30th November Job Roll

A couple of jobs you may never have thought of doing with your chemistry degree:

Researcher, toxic remnants of war (£24.5k) for the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons (Manchester with foreign travel). Document the use of hazardous materials in conflict - including heavy metal, fuels and explosives - their properties and health impact; and present findings to a variety of audiences. Excellent written and public speaking skills required; graduate/postgrad. 12month contract with potential to extend.

Process development technologist (£19-24k) for Unilever (Bedford, some foreign travel). Working in the Ice Cream Global Design Centre, develop processes to produce new and novel products – from concept through prototype and testing to commissioning. HNC/HND required, experience of mechanical engineering principles advantageous.

Chemist for Akzo Nobel (Slough). Prepare and test paints to develop innovate products in the Decorative Paints division. Graduate with 2:1 or above, paint formulation experience preferred.

A trio of lab manager roles:

Chemistry lab manager (£30-38k) for a water chemistry lab in Greenwich – managing staff and budget and ensuring that analytical and QC systems are maintained for a lab that analyses 40,000 samples per year. Degree and 5 years experience in a senior UKAS accredited lab position.

Lab manager (£30-35k) for an environmental/analytical testing lab in Hertfordshire – managing a team of analysts. 4-5 years experience, including in a managerial/team leader role; with GCMS, LCMS and method development/validation experience.

Environmental lab manager (£28-32k) in Stevenage – managing budgets, staff and projects. BSc, preferably with MSc in environmental chemistry; prior project management experience and expertise in use, calibration and maintenance of HPLC and LCMS eqpt.

17th November Jobroll: Organic and Oils

A trio of process chemistry positions are available at a CRO in Northern Ireland. The process chemist will have a BSc and synthetic experience with multistep reactions, ideally in industry; experience in route design to targets preferable. The senior process chemist will provide more technical direction to projects and will require industrial process development experience and ideally a higher degree or PhD. The process chemistry team leader requires previous experience leading and delivering scale-up projects.

Another chemistry project leader (£30-35k) is required by a pharmaceutical development company in Dorset to support manufacture up to 20L scale. PhD and extensive experience in Chemical R&D - including GMP - is required.

This synthetic chemist job (£28-32k) in Cambridge has been advertised a couple of times earlier in the year, but appears open again. Designing and preparing monomer/polymer/small molecules for light emitting polymers, you’ll have a PhD and aptitude for understanding physics as it relates to LEPs.

For the synthesis-averse, there’s an opportunity as a development analyst (£23-28k) available at this pharmaceutical manufacturer in Yorkshire . Previous method development experience required.

If you have experience in oils, one of these rather specialist positions may be of interest:

A speciality chemical manufacturer for the flavour/fragrance industries is looking for an R&D chemist (£24-27k) in East Anglia, preferably with experience in essential or vegetable oils. Other requirements include experience of extraction/separation techniques and working on pilot plant scale.

Alternatively, familiarity with engine oil opens the door to this technical support specialist role in Berkshire. Duties include managing projects, using statistical design of experiments and providing tech support to the business.

15th November Jobroll: Non-agency positions

It’s weeks like this that make me appreciate that all is not necessarily bad in the land of #chemjobs.

This year has seen hundreds upon hundreds of lab chemists being made redundant from pharma in the UK. This number must easily get into four figures if you expand “chemists” beyond synthesis to analysts, formulators, EHS, regulatory, patents, etc. Now add to this the ~1700 students that graduated in 2010 that chose not to go into further study, and so are also looking for jobs.

And yet the job boards still appear bountiful. Sure, Monster is still pushing those Lubrizol positions that have been there since the start of the year. And some agencies are still placing half a dozen adverts for the same position on NewScientistJobs, with varying numbers of exclamation marks in the title. And NatureJobs may continue to automatically recycle some agency adverts without checking whether they’ve been filled (very frustrating for both parties on that inevitable phone call). But amongst the slave-labour, maternity covers and vague job descriptions, there are some real gems out there.

Here is a selection of this week’s offerings, which don’t involve applying through an agency:

Research scientist at Johnson Matthey (Herts). 12 month contract working on catalyst synthesis programmes, and providing support for the catalyst manufacturing plant. Degree required; heterogeneous catalysis experience preferred.

Research chemists and engineers (£30-35k) at Queens University Belfast. One position for 2 years; six positions for 1 year with possible extension to two. Joining a new ionic liquids research team, in collaboration with a major oil and gas company. Postdoc.

Assessment manager for UKAS (W London or home-based). Responsible for accreditation of organisations carrying out chemical testing for food/consumer products/bioscience sectors. Requires extensive UK travel and some international travel. Requires degree and good communication skills; preferably experience in lab auditing/assessment.

Industry-based PhD with GSK (Herts), registered with the University of Strathclyde. Up to eight 3.5-year studentships, working on drug discovery and development projects. Very good MSci/MChem required.

Leadership development programme with GSK (Herts). The Esprit R&D scheme is a 3-year accelerated programme of global secondments from discovery to commercialisation and business development. PhD and at least one Postdoc appointment required.

RSC Regional Co-ordinator(£30-39k) at Queens University Belfast. A two-year post co-ordinating and promoting the activities of the RSC Education Department, building a strong network and engaging with teachers, students and employers.

Polymerisation chemist at Thomas Swan (North East). Invent new functional additives for enhancing the properties of synthetic rubbers used in tyre treads. Establish and operate a new anionic polymerisation lab. Postgraduate qualification with polymerisation specialism and 2-3 years lab experience developing processes required; tyre/rubber industry experience preferred.

Lab support officer (£23-28k) at the University of Sunderland. Give advice and support to staff and students in the labs and workshops. Degree and some experience of lab management required (from working in schools and/or initial teacher training)

KTP associate/R&D scientist (£25-26k + £4k training budget) at the University of Huddersfield (Bradford), in collaboration with Yorkshire Water Services. Manage and deliver a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP), to model, test and embed methodologies to optimise mineral formation in customer pipes, improve water quality compliance and public health. Applicants must have graduated in the last 5 years with a PhD.

2nd November Jobroll: Best of the Rest

A round-up of some more varied chemistry-related jobs from the last month at NatureJobs:

Strategic chemical sourcing specialist (£30-35k) for a chemical development company in the South West. Joining the procurement team, responsibilities include: sourcing all chemicals for one part of the business, implementing a supply chain strategy; building vendor relationships and managing their performance; and much more. This key role requires a degree and 3 years of procurement/SC experience with a record of contract negotiation.

Technical author for a scientific software organisation in London. Responsible for producing user guides and end-user documentation for applications, by working with software teams, R&D groups and business development consultants. Scientific degree with experience in writing/editing technical subjects; good understanding of IT preferred.

Scientific editor/writer for a pharmaceuticals services provider in the South East. Write news on products in R&D; gather and index pharmaceutical information; and develop a professional network. Suit a graduate with drug discovery or writing experience.

Regulatory Manger in London. The role involves managing studies at contract research labs and advising consultants to support registration submissions. Degree with experience in regulatory affairs and REACH legislation. But don’t be fooled by the job title: “this is a non-management position.”

4-Year PhD studentships (£21k, tax-free) are available at the Cancer Research UK London Research Institute for new or recent graduates with a 1^st/2.1, starting in Sept 2012. Applications are sought for graduates from a range of backgrounds, including chemistry.

5-year Research co-ordinator (£37-47k) at the University of Liverpool. Focusing on new materials and characterisation (in particular in oxides, porous materials, hybrid nanomaterials and energy), the role will also contribute to strategic planning and developing new research directions. PhD and excellent publication record required.

Consultant (includes sign-on bonus and expenses) for an operational and financial improvement firm in Oxfordshire. Evaluate processes and optimise their efficiency – taking a hands-on approach with implementing recommendations. Clients will be located across Europe, with a focus on Germany. Fluency in German and willingness to travel is essential – place of residence is negotiable.