Science Technician

About the role: The Leigh UTC and Inspiration Academy have a fantastic opportunity and are seeking to appoint a suitably knowledgeable and experienced Science Technician whose overarching responsibility is to provide technical support and assistance to our highly successful and collaborative Science department. Our Technicians play a key role in the smooth day to day running of our subject areas so it is essential that our successful candidate is confident in providing technical assistance and student support in a classroom environment within this specialism. 

What we are looking for in our successful Technician:

• An academic qualification, at least to A Level but preferably to Degree level, within the Science remit
• If not an academic qualification, then experience working within a Science-related role would certainly be sufficient
• Practical experience within a school environment would be advantageous
• Good organisation and communication skills
• The ability to work well as part of a team as well as independently

What we can offer in return:

• An excellent opportunity for those strongly considering a career in teaching as training routes may be made available in the future
• The opportunity to work within a department where our teaching staff are incredibly passionate about their subject area
• Fantastic opportunities for training and development

Duties will include setting up equipment in a laboratory environment for practical lessons, the safe disposal of chemicals, responsibility for ionisation and radioactive materials, stock taking, retrieving and putting away equipment along with any other duties deemed necessary by the department. The working basis of this role is Term Time + 1 week, 37 hours per week with an actual salary of £16,380 per annum (pro-rated from FTE salary of £19,411).  

This role is ideal for those interested in pursuing a career in teaching in the future as this role offers great exposure and preparedness for teacher training courses. It's also a great opportunity for a current Technician to join an Academy with a STEM specialism and offer the chance to work with state-of-the-art facilities and resources.  

Working with us: Having opened in September 2014 with state-of-the-art facilities originally for Key Stage 4 and 5, The Leigh UTC provides an exciting, innovative, business-led, problem-solving curriculum, enabling students to achieve relevant work-related qualifications and transferable skills for future training or employment. The most unique feature of The Leigh UTC is its business ethos that are emphasised by our students' behaviours and supported by our sponsors.

In September 2017, following the request of the Department for Education due to our continued success, The Leigh UTC marked history by expanding its student intake to incorporate Key Stage 3 – the first UTC in the UK to do this.  Furthermore, being the first UTC to have IB World School Status has enabled us to develop strong links in Germany and Qatar. Having IB Status will enable us to further develop the mid-years programme (MYP) for our Key Stage 3 students and thus providing a joined-up pathway from ages 11 to 19.  The overarching mission of the Inspiration Academy is to develop curious, academically-skilled young people who aspire to be principled, compassionate learners. Our curriculum strives to create students who are self-motivated, competent, willing to take risks and lifelong learners.

Our key successes and features that our successful candidate can be part of are as follows;

• The promotion of pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Pupils, including the disadvantaged and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, catch up from previous underachievement and make strong and often rapid progress in a range of subjects and disciplines
• Application to learning is often exemplary.
• The Leigh UTC makes a real difference for its pupils and surrounding area. Pupils become motivated to find and follow their passions. They leave well equipped to succeed in engineering and related technical and design careers and contribute to the economy.
• The Principal, with his leaders and staff team, model a high-quality working environment. This rubs off on pupils, who value the supportive ethos, work-like atmosphere.​​​​​​​

Being a part of Leigh Academies Trust: As of 1st September 2020, our Trust will comprise 28 geographically organised academies (11 secondaries, 15 primaries and 2 special) educating over 16,000 students, and employing over 2,500 talented staff.  We also have one further secondary academy in development phase, due to open in September 2021.  The Trust is establishing four ‘clusters’ of academies: North West Kent; Central Kent; South East London; Medway. In addition, the Trust is responsible for one of the region’s biggest initial teaching training providers and a large teaching school. Click here to view our future plans in our Vision 2025 document.   

As part of Leigh Academies Trust you will have ample opportunity to collaborate with your peers both within the academy and across the whole Trust.  This is an important part of our vision as we know through experience that we perform better when we work together.  You are supported to undertake regular self-development to continue your professional development and hopefully progress further within the organisation.

We strive to offer a range of benefits that all employees can take advantage of which we regularly review and add to - click here to view what you’d receive as a member of staff with Leigh Academies Trust. 

Diversity at our core:  As a Trust, we are passionate about diversity and recognise that as individuals we all bring something unique to the role regardless of age, gender, race, beliefs or disabilities which is why we treat all of our people equally, without compromise.

The academy is committed to safeguarding children and successful candidates will be subject to an Enhanced DBS check.  Our commitment to safeguarding is underpinned by robust processes and checks which are in place across the Trust.

Recruitment and hiring during COVID-19: Despite the challenges we face, recruitment and hiring will continue for all Leigh Academies Trust vacancies with as little disruption as possible over the coming weeks and months. This is for all senior, teaching and support staff appointments. Applications will still be reviewed and interviews conducted in a timely manner, although interview activities will vary. If you have any queries or concerns, please get in touch with the LAT Talent Team - talent@latrust.org.uk

Based on the quality and quantity of applications received, Leigh Academies Trust reserves the right to close this vacancy sooner than the specified closing date.  Applicants will be notified of this where possible.  Therefore, early applications are encouraged.