Job Title

Senior Technician in Mechanical Engineering

Closing:

14th July 2025

College/Department

College of Science & Engineering

Location

Nuclear Skills Academy, Infinity Park, DE24 9FU

Job Reference Number

0478-24-R2

Salary

£31,814 to £35,750 per annum (for exceptional performers, there is scope for further progression up to £41,113 per annum)

Reports To

Technical Team Leader - Nuclear Skills Engineering

Line Management Responsibility

No

Role Summary

The post holder will support and develop practical related activities for the engineering technician apprenticeship scheme. Working across level 3, level 4 and level 6 programmes within the newly created Nuclear Skills Academy with a particular emphasis on mechanical manufacturing, welding and fabrication including milling, turning and Computer Numerical Control (CNC) work. This role may also require occasional travel to other University of Derby sites to assist tutors in the delivery of practical based modules.

Working closely with academics and members of technical team, the post holder will provide specialist support relating to machine shop activities. Working across several laboratories with a high degree of autonomy, the post holder will be expected to provide additional technical support across the academy as required.

Principal Accountabilities

1)     To deliver formal technical skills instruction sessions, including handouts, to apprentice students in the use of resources, software and any relevant health and safety procedures. To include ongoing informal assessment of student competence and effectiveness.

2)     Maintaining effective liaison with other senior technical advisors, academic and administrative staff to provide the best use of resources.

3)     To develop and deliver appropriate schemes of instruction relevant to resource area through close liaison with academic staff and Technical Team Leader.

4)     Managing the organization and maintenance of equipment and workshop spaces in the area including equipment asset registers and ensuring compliance with all relevant Health and Safety regulations and policies.

5)     Providing technical assistance, apprentice student supervision and guidance as agreed with the line manager.

6)     Providing input and advice on the forward planning of resources.

7)     To assist and support research and knowledge transfer work by providing technical knowledge in appropriate resource areas.

8)     Managing technical area budgets in accordance with the University’s Financial Regulations.

9)     Assisting in the selection, recruitment and induction of new technical staff in line with the University’s Human Relations Policies and Procedures

10)  Ensuring the provision of appropriate training programmes for all staff.

11)  Attending relevant committee meetings as agreed with the Technical Team Leader.

12)  Participating in the University’s staff Development Review and engaging in personal staff development to ensure a current awareness of relevant technology as agreed with the relevant Technical Team Leader.

13)  Undertaking any other duties as required in agreement with the Technical Team Leader/ Technical Manager. Deputising for the Technical Team Leader when required.

Person Specification

Essential Criteria

Qualifications

·        Degree in related discipline, or equivalent experiential learning in a related subject

Experience

·        Successful practical experience in vocational area to include milling/turning

·        Successful practical experience in welding and fabrication

Skills, knowledge & abilities

·        Knowledge of current industry practices

·        Knowledge of workshop safety procedures

·        Ability to consistently provide a high-quality learning experience for all students/trainees

·        Ability to consistently demonstrate high levels of job performance

·        Ability to make a positive contribution to the team, valuing colleagues’ particular professional expertise and respecting other members of the team as individuals

·        Demonstrable ability to organise own workload to meet deadlines and targets with minimum supervision

·        Demonstrable ability to communicate effectively face to face, on the telephone and in writing

·        Ability to demonstrate tasks/processes to individuals and small groups

·        Ability to work with young people

·        Ability to understand and work with a diverse range of cultural groups

·        Ability to prepare, maintain and repair equipment and resources

·        Ability to use standard PC software to produce a range of documents

·        Ability to carry out College business as appropriate and promote the College’s good reputation within the community

·        Knowledge of delivering technical instruction to students and creating teaching materials

·        Awareness and ability to support Health and Safety procedures

Business requirements

·        Responsibility for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children and young persons in the area and College. This includes a requirement for an Enhanced with Barred Lists DBS check.

·        A willingness to work across university sites in a cost effective and timely manner

·        Ability to work evenings and weekends if required

·        Willingness to work towards a First Aid qualification and provide First Aid cover

·        Willingness to undertake staff development

Desirable Criteria

Qualifications

·        Recognised First Aid qualification

·        Risk and COSHH assessment training

Experience

·        Experience of working in a teaching/training team

Skills, knowledge and abilities

·        Operating CNC equipment

·        Knowledge of health and safety issues and legislation

·        Experience of working with young people in a training environment

·        Knowledge of NVQ systems

·        Knowledge of hydraulics/pneumatics

·        Knowledge of mechatronics

Benefits

The University of Derby believes in providing choice to our people suited to their needs or life stages. Offering a number of salary sacrifice options, a generous holiday entitlement starting from 26 days plus bank holidays and 4 concessionary days and a host of family friendly policies, mean that splitting your time and finances can be easier. For those with prospective students in the household, we also offer tuition fee support to partners and children and, not forgetting you, we offer financial support for accredited learning.

Our competitive 'total reward' offering has something for everyone and looks to reward and recognise people in different ways.

Core to the package is a competitive pay structure and generous public-sector pension schemes. Our pay structure allows for stepped progression in role and is reviewed against the market and, where applicable, awarding national pay awards annually. Further financial support is offered through our generous pension contributions in support of your retirement fund with those within our Teachers’ Pension Scheme receiving an employer contribution of 28.6% of salary and those within the Local Government Pension Scheme at 23%.

Wellbeing at Derby features within our benefits options from our Employee Assistance programme through to our eyecare voucher scheme, not to mention the discounted membership for our on-site gym at our Kedleston Road campus. With our Inclusion and Wellbeing Networks, there really is support for everyone.   

We also facilitate ‘Give as You Earn’ options to donate to your preferred charities straight from your pay which enhances the amount your charity receives for your donation.

At the University of Derby, we celebrate loyalty and achievements through our Staff Excellence Framework be it financially, or non-financially. We aim to foster a culture of boldness and brilliance in our people, and from a simple thank you through to a local awards ceremony, we recognise and celebrate notable achievements of our colleagues. 

For more information on the benefits of working at the University of Derby go to the Benefit pages of our website.

Our People

The University of Derby is committed to promoting equity, diversity and inclusion, regardless of age, disability, trans status, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief (or none), sex and sexual orientation.

We are Disability Confident Employers, demonstrating our commitment to disability inclusion, and invite applicants to highlight adjustments they may require to ensure equitable participation in our recruitment processes.

Further, we are committed to ensuring an environment which is trans and non-binary-inclusive for all our staff, students, partners, and visitors, and continuously review our policies, guidance and training.

When applying to join the University, you can choose your preferred title, including the gender-neutral title 'Mx'. We also ask our candidates if they would like to share their preferred pronouns. This is voluntary but demonstrates our commitment to inclusivity for trans and non-binary candidates. Once employed, you can add pronouns and preferred names onto our system.

The University of Derby undertakes anonymised shortlisting during the staff recruitment process. This means that, when shortlisting, panel members will not be able to see an applicant’s name and will see an applicant number instead. This demonstrates the practical steps we are taking to remove barriers to recruitment by minimising the possible impact of our unconscious bias.

However you identify, we actively celebrate the knowledge, experience and talents each person brings. Our students come from a wide range of backgrounds; therefore we are particularly interested to hear from applicants who will help our leaders and teams be more reflective of our student population.

For more information on equity, diversity and inclusion at the University of Derby, please visit our website.