Senior Workshop Technician

17119BR

Welsh School of Architecture

Technical

Advert

Senior Workshop Technician
Welsh School of Architecture

Applications are invited for the post of Senior Workshop Technician in the Welsh School of Architecture. 

You will provide a comprehensive provision of technical support to the Physical workshops at the Welsh School of Architecture in a supervisory/specialist function. You will be responsible to the Workshop Manager and play a crucial role of supervision of the School’s (physical) model-making workshops. You will provide training on the safe use of tools, machinery, workshop procedures and model-making equipment to the students and staff. You will draw on their specialist knowledge to advise students and staff on making process, technique, and material. You will liaise closely with all levels of staff, overseeing the day-to-day organisation of the workshop facilities to support teaching and research within the School.  You will also be required to support School exhibition activity including construction, dismantling, and storage as necessary.
This position is full-time (35 hours a week), open ended and available immediately.
Salary: £26,444 – £29,605 per annum (Grade 4) 

For informal enquiries, please contact Dan Tilbury, Workshop Manager, email: [email protected]
For further details about working in Cardiff University please contact Lucy Forrester, HR Advisor & PA to Head of School, email: [email protected]
As the biggest university in Wales – and a major employer, with more than 7,000 staff – we are an ambitious and innovative university located in a beautiful and thriving capital city. We can offer you the chance to work in a vibrant organisation, with great benefits and opportunities for progression.

Date advert posted: Tuesday, 8 August 2023

Closing date: Friday, 25 August 2023

Please be aware that Cardiff University reserves the right to close this vacancy early should sufficient applications be received.

Cardiff University is committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity and to creating an inclusive working environment. We believe this can be achieved through attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse range of staff from many different backgrounds who have the ambition to create a University which seeks to fulfil our social, cultural and economic obligation to Cardiff, Wales, and the world.  In supporting our employees to achieve a balance between their work and their personal lives, we will also consider proposals for flexible working or job share arrangements.

Job Description

The role holder will provide a comprehensive provision of technical support to the Physical workshops at the Welsh school of Architecture in a supervisory/specialist function. They will be responsible to the Workshop Manager and play a crucial role of supervision of the school’s (physical) model-making workshops. They will provide training on the safe use of tools, machinery, workshop procedures and model-making equipment to the students and staff. They will draw on their specialist knowledge to advise students and staff on making process, technique, and material. They will liaise closely with all levels of staff, overseeing the day-to-day organisation of the workshop facilities to support teaching and research within the school.  They will also be required to support school exhibition activity including construction, dismantling, and storage as necessary.

Key Duties
•    Following established guidelines and Risk Assessments, train and supervise individuals, small groups of students, and research staff in relevant technical procedures and in the safe use of equipment.
•    Advise students and staff while drawing on knowledge and experience of a wide range of materials and processes.
•    Operate, maintain, service, adjust, test, repair, and perform safety checks on workshop equipment and apparatus such as woodworking tools and machinery.
•    Act as key advisor in cast modelling while maintaining Plaster/Cement/COB casting equipment and workspace.
•    Participate in the development, modification and construction of special equipment and apparatus.
•    Take responsibility for stock levels, security, maintenance and cleanliness of materials, apparatus, and equipment within work area.
•    Maintain the workshop’s booking and induction systems in real time, recording and performing detailed analysis on collected data, including responsibility for maintaining databases.
•    Undertake reviews of technical processes and procedures, in collaboration with line management, and advise on options for improvement.
•    To share responsibility for the preparation, revision, and control implementation of Risk Assessments and COSHH Assessments.
•    To occasionally research, produce, and upload instructional videos explaining making technique.
•    Form a professional relationship with the Digital Lab Manager while gaining knowledge and understanding of relevant digital making processes and to provide cover during periods of absence (training will be provided).
•    Act as sole supervisor and student contact during short periods of the workday, and at times of staff absence.
•    To support the wider Operations team on occasion.
•    To serve as a First Aider, Fire warden, Back-up PAT tester. All training will be provided, including Machine Operator/Setting training plus any other work-related training.
•    Support the department in the implementation of new procedures and systems.

General Duties
•    Ensure that an understanding of the importance of confidentiality is applied when undertaking all duties.
•    Abide by University policies on Health and Safety and Equality and Diversity
•    Perform other duties occasionally which are not included above, but which will be consistent with the role

Person Specification

Essential Criteria 

Qualifications and Education
1.    NVQ 3/A-Levels or equivalent qualification/work related experience in an educational environment 

Knowledge, Skills, and Experience
2.    Specialist knowledge and experience of maintaining, servicing and operating machinery and equipment appropriate to the Physical workshops (woodworking, casting, cold-formed metalwork, and plastics), including a good level of experience in technique and materials.

3.    Initiative to research new technical processes and procedures and recommend improvements to the service provision as appropriate.

4.    A command of data collection systems, such as Excel and Teams.

Customer Service, Communication and Team Working
5.    Ability to communicate specialist and complex information effectively and professionally to a range of customers with varying levels of understating.

6.    Experience of supervising the safe work of others to focus team efforts and motivate individuals. 

7.    Ability to train and actively supervise students and research staff in safe the use of equipment and machinery.

8.    Evidence of ability to explore customers’ needs and adapt the service accordingly to ensure a quality service is delivered.

Planning, Analysis and Problem Solving
9.    Evidence of ability to solve problems using initiative and creativity; identify and propose practical solutions and to resolve problems where there are a range of potential options available.

10.    Proven ability to work on own initiative, planning, organising and setting priorities for own work appropriately and to plan and manage small projects.

Desirable Criteria

1.    Degree or an equivalent qualification or equivalent work-related experience

2.    Experience of working in a Higher Education environment

3.    Fluency in Welsh, written and oral

Important note: It is the University’s policy to use the person specification as a key tool for short-listing. Candidates should evidence that they meet ALL of the essential criteria as well as, where relevant, the desirable. As part of the application process you will be asked to provide this evidence via a supporting statement.  Please ensure that the evidence you are providing corresponds with the numbered criteria outlined below. Your application will be considered based on the information you provide under each element.

When attaching the supporting statement to your application profile, please ensure that you name it with the vacancy reference number, e.g. Supporting Statement for 16042BR.

Additional Information

The Welsh School of Architecture

The Welsh School of Architecture (WSA) is consistently ranked amongst the top schools of architecture in published UK and Worldwide league tables and has been ranked within the top 50 of Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World Rankings for the past 5 consecutive years.

The WSA also achieved the highest possible score for our research environment in the 2021 REF (Research Excellence Framework) 100% of which is considered conducive to producing research of world-leading quality. Additionally, 100% of our impact case studies and 93% of our outputs were assessed as world-leading or internationally excellent, placing us 4th in the UK for Architecture, the Built Environment and Planning.
Our research underpins the BSc and MArch degree programmes as well as the specialisms we teach through advanced Masters programmes that cater to graduates across the broad spectrum of built environment professions. We set high standards for our students and expect great things from them, this is why we stand by the quality of our graduates and are proud of what they achieve.

The distinctiveness of this School lies in its tradition of combining creativity with the understanding needed to realise designs through practice, its reputation for high quality research, the calibre of its staff and in its unique location in a friendly, liveable and affordable capital city that is a gateway to the stunning landscape of Wales.

More information about the Welsh School of Architecture is available at:
Welsh School of Architecture – Cardiff University