Senior Entomologist

Job Purpose:

• To support the Group Entomologist’s activities as required, but particularly by:

  • Setting up and running scientific testing programs

  • Delivering invertebrate innovation projects and testing to support other M&I functions

  • Maintaining the insect cultures to ensure their viability and availability

  • Ensuring that the entomology facility is in a state of readiness for any anticipated research needs, and also for any lab tour visitors

• To substitute for the Group Entomologist where required by being able to:

  • Lead their own sub set of innovation projects

  • Stay informed of current insect-related research, our operational needs and industry trends in order to contribute their own ideas for future innovation projects

  • Deliver engaging and informative lab tours for visitors, as well as engaging the wider RI community with our research as required

Key Accountabilities:

Projects

• Run projects / project work packages and serve as a resource on other M&I projects, as directed by the Principal Entomologists, including assisting in field trials if required.

• Assist the Group Entomologist to co-ordinate laboratory workloads in order to deliver project outcomes on time, in full.

• Assist the Principal Entomologist in experimental design, data analysis and reporting of work packages to a standard process to ensure conclusions drawn are accurate and data is available for later use, e.g. to support registration or marketing needs.

• Report on project progression through all Project Stage Gates in conjunction with Project Managers, and assist with project documentation. This includes presenting updates at all relevant internal meetings, including to facilitate any handover to other teams within M&I, such as Product Development.

• Ensure that all work is proceeding to plan, and where it is not escalating risk, issues and dependencies to the Group Entomologist or Head of Science for resolution.

Laboratory

• Alongside the Principal Entomologist, ensure the insect colonies and associated laboratory equipment and test rooms are maintained in a state of readiness for test work, and fit for display to visiting staff or customers.

• Responsible for maintenance of the lab equipment, monitoring usage and ordering replacement lab consumables as appropriate.

• Maintain a sound understanding of pest insect biology in order to adapt and improve culturing techniques for all species held in the North American Innovation Center and be able to explain their relevance to pest control.

• Ability to cover for other lab staff in their absence, so an ability to maintain the relevant insect cultures / colonies and carry out a wide range of experimental work is important.

• Supporting other team members to ensure compliance with welfare legislation governing keeping and experimental use of insects.

Communications

• To support or conduct informative and engaging Entomology Lab Tours for a variety of visitors, from internal colleagues to customers.

• Maintaining Insect Behavior social sites and communications, including communication of new findings through media such as video and podcasts that engages with colleagues in the businesses.

• Contribute articles on project work or behavioral insights for internal and external publications, including the ability to communicate our own project findings in an engaging way to potential stakeholders.

Expert Knowledge

• Sufficient knowledge of current operational issues and urban insect biology to be able to assist the Principal Entomologist with technical enquiries from colleagues in M&I and the businesses and assist with field support as required.

• Utilize relationships with frontline colleagues and the wider industry to appraise business problems and identify potential solutions.

Qualifications and Experience:

Essential 

• Degree level qualification in a relevant entomological subject

• Knowledge of insect biology and behavior

• Ability to read and understand scientific documents and academic papers, and experience designing and conducting scientific studies

• Working knowledge of desktop publishing packages, particularly Google Suite, Microsoft Office and Google Cloud software.

• Willingness to travel within the US nationally to liaise with front line colleagues when needed

• Excellent English written and verbal communication

Desirable

• Knowledge and experience of urban insect pest control, including qualifications in Pest Management 

• Experience working in a laboratory setting, including working and culturing insect species and maintaining laboratory equipment / managing consumables

Physical Demands and Working Conditions

The physical demands are representative of those that must be met by an employee to perform the essential function to this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Incumbent must be prepared to:

• Move up to 10 pounds occasionally, by lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, or otherwise repositioning objects.
• Sitting for long periods of time while using office equipment such as computers, phones and etc.
• Fingering and Repetitive motions; such as movement of wrists, hands and fingers while picking, pinching and typing during your normal working environment.
• Express or exchange ideas with others through the use of spoken word, quickly, accurately, and at an easily audible volume, and receive detailed information through oral communication at usual speaking levels without correction, and/or make fine discriminations in the nature of sounds in the environment.

Incumbent is required to have:

• Close visual acuity to perform detail-oriented activities at distances close to the eyes, as well as visual acuity to perform activities at or within arm’s reach with skill, control, and accuracy, such as preparing and analyzing data, viewing computer screen and expansive reading.

Incumbent will be subject to:

• Inside working conditions: The change of building environment such as with or without air conditioning and heating.

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