STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
HUMAN RESOURCES


CLASSIFICATION:  LABORATORY SCIENTIST V

 

Class Code:  5595-27                                       Date Established:  01-05-76           

 

Occupational Code:  7-6-4                               Date of Last Revision:  12-28-01

 

BASIC PURPOSE:  To manage professional and technical personnel in a state laboratory and to develop and revise laboratory related policies or procedures.

 

CHARACTERISTIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

 

·        Plans, assigns, and supervises the work of professional and technical personnel performing a wide variety of laboratory analyses and/or examinations.

 

·        Analyzes staffing and training needs, equipment, supplies and reagent requirements of several working units to develop budget recommendations.

 

·        Monitors activities of unit supervisors within a section of the laboratory with responsibility for disciplining employees, interviewing applicants, recommending hiring and firing, approving leave, solving work problems, evaluating employee performance, and supervising in-service orientation of new employees.

 

·        Supervises the performance of special tests and projects, and interprets the findings and results to other professionals to allow them to make decisions affecting the public.

 

·        Advises and consults with department personnel, professional persons and lay organizations concerning laboratory services.

 

·        Oversees maintenance, troubleshooting, and repair of analytical equipment and training of other employees to ensure accurate data output.

 

·        Supervises and evaluates the development of new methods of sample analysis and edits existing laboratory methods to ensure these procedures are in compliance with standard guidelines, agency policy and federal and state law.

 

·        Supervises the preparation of reports summarizing laboratory activities, including recommendations for the formulation of policies, plans and procedures.

 

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DISTINGUISHING FACTORS:

 

Skill:  Requires skill in analyzing and interpreting data, policy and procedures OR in using equipment in order to arrive at logical conclusions or recommendations.

 

Knowledge:  Requires logical or scientific expertise to resolve problems of a specialized or professional nature in a wide range of applications.

 

Impact:  Requires responsibility for achieving direct service objectives by assessing agency service needs and making preliminary recommendations for the development of alternative short-term program policies or procedures.  Errors at this level result in incomplete assessments or misleading recommendations causing a disruption of agency programs or policies.

 

Supervision:  Requires direct supervision of programs or of employees doing work which differs from the supervisor, including disciplining employees, solving personnel problems, recommending hiring and terminating employees, and developing work methods.  The supervisor in this position manages a working unit or section with responsibility for employee performance appraisal.

 

 

 

Working Conditions:  Requires performing regular job functions in an environment which includes exposure to continuous physical elements or a number of disagreeable working conditions with frequent exposure to minor injuries or health hazards.

 

Physical Demands:  Requires light work, including continuous walking or operating simple equipment for extended periods of time as well as occasional strenuous activities such as reaching or bending.

 

Communication:  Requires reviewing summaries and reports and making management level decisions to solve problems or to achieve work objectives as well as articulating and expressing those solutions and goals.  This level also requires formal presentations of solutions and goals to employees and the general public to increase the responsiveness of the agency toward the demands of its client system.

 

Complexity:  Requires evaluating a combination of wide-ranging job functions to determine work procedures, to solve problems, and to reach conclusions by applying analytical, technical, or scientific thinking.  This level also requires planning policies and long-term strategies, drawing conclusions based on available criteria, and evaluating the effectiveness of program objectives.

 

Independent Action:  Requires independent judgment in planning and evaluating work procedures and in supervising the development of professional, technical and managerial standards under administrative direction and according to broad departmental guidelines.

 

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

 

Education:  Master's degree from a recognized college or university with major study in the biological sciences, health sciences, or physical sciences.

 

Experience:  Six years' experience in a laboratory performing duties similar to the assignments of the laboratory in which the position is located, including two years in a supervisory or administrative capacity.

 

License/Certification:  For positions in the Public Health Laboratories, applicants must meet the requirements of the Clinical Laboratories Improvement Amendments of 1988 (42 CFR Part 493) as specified on the Supplemental Job Description.

 

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

 

For appointment consideration, Laboratory Scientist V applicants must successfully participate in a structured interview measuring possession of knowledge, skills and abilities identified as necessary for satisfactory job performance by this class specification.  The structured interview is developed and administered, according to Division of Personnel guidelines, by representatives of the state agency in which the vacancy exists.

 

RECOMMENDED WORK TRAITS:  Thorough knowledge of the scientific discipline (e.g., bacteriology, analytical and physical chemistry) pertinent to the laboratory's function.  Thorough knowledge of the operation and care of specialized laboratory equipment.  Ability to relate laboratory findings to the actual conditions.  Ability to supervise and instruct employees.  Ability to prepare comprehensive analytical reports, papers and speeches.  Ability to evaluate laboratory practices and to make constructive recommendations relating to improvement of procedures, methods, facilities and equipment.  Ability to establish effective contacts with civil and technical groups and to secure their cooperation in formulating programs.  Must be willing to maintain appearance appropriate to assigned duties and responsibilities as determined by the agency appointing authority.

 

DISCLAIMER STATEMENT:  This class specification is descriptive of general duties and is not intended to list every specific function of this class title.

 


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Last Updated 05/10/02
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