Environmental Sustainability Summer Placement – MLC 2369

View Vacancy — Environmental Sustainability Summer Placement – MLC 2369
Open Date
06/03/2024, 15:30
Close Date
07/04/2024, 23:55

Research Institute
1
 
MRC Mary Lyon Centre

Research Institute / Unit Information
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The Mary Lyon Centre at MRC Harwell (MLC) https://www.har.mrc.ac.uk/ is located in an expanding science and innovation campus in Oxfordshire and is an internationally renowned centre at the forefront of genetics research.  As the hub of the new National Mouse Genetics Network, the specialist facilities and capabilities of the MLC support a number of research groups across the UK to accelerate our understanding of human diseases, such as cancer, developmental disorders and neurodegeneration. 

The Medical Research Council (MRC) is a great place to work and progress your career.  The MRC encourages the integration of clinical and discovery research to elucidate both disease processes and potential new therapies. The MLC provides vital scientific support for the UK biomedical community and focuses on preclinical research using mouse models, which supports clinical research and therapy discovery.  

The MRC is an excellent place to develop yourself further and a range of training & development opportunities will be available to you, including professional registration with the Science Council.

UK Research and Innovation is a new entity that brings together nine partners to create an independent organisation with a strong voice for research and innovation, more information can be found at www.ukri.org

Band
1
 
MRC – 6

Location
1
 
Harwell Campus, Oxfordshire

Salary
1
 
£23,328 per annum

Contract Type
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Fixed Term

Job Type
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Administration & Management

Full Time / Part Time
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Full Time

Contract Length
1
 
Twelve weeks

Job Description
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The Medical Research Council (MRC) has an ambitious programme to improve the environmental sustainability of their institutes and of the life science research sector as a whole. This role will support the ongoing work of the environmental sustainability team within MRC Harwell to improve the sustainability of the site and contribute to the MRC’s wider programme. The post-holder will be trained and will then work with the team and with other key individuals onsite to improve environmental sustainability.

This role represents an excellent opportunity for a mid-degree student to get a taste of real-world applications of environmental sustainability techniques and knowledge, as well as to make a meaningful impact to the sustainability of the site at which they will be hosted. 

Main Duties/Key Responsibilities:

• Working with the environmental sustainability team
• Training will be provided to enable the post-holder to understand the MRC Harwell site
• Reviewing the site’s supply chain and assessing its sustainability
• Contacting suppliers and reviewing documents
• Following processes and recording data
• Compiling and helping to compile reports
• Taking actions to improve environmental sustainability

 Working Relationships:

The post-holder will work with a range of stakeholders inside and outside of the site:

• MRC Harwell operational staff and decision makers
• MRC Harwell’s Environmental Sustainability Officer
• The Head Office Environmental Sustainability and Estates team
• The Finance team
• Supply chain and supplier contacts

Additional Information:

This 12-week internship role will focus primarily upon reviewing the environmental sustainability of MRC Harwell’s supply chain. The post-holder will work with key suppliers and purchasers to understand the environmental impact of their goods and/or services. This will involve requesting and chasing information directly from suppliers, curating the resulting information and drawing conclusions and actions from the data received.

Equality & Diversity:

The MRC values the diverse skills and experience of its employees and is committed to achieving equality of treatment for all.  Our objectives are that all individuals shall have equal opportunities for employment and advancement on the basis of their skills, aptitudes and abilities.  The MRC is committed to the engagement and retention of the best possible talent and to creating an environment that encourages excellence in scientific research through good equality and diversity leadership and management. 

Corporate/Local Responsibilities & Requirements:

The post-holder must at all times carry out their responsibilities with due regard to the MRC’s:

• Code of Conduct
• Equality and Diversity policy
• Health and Safety policy
• Data Protection and Security policy 

Job descriptions should be reviewed on a regular basis and at the annual appraisal.  Any changes should be made and agreed between the post-holder and their manager. 

The above lists are not exhaustive and the post-holder is required to undertake such duties as may reasonably be requested within the scope of the post.  All employees are required to act professionally, cooperatively and flexibly in line with the requirements of the post and the MRC.

Person Specification
1
 

Education/Qualifications/Training Required:

Essential:

• A fundamental understanding of environmental sustainability
• Undertaking a degree in environmental sustainability or a related topic
• Passionate about environmental sustainability, with a desire to undertake a career in the sector
• Proactive and confident to talk to a range of stakeholders
• An understanding of Scope 1, 2 & 3 carbon emissions and how they arise 

Desirable:

• Knowledge of how the supply chain contributes to environmental impact
• Understanding of, and the ability to calculate, Scope 3 emissions

Personal skills/Behaviours/Qualities:

Essential: 

• Proactive and enthusiastic
• Confident and persuasive 

The MRC is a great place to work and progress your career, be it in scientific research or the support functions.The MRC is a unique working environment where our researchers are rewarded by world class innovation and collaboration opportunities that the MRC name brings. The MRC is an excellent place to develop yourself further and a range of training & development opportunities will be available to you, including professional registration with the Science Council.
Choosing to come to work at the MRC (part of UKRI) means that you will have access to a whole host of benefits from a defined benefit pension scheme and excellent holiday entitlement to access to employee shopping/travel discounts and salary sacrifice cycle to work scheme, as well as the chance to put the MRC and UKRI on your CV in the future.
Our success is dependent upon our ability to embrace diversity and draw on the skills, understanding and experience of all our people. We welcome applications from all sections of the community irrespective of gender, race, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation, disability or age. As “Disability Confident” employers, we guarantee to interview all applicants with disabilities who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy.
UKRI supports research in areas that include animal health, agriculture and food security, and bioscience for health which includes research on animals, genetic modification and stem cell research. Whilst you may not have direct involvement in this type of research, you should consider whether this conflicts with your personal values or beliefs.
We will conduct a full and comprehensive pre-employment check as an essential part of the recruitment process on all individuals that are offered a position with UKRI. This will include a security check and an extreme organisations affiliation check.  The role holder will be required to have the appropriate level of security screening/vetting required for the role.  UKRI reserves the right to run or re-run security clearance as required during the course of employment.