Senior Science Technician

Summary

We are looking for a hardworking, ambitious and dynamic Senior Science Technician to join Harris Academy Wimbledon at this exciting time.

Our Science department is one of the most popular and thriving areas of the school, inspiring students through engaging lessons, a range of clubs, competitions and enrichment activities, allowing students to deepen their interests and develop valuable skills.

Students benefit from well-equipped and modern classrooms that support practical, hands-on learning across all Science disciplines.

The actual salary for this role will be £23,110.39-£24,498.67 (30 hours per week, 38 weeks per year).

About Us

We are an ‘Outstanding’ (Ofsted 2023) secondary academy, established in 2018 to provide an excellent education for children in Wimbledon.

Two years after opening, we moved into our brand-new building which is modern, bright and equipped with state-of-the-art facilities in every area of the curriculum. We are oversubscribed and fortunate to have an amazing level of support from the community with waiting lists for entry into every year group of our academy.

Our academy is an exceptional place to learn, providing an ambitious but happy and inclusive environment. We have high expectations of our students of all starting points and abilities. We know that our students will leave us academically successful, but we also want them to be well-rounded individuals with a highly developed social conscience, ready to lead in their communities and beyond. Our motto is ‘make a difference’ and our students and staff give nothing except their very best in pursuit of making a difference to their lives and the lives of others around them.

Three words are crucial to how we guide students to be able to ‘make a difference’: independence, integrity and resilience.

Independence means we support students to develop their skills and attributes, so they have everything they need to succeed. We set challenging targets and raise aspirations so every single one of our students reaches their potential.

Integrity means staff and students must be fair and truthful and have the courage to take the right action in every situation, even when no-one is looking.

Resilience means we give students the tools to recover from difficulties. We show students how taking risks and making mistakes is all part of the learning journey. We also show students how hard work brings success, and support them to persevere with all challenges.

We are looking for a hardworking, ambitious and dynamic Senior Science Technician to join Harris Academy Wimbledon at this exciting time. Our Science department is one of the most popular and thriving areas of the school, inspiring students through engaging lessons, a range of clubs, competitions and enrichment activities, allowing students to deepen their interests and develop valuable skills. Students benefit from well-equipped and modern classrooms that support practical, hands-on learning across all Science disciplines.

There is a great deal of collaborative working and sharing of good ideas about what works within secondary academies at Harris. The successful candidate will be joining a friendly and outward looking group where professional development and progression opportunities are second to none

Main Areas of Responsibility

Your responsibilities will include:

• Ensuring all equipment is prepared to teachers' specifications
• Organisation, preparation, repair, cleaning, transport and collection of equipment and materials.
• Assisting and supporting in practical lessons and enrichment activities
• Understanding the Schemes of Work & syllabi of Science in order to prepare for practical lessons
• Preparation of stock orders
• General administration
• Ensuring full implementation of Health and Safety regulations, including carrying out risk assessments
• Organising the safe and secure disposal of hazardous waste
• Organising the efficient storage and record keeping of chemicals, equipment and machinery
• Carrying out safety checks on equipment and recording faults and action taken
• Assisting in the development of appropriate resources, schemes of work and teaching strategies in the subject area
• Managing the allocation of work across the technician team, ensuring an appropriate quality of the work, and arranging training, appraisal and performance management
• Assisting and advising staff on the preparation and layout in the classrooms for practical exercises, undertaking demonstrations and helping students with learning activities when required by the teacher.
• Ensuring the safety, repair and general maintenance of all resources, equipment and tools, and advising when any maintenance or inspection is beyond your competence
• Ensuring the welfare and care of plants and animals in the science area and the security of equipment
• Making up special equipment or modifying from existing equipment as necessary from sketches or instructions supplied by the science teaching staff

Qualifications & Experience

We would like to hear from you if you have:

• Excellent numeracy, literacy, organisational and communication skills
• Experience of working under pressure and meeting deadlines
• Experience of working on one’s own initiative and to work within a team
• Experience of working flexibly in response to changing situations
• Evidence of relevant qualifications & further training
• Knowledge of appropriate Health & Safety regulations

For a full job description and person specification, please download the Job Pack.

Next Steps

If you have any questions about this opportunity, please send us an email, or call to arrange a conversation.

Before applying, please download the Job Pack for full details on the job responsibilities and person specification. This will be helpful for you when completing your application, and throughout the recruitment process.

We encourage you to apply as soon as possible as we may interview and offer to a candidate before the closing date. Please note that we only accept applications submitted before the closing date via our careers website.

Professional Development & Benefits

Our people are at the heart of our success. We have developed a strong culture of collaboration and best practice, with professional development and career planning at its centre. We invest in our staff with support, coaching, mentoring, and a wide range of top-quality training programmes delivered at every level.

In addition to the opportunities for career development and progression, we also offer a competitive rewards and benefits package which includes our Harris Allowance for teachers on MPS/UPS, an Annual Loyalty Bonus, Pension Scheme with generous employer contributions, a Wellbeing Cash Plan and many other benefits. Learn more about our benefits on our website.

Safeguarding Notice

The Harris Federation and all our academies are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All offers of employment are subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, references, an online search, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check will be completed.

Equal Opportunities

The Harris Federation is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates.

We value the diversity of our staff and students, and everyone at the Harris Federation is equally valued and respected. We aim to be an inclusive employer that reflects the communities we serve. We are committed to providing a fair, equitable and mutually supportive learning and working environment.