Teaching Technician (Clinical Skills & Simulation) at the University of Birmingham

Teaching Technician (Clinical Skills & Simulation) at the University of Birmingham

College of Medicine and Health

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £27,546 to £29,171, with potential progression once in post to £32,595

Grade: 4

Full Time, Permanent

Our offer to you

People are at the heart of what we are and do.

The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university. We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success.

We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential. With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University.

We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate. We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work.

Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working. In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries.

The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site. On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.

This role is based within the College of Medicine and Health. The College structure is aligned under three Schools that conduct both laboratory and clinically-based research, and which also deliver multiple undergraduate and post-graduate teaching programmes. The College is based in a variety of sites both on the University campus and embedded in partner NHS hospital sites. This role sits within the College's Infrastructure & Facilities team.

The Infrastructure and Facilities team provides support across the College to ensure physical facilities and technical resources meet the needs of the College and its constituent Institutes. This includes the provision of specialist practical teaching accommodation and technical support; core services support to provide autoclaving, glass washing and stores; specialist research services including flow cytometry and imaging; the maintenance and development of our estate including collaboration and partnership with University Estates, Campus Services, IT Services and Library Services; technical and laboratory management to our constituent Schools including specialist support and advice for health and safety management, management and development of research technical staff in partnership with academic principal investigators and the management and support of equipment and space.

This role is part of a wider team of dedicated professional services staff supporting the provision of specialist practical teaching facilities. Working alongside colleagues supporting specialist teaching in anatomy and clinical skills & simulation facilities you will support specialist teaching within our clinical skills and simulation spaces. These facilities are currently located across several rooms within the Medical School building and are used by a wide range of teaching programmes to train future healthcare professionals. These facilities will be transferring to the Birmingham Centre for Anatomy, Surgical and Clinical Skills (BCASCS) based within the Birmingham Health Innovation Campus (BHIC) Building Number 1 in 2027.

Role Summary

You will provide technical support for teaching activities as required, utilising your technical skills and a wide range of techniques. You will also be expected to ensure your working area is safe and support others in following health and safety instructions. You may need to operate out of normal working hours to accommodate classes. In order to flexibly use resource you may be given the opportunity to work in different areas of the department or wider University.

You will provide technical support for all skills and simulation-based activities, and provide advice, troubleshoot, maintain and provide basic repair to the fleet of patient simulators, and provide maintenance of clinical and audio visual equipment as necessary.

You will work alongside knowledgeable and experienced technicians and academic staff who support and deliver courses to our Professional Degree undergraduate students (currently Nursing and Pharmacy students), and postgraduate students (Independent Prescribing, Advanced Clinical Practice, Midwifery and Physician Associates). Our staff utilise technology to provide an enhanced learning platform. Through this medium we have invaluable opportunity to observe, develop and understand how healthcare professionals work together and interact with their environment and equipment.

Main Duties

• Contribute to planning the most efficient/effective means to turn around daily classes.
• Setting up and clearing away of equipment, consumables and simulated fluids, ensuring that the specialist teaching facilities are suitably prepared for practicals.
• Testing, maintaining and calibrating a wide range of patient simulators.
• Preparing a variety of materials, simulated fluids and clinical skills 7 simulation equipment to a high degree of accuracy using a variety of techniques. You will need to accurately calculate concentrations, percentages and dilutions.
• Monitoring and replenishing consumables, including preparing orders and collecting items from Stores.
• Diagnosing and resolving the majority of in class problems, including with equipment.
• Demonstrating the use of a wide range of relevant equipment and techniques during classes.
• Testing and modifying protocols in conjunction with manager.
• Liaising with relevant managers with regard to requirements, and accurately instruct other staff.
• Prepare the facilities for events such as Open Days. You may be asked to participate in demonstrations on open days.

Health and Safety

• Uphold compliance with all University and local Health and Safety policies, including risk assessments and manual handling, reporting any breaches or non compliance to the relevant manager.
• Manage the safe handling and disposal of all materials used in clinical skills and simulation sessions - including hazardous materials.
• Assist or prepare risk assessments and keep these up to date.
• Maintain all appropriate health and safety records.

Administrative Duties

• May be required to assist with PAT testing and calibration of equipment, and with updating equipment inventories.
• Maintain stocks of consumables and create purchase order requisitions.
• Receipt and correctly store consumables and clinical equipment.
• Ensure that facilities are maintained in a clean, functional, and safe condition, reporting any defects.
• Report any problems with equipment or services which cannot be resolved to the line manager as appropriate.
• Adopt a proactive attitude to assisting with and implementing carbon reduction and energy saving measures where practicable.
• Support equality and diversity, moderate own behaviour to avoid unfair discriminatory impact or bias on others.
• Any other duties commensurate with the grade and skill base of the post holder.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• NVQ, BTEC/ONC at level three or equivalent level three qualification and specific relevant experience in an appropriate subject.
• GCSE level 2 (A -C/4-9) or equivalent level 2 qualification in mathematics and English.
• Experience of working in a laboratory-based teaching or research environment; or be able to demonstrate the capability to participate with practical classes.
• Ability to organise and manage own workload after consultation with manager.
• Proactive approach to Health and Safety matters, together with the communication skills to interact with a range of people, including students.
• Ability to be flexible to meet deadlines.
• The post-holder will be fully familiar with the safe handling and storage of laboratory materials.
• Good IT skills, having a familiarity with both Windows and/or Apple Macintosh OS will be advantageous.
• Understands the importance of equality and diversity in the workplace.
• Ability to identify and respond to equality and diversity issues in line with relevant policies and procedures.

Informal enquiries to Natasha Russell, email: