Technical Instructor - Civil Engineering at the University of Derby

The Technical Instructor will be based within the Civil Engineering Department and will provide comprehensive technical support to both students and academic staff. The role involves delivering practical instruction, supporting teaching and research activities, and advising on the correct and safe use of specialist equipment and facilities.

Principal Accountabilities

• Assist with the management and organization of resources and facilities to ensure an effective delivery of services.
• Deliver formal technical skills instruction sessions on the equipment and relevant health and safety procedures.
• Creating and updating instruction materials, guides and videos to assist with module delivery.
• Maintaining effective liaison with technical and academic colleagues ensuring effective use of technical resources and staff.
• Manage the health and safety of agreed areas, maintaining risk management, maintenance logs and equipment specific safety systems ensuring the university remains compliant with Health and Safety Regulations and policies.
• Developing systems to improve the student experience and establish practical skills to meet our industrial alignment.
• Support off site field trips and surveys including residentials.
• Driving equipment and persons to sites to support teaching and projects.
• Supporting independent scholarships and project across the whole subject area.
• Assisting with the planning and preparations for discipline development and enhancements supporting the forward planning at the university.
• Assist and support research and knowledge transfer work by supporting research and associated schemes.
• Manage the finances associated within the associated area and work with budget managers to ensure financial efficiency and accountability.
• Working with the student employment agency to recruit students on short term contracts to support laboratory facilities and events.
• Supporting open days and events as agreed with line management.
• Attending relevant committee meetings as agreed with line management.
• Participating in the university staff development review process and engaging in continued professional development to ensure a current awareness of relevant technology.
• Undertaking any other duties as required in agreement with line management.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Degree in Civil Engineering or equivalent experiential learning in a related subject.

Experience

• Industry experience within civil engineering, including surveying or site-based measurement activities.
• Fieldwork experience related to Civil Engineering projects.
• Experience of delivering detailed technical instruction.
• Experience of creating technical material and documentation.
• Experience with using UAVs to collect primary data.
• Experience of structural engineering, material and geotechnic activities.
• Experience of managing Health and Safety and equipment maintenance within laboratory and workshop environments.

Skills, knowledge & abilities

• Good working knowledge of survey equipment including total stations, GPR, GPS and laser scanners.
• Good working knowledge of Computer Aided Design packages (AutoCAD, Civil 3D).
• Good working knowledge of surveying software packages (Civil 3D, Recap, Cloud Compare, Pix4D).
• Able to plan and organise Civil Engineering fieldwork activities.
• Ability to train and supervise students and researchers in the correct and safe use of equipment.
• Excellent and proven verbal communication skills and able to communicate effectively to students and staff.
• Knowledge of using and maintaining equipment used in Civil Engineering.
• Working knowledge of Health and Safety including Manual Handling, COSHH and risk assessment.
• Ability to develop standard operating procedures for specialist activities and field classes.
• Change oriented approach with a commitment to the University values and behaviours.
• Manage own time/prioritises work of others in the team effectively.

Business requirements

• Willingness and flexibility to travel and work between university and external sites in a cost effective and timely manner.
• Willingness to work outside of normal working hours (including some evenings and weekends), to support residential field trips, open days and events.

Qualifications

• Professional registration (e.g., Memberships of CICES/ICE/CIHT/IStructE/ Associate fellow of HE).
• Approved specific category UAC qualification (GVC or RPC L1).
• Recognised First Aid qualification.
• Risk and COSHH assessment training.
• Working in water qualifications.

Experience

• Demonstrable experience of providing technical delivery in a Higher Education (HE) environment.
• Experience of delivering technical instruction to students and supporting teaching activities.
• Experience of creating technical materials to support teaching activities.
• Experience on leading and contributing to student’s field work.
• Significant organisational experience relating to laboratory management and equipment inductions and booking.
• Experience working in water or water sports to support bathymetric surveying.

Skills, knowledge and abilities

• Significant UAV, Surveying and Software knowledge.
• Knowledge and skills related to Civil Engineering laboratory work.

Benefits

The University of Derby believes in providing choice to our people suited to their needs or life stages. Offering a number of salary sacrifice options, a generous holiday entitlement starting from 26 days plus bank holidays and 4 concessionary days and a host of family friendly policies, mean that splitting your time and finances can be easier. For those with prospective students in the household, we also offer tuition fee support to partners and children and, not forgetting you, we offer financial support for accredited learning. Our competitive 'total reward' offering has something for everyone and looks to reward and recognise people in different ways. Core to the package is a competitive pay structure and generous public-sector pension schemes. Our pay structure allows for stepped progression in role and is reviewed against the market and, where applicable, awarding national pay awards annually. Further financial support is offered through our generous pension contributions in support of your retirement fund with those within our Teachers’ Pension Scheme receiving an employer contribution of 28.6% of salary and those within the Local Government Pension Scheme at 23%. Wellbeing at Derby features within our benefits options from our Employee Assistance programme through to our eyecare voucher scheme, not to mention the discounted membership for our on-site gym at our Kedleston Road campus. With our Inclusion and Wellbeing Networks, there really is support for everyone. We also facilitate ‘Give as You Earn’ options to donate to your preferred charities straight from your pay which enhances the amount your charity receives for your donation. At the University of Derby, we celebrate loyalty and achievements through our Staff Excellence Framework be it financially, or non-financially. We aim to foster a culture of boldness and brilliance in our people, and from a simple thank you through to a local awards ceremony, we recognise and celebrate notable achievements of our colleagues.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

The University of Derby is committed to promoting equity, diversity and inclusion, regardless of age, disability, trans status, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief (or none), sex and sexual orientation. We are Disability Confident Employers, demonstrating our commitment to disability inclusion, and invite applicants to highlight adjustments they may require to ensure equitable participation in our recruitment processes. Further, we are committed to ensuring an environment which is trans and non-binary-inclusive for all our staff, students, partners, and visitors, and continuously review our policies, guidance and training. When applying to join the University, you can choose your preferred title, including the gender-neutral title 'Mx'. We also ask our candidates if they would like to share their preferred pronouns. This is voluntary but demonstrates our commitment to inclusivity for trans and non-binary candidates. Once employed, you can add pronouns and preferred names onto our system. The University of Derby undertakes anonymised shortlisting during the staff recruitment process. This means that, when shortlisting, panel members will not be able to see an applicant’s name and will see an applicant number instead. This demonstrates the practical steps we are taking to remove barriers to recruitment by minimising the possible impact of our unconscious bias. However you identify, we actively celebrate the knowledge, experience and talents each person brings. Our students come from a wide range of backgrounds; therefore we are particularly interested to hear from applicants who will help our leaders and teams be more reflective of our student population.