Anthropology Laboratory Operations and Facilities Manager

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INITIAL REVIEW DATE (IRD)

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The IRD for this job is: 10-06-2025

ABOUT UC SANTA CRUZ

UC Santa Cruz is a public university like no other in California, combining the experience of a small, liberal arts college with the depth and rigor of a major research university. It's known as an unconventional place where innovation and experimentation is part of the campus's DNA. That playful, bold spirit still thrives today, all on a campus renowned as among the most beautiful in the world.

DEPARTMENT OVERVIEW

The UCSC Department of Anthropology includes the subfields of archaeology, biological anthropology and cultural anthropology. Our faculty work on a variety of topics, from ancient DNA to anti-Blackness, from food, medicine and health to Indigenous survivance, from secularism, sexism, and capitalism to primate ecology, from multispecies entanglements to the power relations of built landscapes. Our department was identified as one of the top 100 anthropology programs worldwide in 2020 by QS Top Universities, among the top 21-35 anthropology departments in the United States.

More information can be found at: https://anthro.ucsc.edu

JOB SUMMARY

Under the direction of the Anthropology Faculty Lab Director and Department Manager, the incumbent will provide lab operations support, facilities management, class scheduling support, technical support, and ensure health and safety and regulatory compliance for the Department of Anthropology.

APPOINTMENT INFORMATION

Budgeted Salary: $29.79 - $35.85 / Hourly. Salary commensurate with skills, qualifications and experience.
Under California law, the University of California, Santa Cruz is required to post a reasonable estimate of the compensation for this role. The salary shown above is the budgeted amount the University reasonably expects to pay and the salary extended should not exceed this posted amount.

Benefits Level Eligibility: Full benefits

Schedule Information:

• Full-time, Fixed
• Percentage of Time: 100%, 40 Hours per Week
• Days of the Week: Mon-Fri
• Shift Includes: Day

Employee Classification: Career appointment

Job End Date: None

Work Location: UC Santa Cruz Main Campus

Union Representation: TX - Technical

Job Code Classification: 009601 (LAB AST 4)

Travel: Never or Rarely

JOB DUTIES

20% - Lab Operations Management

• Oversees and maintains all shared lab facilities, teaching labs and departmental (osteological and archaeological) teaching collections.
• Manages storage and access to research specimens, shipping preparation, and transportation.
• Recruits and trains student lab assistants and volunteers in collaboration with the Lab Director to support instruction and maintenance of teaching labs and shared lab support spaces.
• Prepares quarterly budget estimates and reports, monitors support for lab personnel, service costs and supplies for teaching labs and lab support spaces.
• Arranges regular lab materials recycling pickups (pipette tip boxes, nitrile gloves, Styrofoam).
• Oversees the use of and maintenance of shared field and audio/visual equipment.
• Conducts regular equipment inspections (cleans/decontaminates, tests, calibrates, and maintains instruments such as microscopes, refrigerators and freezers, 3Dprinter, calipers, drying ovens, hot plates, etc.) in shared labs and research labs (as requested by lab PIs).
• Develops and maintains record-keeping system to monitor the check-out and return of equipment.
• Responds to inquiries from individuals and investigates claims.
• Coordinates and leads lab/collection tours for prospective graduate students, faculty candidates, and school groups.
• Liaisons with public/private agencies for the sharing of collections (Albion, Oakland Zoo, Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Department).
• Documents and shares standard procedures and protocols in shared in departmental repositories (e.g. Anthro Wiki).
• Maintains and regularly updates the anthropology laboratory web pages.

20% - Health & Safety/Regulatory Compliance

• Liaison with Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S): Provide guidance and stay current on applicable UCSC health and safety rules and regulations, training and reporting requirements, and standard operating procedures associated with laboratory and building safety.
• Arranges chemical waste and biohazard waste pickups with EH&S.
• Assists with field school work planning: safety, personnel communications, and regulatory.
• Provides consultation regarding the import of sample materials from field sites including import permits, CITES, customs, etc.
• Identifies hazardous conditions or operations in departmental spaces, determine safe procedures and controls, and implement and ensure compliance with standard safety procedures.
• Develops, and maintains a chemical and hazardous material inventory for the shared laboratory facilities.
• As designated Laboratory Safety Representative, provides documentation by completing Appendix A of the laboratory Injury and Illness Prevention Program.
• Ensures laboratory personnel have access to and are familiar with the appropriate laboratory safety manuals (online Laboratory Safety Manual, Standard Operating Procedures, Biosafety, Radiation Safety).
• Attends quarterly EH&S meetings to keep up to date regarding campus-wide regulatory changes.
• Provides consultation to laboratory personnel on how to work safely with hazardous materials and maintains electronic records of laboratory-specific training, including informing laboratory personnel of the location and availability of hazard information such as Material Safety Data Sheets.
• Oversees and maintains all shared safety equipment (e.g., emergency showers/eyewashes, fire extinguishers, first aid kits, etc.).
• Notifies EH&S and/or Campus Facilities Management as soon as possible should he/she become aware that workplace engineering controls (e.g., fume hoods) and safety equipment (e.g., emergency showers/eyewashes, fire extinguishers, etc.) become non-operational.
• Ensures appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) (nitrile gloves, eye protection, lab coats, etc.) are available and regularly maintained (e.g. all lab coats are laundered at least once per quarter).
• Arranges purchase, repair, or replacement of shared lab equipment
• Assists faculty with the coordination of equipment repairs.
• Conducts annual inspections of all laboratory spaces and ensures that quarterly self-inspections are performed within the lab at least 2 weeks prior to inspections from EH&S, and ensures all corrective actions are completed, e.i, annual EH&S audit findings are addressed, documented and forms returned to EH&S.
• Ensures department/laboratory accidents and injuries are reported to Risk Management and EH&S promptly. Ensures serious injuries are reported to EH&S within 8 hours of the incident.
• Ensures availability of medical surveillance and / or medical consultation/examination for laboratory personnel, as required.
• Alerts facilities personnel, other non-laboratory personnel, and any outside contractors of potential lab-related hazards and how to mitigate these hazards when they are required to work in the laboratory environment.
• Maintains departmental emergency contact list.

20% - Facilities Management

• Participate in planning and space utilization of teaching labs and laboratory support facilities.
• Organizes and maintains teaching labs, shared departmental spaces, shared equipment, and consumables, arranges or conducts weekly or monthly cleanings (floors swept, surfaces wiped); in high-use areas (e.g. classrooms, seminar rooms, mailing room).
• Liaisons with Social Sciences Facilities Coordinator(s): facilitates the transfer of lab/office space; maintenance, removal and replacement of furniture
• Identifies and communicates renovation needs, building maintenance and repairs
• Provides consultation for the re-design of lab spaces.
• Coordinates use of teaching lab spaces for multiple courses held during the same quarter in the same space.
• Oversees physical security in the department; Responsible for storing and maintaining inventory of departmental brass keys, checking keys out to authorized persons, maintaining the key database and using the database to collect keys when employment or assignment ends; updates user lists for electronic locks and ensures that electronic locks are functional; places work orders for repair/replacement of electronic locks.
• Oversees distribution of department mail and receives and distributes shipments of parcels and equipment; tracks mis/undelivered shipments across campus; assists with outgoing parcels.
• Ensures function and updating of electronic signage.
• Facilitates the use of department space and resources with other campus units.
• Manages and maintains order in the Academic Services Office, including ordering/stocking supplies and maintaining printers/copiers

15% - Collections Management

• Oversees, maintains and improves the quality of all anthropology teaching collections
• Consults with faculty regarding the osteological, lithic, and ceramic teaching collections, arranges the appropriate disposal of damaged or excess specimens.
• Provides training for anyone engaging with the teaching collections.
• Develops and maintains database to monitor the electronic check-out and return of reference collections and other specimens.
• Liaisons with public and private agencies for the sharing of collections (UCSC Norris Center, Oakland Zoo, Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Department, Albion).

15% - Class Scheduling

• Drafts schedule of courses to be offered each term based upon a provided course listing, enrollment trends, and faculty availability.
• Using judgment and discretion, independently obtains classrooms for courses taking into account the requirements and restrictions of the Campus Scheduling Office, past enrollment trends, instructor preferences, equipment and facility needs, department and campus needs.
• Consults with Campus Scheduling Office and instructors on issues regarding obtaining appropriate classrooms and advises faculty or department manager on options.
• Works with other departments to set up cross-listed and room-shared courses.
• Recommends to department / college / school management or faculty assignments of courses to graduate student instructors (including Teaching Assistants) and readers.
• Collects, analyzes, and provides statistics on enrollment trends to department management.
• Manages student enrollment for efficient use of classroom space and resources, and ensures students are enrolled based upon established priorities.
• Sets up enrollment limits, seat reservations, and other course restrictions. Issues permission numbers.
• Provides information to faculty and visiting instructors about scheduling procedures and practices and enrollment needs.
• Manages Student Experience of Teaching Survey (SETS)/course evaluations.

10% - Course & Co Curricular Support

• Ensures regular teaching lab and other teaching/seminar room upkeep and cleaning
• Develops by-course budget for consumable course materials in collaboration with primary instructor; develops proposals for course fees, and submits annual reports of associated course fees.
• Assist instructors with setting up and removing demonstration materials for introductory (ANTH 1, ANTH 3) and lab courses.
• Provides lab safety and lab facilities orientations for students requested by faculty and lecturers.
• May assist with instructional demonstrations of lab equipment use and experimental procedures.
• Manages security & loss control of teaching materials made available to students in teaching labs.
• Provides audio/visual technical support for courses, co-curricular and public events in department spaces.
• Assists with public events sponsored by the department or representation of the department in public spaces.
• Oversees security & loss control of teaching materials made available to students in teaching labs.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience handling biological, geological and cultural materials.
• Demonstrated substantive knowledge of the basic concepts and technical practices of archaeology and biological anthropology.
• Demonstrated general knowledge of the basic concepts of biological sciences, vertebrate and primate zoology, geology, and statistics.
• Demonstrated basic laboratory skills and knowledge of safe laboratory practices; mechanical aptitude and the ability to perform simple trouble-shooting procedures; familiarity with Macintosh and/or other word processing, spreadsheet and database management systems.
• Demonstrated ability to operate and maintain standard laboratory equipment (e.g., balances, microscopes, saws, calipers, tools, compasses, and optical and mechanical field equipment).
• Demonstrated ability to establish priorities; work independently; recruit, train, and supervise student and research assistants.
• Demonstrated ability to maintain organized records, with strong attention to detail; establish and maintain budgets.
• Demonstrated ability to interact effectively with a diverse group of faculty, staff and students.
• Demonstrated ability to extract, compile, analyze, and present pertinent and accurate data effectively
• Demonstrated technical skills in word processing (Microsoft Word), spreadsheet (Excel), Database applications (FileMaker Pro and/or other databases), web applications, PDF files (Adobe Acrobat Professional), Internet navigation, social media and e-mail; experience in web editing and design; experience creating online surveys; experience using Macs; experience working with a server, specifically uploading documents and coordinating permissions; experience with desktop publishing and/or design
• Demonstrated work experience requiring excellent communication, interpersonal, and customer service skills. Demonstrated ability to diffuse charged situations through respectful, clear, and succinct communication.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, to set priorities, and to complete work under pressure of deadlines, multiple responsibilities, and duties without close supervision.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Certification in CPR and Basic First Aid.
• Bachelors Degree or equivalent experience in Anthropology or Related Discipline
• Masters Degree or equivalent experience in Anthropology or Related Discipline
• Demonstrated knowledge of NAGPRA and CalNAGPRA.
• Demonstrated knowledge of basic inventory and accounting procedures.
• Demonstrated ability to prepare chemical solutions and resins from simple recipes.
• Demonstrated knowledge of common University-specific computer application programs.
• Demonstrated ability in problem identification, reasoning, analysis to identify trends.
• Demonstrated ability to find solutions to conflicting situations.

SPECIAL CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

• Selected candidate will be required to pass a pre-employment criminal history background check.
• Selected candidate must pass the employment misconduct disclosure process.
• Must possess a valid license to drive in the state of California.
• Ability to work long periods of time at a computer with or without accommodation.
• Ability to work long periods of time in wilderness conditions and to travel to remote areas.
• Ability to work in conditions of variable temperature/weather with possible exposure to strong, unpleasant odors, high levels of noise and vibrations, and exposure to dust and allergens.
• Ability to maintain appearance and conduct suitable for working in a professional setting.
• Selected candidate will be required to complete training within established time frames as directed including UC compliance training.
• The University of California has implemented a Vaccination Policy covering all employees. Employees, including new hires, are required to comply with any applicable policies relating to the University of California vaccine program.
• Per the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA), this position has been identified as a Mandated Reporter. The selected candidate will be required to report known or suspected child abuse or neglect as defined by CANRA and will be required to sign a Statement Acknowledging Requirement to Report Child Abuse prior to commencing employment. CANRA Penal Codes, and related definitions, requirements, and responsibilities may be obtained here.

MISCONDUCT DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENT

As a condition of employment, the final candidate who accepts a conditional offer of employment will be required to disclose if they have been subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct; received notice of any allegations or are currently the subject of any administrative or disciplinary proceedings involving misconduct; have left a position after receiving notice of allegations or while under investigation in an administrative or disciplinary proceeding involving misconduct; or have filed an appeal of a finding of misconduct with a previous employer.

• "Misconduct" means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, discrimination, dishonesty, or unethical conduct, as defined by the employer. For reference, below are UC's policies addressing some forms of misconduct:
  • UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy
  • UC Anti-Discrimination Policy
  • Abusive Conduct in the Workplace

SAFETY STATEMENT

All UCSC employees must understand and follow job safety procedures, attend required health and safety training, proactively promote safety at work, and promptly report actual and potential accidents and injuries.

NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY

EEO/AA

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status or other protected categories covered by the UC Anti-Discrimination Policy.

It is the policy of the University of California to undertake affirmative action and anti-discrimination efforts, consistent with its obligations as a Federal and State contractor.