Health & Safety Associate

We are seeking a Health & Safety Associate to join our team. The Health & Safety Associate will support compliance with safety regulations in a building of office space and lab space. The Health & Safety Associate will perform a variety of tasks ranging from assisting with safety policy development, to identification of new hazards and controls, to new employee safety onboarding. The successful candidate will also assist and work with other team members and external contractors to install, maintain, and repair equipment within our labs. The ideal candidate is a self-starter who is highly motivated, dependable and comfortable pivoting between changing priorities and a variety of assigned tasks.

This position reports to the Associate Director, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety/Operations and will be located in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

RESPONSIBILITIES:
 

Health & Safety Duties (75%)

• Support the drafting and maintenance of laboratory safety protocols and procedures and completes incident reporting and proposes corrective actions.
• Assist in the development, maintenance and updating of safety policies, safety manuals, and other safety documentation.
• Support the efforts for controlled substances applications and document management in line with Health Canada requirements.
• Support safety due diligence, safety audits, and identifies areas for improvements.
• Support departmental safety inspections and reviews inspection reports and recommends corrective actions for completeness.
• May represent the health and safety department on internal safety committees and provide guidance and interpretation to safety matters, appropriately escalating issues as required.
• Coordinate safety drills, manages safety equipment inventory and availability, manages environmental exposure monitoring, and performs monthly emergency tests for readiness.
• Participate in the process of acquisition, installation, and operations of new laboratory capital equipment and identifies safety concerns.
• Deliver new employee safety onboarding and coordinates safety training requirements in collaboration with the new employee’s manager.
• Keep track of health and safety and laboratory support budgets and assists in the annual health and safety and laboratory budget development process.
• Manage the relationship with and coordination of the building and afterhours security team.
• Act in accordance with Company policies, including, for example, the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and ensure policies are understood and followed by direct reports, if any
• Other duties as assigned.

Lab Duties (25%)

• Regularly review and resolve FacilitiesHelp requests tracker items regarding lab safety and support.
• Help support the day-to-day lab operational services.
• Help coordinate site preparation and the lab installation of new instruments.
• Help maintain the auxiliary lab supporting tasks, such as maintaining the NMR liquid nitrogen and helium levels, tissue culture cryo storage liquid nitrogen levels, replacing the empty compressed cylinders, delivering the solvent waste, etc.
• Liaise with external contractors and Facilities Manager for lab mechanical and infrastructural changes.
• Participate as a member of the operations emergency response & afterhours Call Out Team
• Actively provide vacation coverage for other team members in supporting lab duties.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• BSc degree in biology, biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology or related field, along with 3-5 years of experience supporting Health & Safety in a laboratory environment
• Health and safety diploma or certification
• Experience with biosafety, radiation safety and chemical safety
• A current First aid certificate (OFA2) is an asset
• A self starter with the ability to problem solve
• Excellent customer service and communication skills
• Excellent record keeping, attention to detail and ability to multitask
• Ability to work both independently and in a team environment in a flexible manner
• Must be physically able to lift up to 25 kilograms (i.e., 55 pounds) comfortably