Instructional Support Technician II, Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

Cal Poly•San Luis, CA

15h•Onsite

About The Position

Reporting to the NRES department head, this position provides technical support services for NRES laboratory and field courses. This includes operational responsibility for an analytical lab and associated equipment. This position also coordinates safety for all NRES wet-lab teaching and research activities and oversees operations, compliance, and budgeting for NRES’s analytical service center. This position also works with faculty to assist in development of new and enhanced lab activities and works with faculty to design and implement new student research projects. The Natural Resource Management and Environmental Sciences (NRES) Department offers B.S. degrees in Environmental Earth and Soil Sciences, Environmental Management and Protection, and Forestry and Fire Sciences, and an M.S. in Environmental Science and Management. The programs enroll approximately 850 undergraduate students and 30 graduate students and are supported by 22 tenure-line faculty. The department has access to a variety of on campus and off campus field and lab resources to support hands on instruction and research, including multiple ranches and agricultural fields on campus as well as Cal Poly’s 3,000-acre Swanton Pacific Ranch in Santa Cruz County. The department also supports strong interdisciplinary collaboration across campus including faculty participation in Cal Poly’s Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) fire institute and the new Center for Organic Production and Research, among other programs.

Requirements

Ability to work independently and, manage, and coordinate instructional support activities for a broad and diverse range of wet-lab and field lab courses.
Ability to schedule work of others, including student assistants, establish work priorities and ensure instructional support tasks are delivered on time with a high degree of accuracy.
Ability to use tact and diplomacy to effectively handle a broad range of high level and sensitive interpersonal situations with diverse personalities, and to respond appropriately to conflicts and problems.
Ability to initiate, establish, and foster communication and teamwork by maintaining a positive, cooperative, productive work atmosphere in and outside the University with the ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships within a diverse population and with those from various cultural backgrounds.
Ability to train and supervise student assistants.
Knowledge of best practices and industry standards for maintaining an analytical lab, including scheduling and assessment of equipment maintenance and service needs, development, and implementation of standard operating protocols for analytical equipment.
Knowledge of common Risk Management and Safety systems and development of associated procedures for analytical and field labs.
Knowledge of budgetary principles and practices for self-support services.
Knowledge of techniques and principles used in soil science, natural resource and environmental science in teaching and research; ability to recognized implied faculty and student needs; anticipate requirements for laboratory setups.
Experience with scientific and technical equipment such as, colorimeter, autoclave, electrical conductivity meters, digital balances, digital pH, Dumas combustion, Infrared Gas Analyzers, Inductively Coupled Plasma Emission Spectrometry analyzer meters, and other general and specialized laboratory and field equipment, including diagnosis and repair.
Equivalent to three years of experience providing instructional support services for a related unit or discipline, or in producing materials or supplies or repairing equipment in a discipline related to the area to which assigned; OR equivalent to two years of college with 16 semester units in courses involving extensive use of materials, supplies, or equipment and in a discipline related to the area may be substituted for one year of the required experience; OR equivalent to four years of college with 16 semester units in courses involving extensive use of materials, supplies, or equipment and in a discipline related to the area to which assigned may be substituted for two years of the required experience.

Responsibilities

Provides technical support services for NRES laboratory and field courses.
Operational responsibility for an analytical lab and associated equipment.
Coordinates safety for all NRES wet-lab teaching and research activities.
Oversees operations, compliance, and budgeting for NRES’s analytical service center.
Works with faculty to assist in development of new and enhanced lab activities.
Works with faculty to design and implement new student research projects.