Job Purpose

To provide comprehensive management and senior technical leadership to Davidson laboratory users, including PIs, researchers, post-graduate and undergraduate students. Provide specialist technical expertise in insect single-nucleus RNA sequencing and be responsible for the establishment of such pipelines, as well as the subsequent planning/design/delivery/data handling of such experiments.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

1.      Be responsible for all managerial aspects of the laboratory including contributing to the strategic direction of research/teaching, provision of specialist advice and training to service users, management of resources (including technical and operational staff) and responsibility for health and safety.

2.      Undertake specialist technical aspects of the specified research, including taking a leading role in the planning and conduct of insect single-nucleus RNA sequencing. Identify and develop new and bespoke methods to optimise research outputs.

3.      Using detailed specialist knowledge, advise and train service users in all technical aspects of the research/teaching service. Where required, undertake supervision of undergraduate and/or post-graduate students to ensure learning outcomes are optimised.

4.      Manage all aspects of the laboratory operations including financial management, resource allocation, grant monitoring, tendering, purchases, ordering, and financial projections. Create, implement and regularly review Standard Operating Procedures for service users, ensuring compliance with legislative requirements, University policy, and best practice.

5.      Develop and enhance the research/teaching profile and reputation of the University/College/School/Group, where appropriate through contributing to publications of international quality in high profile/high quality journals, contribution to the presentation of work at international and national conferences and maximising the research impact in terms of the economic/societal benefit.

6.      Keep up to date with developments in relevant research/teaching practice/technical areas and within the broader discipline to ensure contribution to research goals is optimised. Utilise specialist knowledge to contribute to overall research/teaching strategy.

7.      Document experimental outputs including analysis and interpretation of all data to publication standard. Maintain complex and/or high-volume databases and records, creating technical/progress reports and papers.

8.      Troubleshoot complex technical problems and undertake complex data analysis, identifying trends, problems or anomalies, and present findings clearly to research/teaching group including proposals for action/mitigation and future action.

9.      Be responsible for the day-to-day management of and compliance with relevant Health and Safety and/or other specialist legal requirements. Maintain all necessary records in accordance with set requirements, keep up to date with developments or legal changes relevant to the work of the research/teaching group/School and advise and train group members as appropriate. Report any potential issues to the PI and/or relevant internal or external bodies timeously.

10.  Work collaboratively with others, including within the wider College/School/Group and where relevant with external contacts, to enhance the delivery of the research/teaching aims and support the broader strategic aims of the University, including the Technician Commitment key themes, https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/staff/technicians/ Undertake any other reasonable duties as required by Head of Service/School.

11.  Contribute to the enhancement of the University’s international profile in line with the University’s Strategic Plan, World Changers Together and contribute to outreach activities.

Knowledge, Qualifications, Skills and Experience

Knowledge/Qualifications

Essential:

A1  Ability to demonstrate the competencies required to undertake the duties associated with this level of post having acquired the necessary knowledge and skills in a similar role. OR: Scottish Credit and Qualification Framework level 9 [Ordinary Degree, Scottish Vocational Qualification level 4] or equivalent, (including professional accreditation with relevant formal training), and experience of personal development in a similar role.

A2  Significant breadth or depth of specialist technical knowledge and recognised as an expert in the relevant discipline or project, including:

-Extensive experience in preparing insect (especially Drosophila melanogaster) for various -omic approaches (particularly single-nucleus RNA sequencing)

-Familiarity in navigating University-based shared facilities (particularly -omic facilities)

-Experience handling large, -omic datasets.

A3  Specialist theoretical and practical knowledge in Drosophila melanogaster, genetics and cell/developmental biology.

A4  Demonstrable knowledge of relevant legislative requirements applicable to the role, including but not limited to Health and Safety.

Desirable:

B1  An awarded PhD in subject specialism or equivalent, plus considerable post-award research experience.

Skills

Essential:

C1  Significant IT skills, including proficient user of relevant specialist or bespoke software packages.

C2  Significant analytical and problem-solving capability, including high degree of accuracy and attention to detail when dealing with complex and/or high volume datasets

C3  Proven interpersonal and communication skills, including the ability to understand, conceptualise and interpret complex technical requirements of a research/teaching group and adapt own style to meet the needs of others.

C4  Excellent teamworking and people management skills, with ability to collaborate with multiple internal and external stakeholders for effective project management.

C5  Ability to plan and prioritise a technical service to meet long term strategic objectives, whilst delivering a day to day service.

Experience

Essential

E1  Significant relevant work experience within a similar research/teaching services environment, including evidence of previous outputs and professional development.

E2  Experience of contributing to the development of a research/teaching services strategy, planning resource allocation and achieving high-quality research/teaching outputs.

E3  Experience of managing high value budgets, including knowledge of procurement and tendering processes to inform decision making, approving spends and monitoring expenditure on behalf of others.

E4  Experience of preparing analysis and presentation of data to publication standard.

E5  Experience of operating independently in progressing and delivering research/teaching goals within set timescales.

Desirable:

F1  Significant breadth or depth of specialist technical knowledge and recognised as an expert in the relevant discipline or project, including:

-Experience with confocal microscopy

-Experience with in situ hybridization techniques (e.g. FISH, HCR, etc)

Terms and Conditions

Salary will be Grade 7, £41,064 - £46,049 per annum.

This post is full time, and open ended with funding available for up to 3 years from the start date.

Informal enquiries are encouraged and should be directed to Andrew Davidson, Andrew.Davidson@glasgow.ac.uk

The University of Glasgow has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.  If you require a Skilled Worker visa to work in the UK, you will be required to meet the eligibility requirements of the visa route to be assigned a Certificate of Sponsorship.

Please note that this post may be eligible to be sponsored under the Skilled Worker visa route if tradeable points can be used under the Skilled Worker visa rules. For more information please visit: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa.

As a valued member of our team, you can expect:

1 A warm welcoming and engaging organisational culture, where your talents are developed and nurtured, and success is celebrated and shared.

2 An excellent employment package with generous terms and conditions including 41 days of leave for full time staff, pension - pensions handbook https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/payandpensions/pensions/, benefits and discount packages.

3 A flexible approach to working.

4 A commitment to support your health and wellbeing, including a free 6-month UofG Sport membership for all new staff joining the University  https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/staff/healthwellbeing/.

We believe that we can only reach our full potential through the talents of all. Equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of our values. Applications are particularly welcome from across our communities and in particular people from the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community, and other protected characteristics who are under-represented within the University. Read more on how the University promotes and embeds all aspects of equality and diversity within our community https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/.

We endorse the principles of Athena Swan https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/athenaswan/ and hold bronze, silver and gold awards across the University.

We are investing in our organisation, and we will invest in you too. Please visit our website https://www.gla.ac.uk/explore/jobs/ for more information.

Closing date: 23:45 on Tuesday 16th December 2025

We anticipate that interviews for this position will be held in January 2026