Animal Quality Assurance Specialist-H&O

Location: Upper East Side, NYC

Exemption Status: Exempt • Weekly Hours: 35 • Work Days: Monday–Friday

About the role

Supports the animal resource program at Weill Cornell Medicine and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. The position has two principal roles:

• Assist with the design, conduct, and implementation of the education and training program for the RARC Husbandry & Operations staff, including hazardous agents.
• Address matters of compliance—principally through training—with applicable Federal, State, institutional, and departmental regulations within the animal care program, working with the Education & Quality Assurance (EQA) H&O Training Lead, EQAA, and H&O Management.

Responsibilities

• Assist with implementation and expansion of current educational programs covering all phases of routine maintenance and animal husbandry, including orientation, hands-on and didactic training, and continuing education of staff.
• Provide primary instruction for continuing education and training of Animal Care Technicians (ACTs), including standard husbandry and maintenance duties such as animal handling, cage changing, animal health checks, and related activities.
• Under the EQA H&O Training Lead, function as the principal instructor of AALAS certification classes; support H&O management to ensure certification is accomplished within departmental guidelines.
• Assist in developing and updating AALAS didactic training materials.
• Assist in the development and implementation of quality control programs related to animal care to ensure proper practices are maintained.
• Participate in the development and implementation of SOPs for training ACTs in sanitation and environmental monitoring.
• Instruct ACTs in proper procedures to ensure adherence to disease prevention, control, and treatment programs as determined by veterinary staff.
• Report on quality assurance findings and develop methods to correct items of non-compliance.
• Assess and make recommendations on the commercial availability of training materials.
• Stay abreast of developments in methods, standards, and requirements for training in animal research and all current laws, regulations, and policies.
• Maintain complete and accurate records of educational and training sessions.
• Interact with USDA, NY State, and PHS Inspectors during facility inspections.
• Assist the EQA H&O Training Lead and EQAA with monitoring compliance of the occupational health and safety program for RARC H&O staff; maintain records of compliance reviews and correspondence.
• Author and assist in the development of guidelines and SOPs.
• Implement various RARC policies and procedures, including animal health checks, sentinel animal program, environmental monitoring, and specialty card systems as described in standard operating procedures.
• Perform other duties as necessary, including coordinating departmental engagement initiatives such as Laboratory Animal Technician Appreciation Week and implementing the Annual Training Evaluation Program.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent combination of education, experience, and certification.
• 2–4 years of experience in laboratory research, training, and animal care.
• AALAS certification at the Assistant Laboratory Animal Technician (ALAT) level; certification at the Laboratory Animal Technician (LAT) level preferred.

Skills

• Demonstrated organizational skills and ability to pay close attention to detail.
• Excellent verbal and written communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Proficiency in MS Office software, including PowerPoint.
• Capable of functioning independently with minimal supervision.
• Understands the balance between ensuring compliance and maintaining an education-focused mindset.

Working Conditions

• May require occasional off-site travel for training.
• Occasional heavy lifting up to 50 lbs.
• Must be able to handle fractious animals.
• Potential exposure to animal bites and scratches, needles and other sharp instruments, infectious agents, radioisotopes, toxic chemicals, and radiation.
• Exposure to a variety of animal species and workplace allergens.

Pay

Salary Range: $71,700 – $82,500