Laboratory Coordinator

NorthWest Arkansas Community College (NWACC) provides quality and affordable higher education to empower lives and strengthen communities within Northwest Arkansas and surrounding areas.

As the largest community college in Arkansas, NWACC is recognized as a leader in education. NWACC offers a full range of associate degrees, certificates and workforce training programs that prepare students for rewarding futures and careers.

NWACC employees are dedicated to fostering a diverse educational community and cultural learning environment that supports student success.

The laboratory coordinator monitors safety procedures in the laboratories. Maintains and cleans the laboratories and classrooms, inspects and maintains laboratory safety equipment, and prepares chemicals and other supplies needed for science classrooms.

Essential Duties

Maintains a safe working environment by reporting accidents or incidents that occur in the science area to their lab supervisor, lead faculty, and dean.

Also complies with all department safety procedures including; looking for and reporting potential safety hazards and inspecting and maintaining laboratory safety equipment.

This duty is performed daily, about 10% of the time.

Prepares supplies for the Chemistry, Biology, Botany, Geology, Microbiology, and Anatomy and Physiology classes. This includes;

preparation of chemicals, verifying the quality of chemicals needed for various courses, retrieving preserved specimens and models, preparing media aseptically for use in microbiology, restocking laboratory experiment kits / carts, and breaking those carts when they have been completed.

This duty is performed daily, about 40% of the time.

Maintains classroom / laboratories by cleaning those rooms and cleaning returning lab supplies (i.e. glassware, carts, etc.

Washes and maintains laboratory equipment such as but not limited to dissecting tools, pans, and various glassware, safety glasses and goggles, microscopes, etc.

This duty is performed daily, about 15% of the time.

• Assists the other laboratory supervisors when needed. This includes helping in the solarium (watering plants, etc.) and assisting in making chemicals and other laboratory supplies for the Washington County laboratories. 20%
• Assists administrative assistants with clerical duties as assigned. This includes greeting and directing students and visitors, answering telephone and relaying messages, handing out laboratory kits at the beginning of each semester.

This is performed daily, about 5% of the time.

• Assists in the building of online science laboratory kits for the online science classes. This is performed daily, about 5% of the time.
• Helps maintain the laboratory equipment. This includes cleaning and repairing microscopes, helping faculty with computer issues involving laboratory equipment, and operating the autoclaves.

This is performed daily about 10% of the time.

Salary $14.00 hourly

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Knowledge of college level chemistry including the mixing of chemicals from powder, diluting of chemicals. Knowledge of handling biohazardous waste including how to handle and dispose the following : Microbes, blood, and animal tissue.

Knowledge of maintaining and using the following laboratory equipment; Autoclaves, Unispenser, pipettors, microscopes, centrifuges, spectrophotometers, etc.

Ability to schedule laboratories and maintain laboratory kits. Ability to answer and respond to questions from faculty, students, and other staff members in regards to laboratory safety and other aspects of the laboratories.

Others skills required for this position include an understanding of Microsoft excel and Microsoft Word, pipetting, and being skilled at juggling many different laboratory procedures at one time.

Physical Demands

The following physical activities described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions and expectations.

While performing the functions of this job, the employee is continuously required to sit, use hands to finger, handle, or feel, talk or hear;

regularly required to reach with hands and arms. The employee is required to move around the laboratories, stand in one position for long periods of time, and push laboratory carts around the building.

The employee must occasionally lift and / or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities by this job include close vision.

The employee will also need to be able to travel from their office at the main campus to the laboratories at the Springdale campus where they are supervising.

They will also be required to carry laboratory supplies to and from both of those campuses.

Environmental Conditions

The following work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing essential functions of this job.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

The employee will be working in areas where there is a limited exposure to carcinogens, teratogens, mutagens, biohazardous materials, and other hazardous chemicals.

PPE is required and provided by the employer to help limit the risks associated with working with these hazards, but there is always a risk of exposure.

Required Education

High School diploma or equivalent. Associate’s Degree (AS or AA)

NWACC is an Equal Opportunity Employer, please see our EEO policy.