The Opportunity

The Vaccine Trials Group (VTG), established in 2000, is a research group dedicated to advancing public health through the coordinated development, assessment, and promotion of vaccines and treatments for infectious diseases and allergies. The team of doctors, nurses, researchers and laboratory scientists play a crucial role in evaluating the safety and effectiveness of vaccines for both children and adults across Australia.

The VTG now have an exciting opportunity for a full-time Laboratory Research Assistant to join the high-performing laboratory team. Reporting to the Clinical Laboratory Coordinator, this role will support in the efficient delivery of laboratory outcomes on a broad range of clinical trials and research projects.

In this role, your duties will include but not be limited to:

Assist with optimising and/or performing immunological assays including ELISA, Luminex, Flow Cytometry, bacterial culturing and PCR techniques.

Maintain accurate trial data, cold chain management and trial specimens in accordance with internal quality assurance procedures and project-specific standards and requirements.

Maintain high-quality laboratory databases, records, inventories, and documentation.

Monitoring and maintenance of laboratory resources including stock, equipment and laboratory facilities.

Contributing to the continuous development and delivery of robust quality assurance protocols and Good Clinical Laboratory Practices (GCLP).

About You

The ideal applicant will be self-motivated and able to work autonomously and as part of a team with a flexible, positive and collaborative approach.

Along with this, the successful applicant must also be able to demonstrate the following skills and experience:

A Bachelor’s degree in a health science related field, with honours or equivalent workplace experience

Laboratory experience in immunological techniques, assay validation, data handling, and analysis

Excellent organisation skills, flexibility and attention to detail.

Previous work experience in infectious diseases or health research.

Laboratory experience in cellular/tissue culture techniques (e.g, PBMC isolations).

Experience in data analysis software (e.g, R Studio).

We are driving inclusion and diversity as part of the way we work and embrace the diverse career and life experiences of our staff. If you meet a number of the requirements (and not all), we encourage you to submit your application. We also encourage you to address any career disruptions (if applicable) you may have had in your cover letter.

About Us

Our aim is to create a workplace where people are respected and encouraged to fulfil their potential. We encourage a workforce that is innovative, eager to acquire knowledge and enhance skills; we embrace all employee differences, foster a culture that supports diversity and inclusion, and are committed to providing reasonable accommodations where required.

Some of our staff benefits include:

Save on tax and increase your take home pay by salary packaging up to $15,899 of Living Expenses and up to $2,650 on Entertainment Benefits each FBT year.

Additional annual leave over Christmas and Easter.

Paid Parental Leave.

Early and Mid-Career Researcher Mentoring Program.

Various initiatives providing strategic support to researchers, including funding support.

Extensive health and wellbeing program with weekly events.

Flexible work options

Modern offices and end of trip facilities, including sit to stand desks.

Access to Corporate Health Insurance.

Staff purchasing discounts including travel, IT Hardware and stationery.

How to apply

If you think that this is the right role and an exciting new challenge for you, please click on 'Apply Now' to navigate to our Career Site to view the Job Description and submit your application.

Your cover letter (no more than 2 pages) should specifically address the criteria outlined in the “About You” section, with examples from your own experience to demonstrate your skills and suitability for the role.

Applications will only be accepted through our career portal. If you are experiencing technical difficulties with our online portal, please direct your query to recruitment@thekids.org.au
If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, please direct your inquiries to recruitment@thekids.org.au.

For more information about the role please contact: Zoe Ellis, Clinical Laboratory Coordinator

Contact Email: Zoe.ellis@thekids.org.au

Closing Date: 2nd May 2025- The Kids Research Institute reserve the right to hire prior to the closing date.