing daily operations, ensuring proper environmental controls, and maintaining high standards of safety and efficiency. Attention to detail, problem-solving skills, and the ability to think quickly are crucial in addressing any issues that arise. Laboratory Management: Oversee the daily operations of the laboratory, ensuring equipment is maintained & serviced. Trial Oversight: Assist in managing experimental trials on a day-to-day basis including supporting practical sessions and research projects for Masters programmes.. Collaboration: Work closely with the scientific team to evaluate new technologies aimed at reducing food loss & waste.

For informal enquiries, please contact:

Head of the Food & Markets Department (Prof Nazanin Zand, N.ZandFard@gre.ac.uk) or

PQC leads (Prof Debbie Rees, D.Rees@gre.ac.uk & Dr Richard Colgan, R.J.Colgan@gre.ac.uk )

Should you have any recruitment related queries please contact:

People Directorate Operations Team on peopleoperationsadmin@gre.ac.uk 

We are looking for people who can help us deliver our mission of transforming lives through inspired teaching & research, through our values.

Academic Career Pathways

We are committed to building a strong, diverse workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We particularly encourage applications from [protected characteristic(s)], who are currently under-represented within the University of Greenwich at these levels/within these areas.

We do this through taking positive action such as encouraging applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, disabled and LGBT+ people. As part of our commitment to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion, Time to Change Employer Pledge/Mentally Healthy Universities, we are committed to promoting and supporting the physical & mental health of all our staff, and removing barriers to improve inclusion. 

We encourage applicants to disclose experience of mental health problems so we can support them fully during our recruitment process & make any necessary reasonable adjustments. Any information disclosed will be kept confidential and separate from the job application form. 

We are making significant strides to understand and continuously improve our employees’ experience and we are committed to implementing progressive diversity talent management.

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