Job vacancies at the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre
Join our friendly international community of over 150 staff here at Sainsbury Wellcome Centre where we support extraordinary people to tackle extraordinary problems.
Comprising of 12 research groups made up of Postdoctoral Researchers, PhD Students, Research Assistants and Master’s Students who all are working towards understanding how the brain drives behaviour. Alongside, are professional and scientific staff who provide indispensable expertise to support SWC’s mission.
Current vacancies
Find the latest vacancies below and apply online via the UCL jobs website. You can also follow us on Twitter @SWC_Neuro for the latest job opportunities or sign up for regular job alerts on the UCL application portal.
Deputy Centre Laboratory Operations Manager
Grade: 7
Salary: £43,124 - 51,610 per annum inclusive of London Allowance
Working Type: On-site
Closing Date: Sunday 5th January 2025
Interviews: Thursday 16th or Friday 17th January 2025
About the role
At SWC our research labs are the heart of groundbreaking neuroscience discoveries. As the Deputy Laboratory Operations Manager, you will play an integral role in ensuring these labs remain safe, organised, and equipped for innovation. Working closely with the Centre Laboratory Manager, you will help maintain fully operational facilities tailored to the needs of twelve Group Leaders, their teams, and our state-of-the-art facilities like the Advanced Microscopy Facility and Viral Vector Core.
Your responsibilities will include supporting health and safety compliance within the labs, facilitating training for safe laboratory practices and helping to lead on laboratory sustainability. Additionally, you will work collaboratively with the Laboratory Management Team to provide seamless operational support, especially during colleagues’ absences or busy periods. This role is an exciting opportunity to contribute to a vibrant environment supporting world leading research.
This post is funded until 31 October 2025 in the first instance. The Centre is externally funded with funding awarded in five-year tranches subject to periodic funder review. Subject to successful grant renewal, staff posts will be extended in line with successive funding periods.
About you
We are looking for a proactive and organised individual with a strong understanding of laboratory operations and a commitment to fostering a safe and efficient research environment. Experience in laboratory health and safety, equipment management, and delivering training, is essential. You’ll also need excellent communication and teamwork skills to collaborate effectively with scientists, technicians, and support staff.
The ideal candidate will have experience working in research or laboratory management and be comfortable taking initiative to solve problems and support the team. A keen eye for detail and strong organisational skills are key, as is a readiness to step in and provide support during high-demand periods. You will have the ability to take initiative, identifying areas for improvement and strategically implementing new management systems to enhance efficiency and support the needs of a dynamic research community.
If you’re passionate about creating an environment where scientific discovery can thrive, we’d love to hear from you!
What we offer
The SWC offers staff an award-winning work environment in the heart of Fitzrovia with access to pleasant outdoor spaces. The Centre also offers the full range of UCL staff benefits, including a generous annual leave entitlement, occupational pension schemes, excellent family-friendly policies such as occupational shared parental pay, career break policy, a work-life balance policy, and a range of financial benefits such as a season ticket loan scheme and staff discounts. SWC prides itself on offering a high quality administrative, technical and operational support function, and fully supports the professional development and progression of its staff, actively encouraging colleagues to learn new skills and broaden their experience. The SWC is supported in this aim by UCL’s Organisational Development team who run a wide range of training programmes for all staff types and grades.
How to apply
Visit www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/search-ucl-jobs, search for vacancy reference: B02-08118 and click on 'Apply Now' to enter the recruitment portal. You can download the job description and person specification here.
Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
As London’s Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world’s talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL’s workforce. These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women. The Athena SWAN Charter recognises commitment to advancing women's careers in science, technology, engineering, maths, and medicine (STEMM) employment in academia. SWC is delighted to have received an Athena Swan Bronze Award in 2021. We stand by our commitment to positive action to improve equality and accessibility in the workplace. We will provide reasonable adjustments to enable people to work and flourish with us. SWC is proud to uphold both UCL’s Dignity at Work and Work-Life Balance policies. As Centre we commit to fostering a positive cultural climate where all staff and students can thrive and and actively support Wellbeing@UCL.
Research Assistant
Grade: 6b
Salary: £38,357 - £41,005 per annum inclusive of London Allowance
Working Type: On-site
Closing Date: Sunday 12th January 2025
About the role
The Sainsbury Wellcome Centre (SWC) brings together world-leading scientists to investigate how brain circuits process information to generate perception, form memories and guide behaviour. Developed through the vision and partnership of the Gatsby Charitable Foundation and Wellcome, and with substantial investment from these partners, the mission of the SWC is to generate experimentally testable theories of brain function
The post is funded for one year in the first instance.
About you
You will hold a bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience, molecular biology or a related field. Prior experience of working in a research laboratory is essential as well as some experience of monitoring rodents and providing post-operative care. You will be an excellent communicator with the ability to work under your own initiative in a collaborative and multidisciplinary research environment. Technical expertise in the calibration, maintenance and repair of animal behavioural setups is desirable, as well knowledge of surgical procedures and some basic programming skills in python or MATLAB environments.
What we offer
The SWC offers staff an award-winning work environment in the heart of Fitzrovia with access to pleasant outdoor spaces. The Centre also offers the full range of UCL staff benefits, including a generous annual leave entitlement, occupational pension schemes, excellent family-friendly policies such as occupational shared parental pay, career break policy, a work-life balance policy, and a range of financial benefits such as a season ticket loan scheme and staff discounts. SWC prides itself on offering a high quality administrative, technical and operational support function, and fully supports the professional development and progression of its staff, actively encouraging colleagues to learn new skills and broaden their experience. The SWC is supported in this aim by UCL’s Organisational Development team who run a wide range of training programmes for all staff types and grades.
How to apply
Visit: www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/search-ucl-jobs, search for vacancy reference: B02-08128 and click on 'Apply Now' to enter the recruitment portal.
Download the job description and person specification here.
Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
As London’s Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world’s talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL’s workforce. These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women. The Athena SWAN Charter recognises commitment to advancing women's careers in science, technology, engineering, maths, and medicine (STEMM) employment in academia. SWC is delighted to have received an Athena Swan Bronze Award in 2021. We stand by our commitment to positive action to improve equality and accessibility in the workplace. We will provide reasonable adjustments to enable people to work and flourish with us. SWC is proud to uphold both UCL’s Dignity at Work and Work-Life Balance policies. As Centre we commit to fostering a positive cultural climate where all staff and students can thrive and and actively support Wellbeing@UCL.
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Want to know more? Read our Why join SWC? page to learn about our values and commitments, state of the art Centre, staff benefits and awards.
Interested in joining us? Find out more about How to Apply.
For general enquiries please contact the SWC HR team swc.hr@ucl.ac.uk, +44 (0)20 3108 8011.
Our commitment to Equality Diversity and Inclusion
As London’s Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world’s talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL’s workforce. These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women.
The Athena SWAN Charter recognises commitment to advancing women's careers in science, technology, engineering, maths, and medicine (STEMM) employment in academia. SWC is delighted to have received an Athena Swan Bronze Award in 2021. We stand by our commitment to positive action to improve equality and accessibility in the workplace. We will provide reasonable adjustments to enable people to work and flourish with us.
SWC is proud to uphold both UCL’s Dignity at Work and Work-Life Balance policies. As Centre we commit to fostering a positive cultural climate where all staff and students can thrive and actively support Wellbeing@UCL, UCL community, supported by our Wellbeing.