Laboratory Assistant (Part-time Weekends)

Together we are Trusted to Serve Scotland.

Most people dont think too much about how clean water reaches their taps. Or what happens to their wastewater.

But Scottish Water fact its all we think about.

Want to help As a Weekend Lab assistant (14 hours) within our busy Inorganics wing in Edinburgh youll be on the front lines of making sure Scotlands drinking water is high quality and great tasting all while protecting our environment by checking our wastewater.

Together well tackle environmental challenges head-on driving toward our Beyond Net Zero ambition while proudly upholding our ISO 14001 certification.

What youll be doing

Clean water doesnt just happen. Our team of 320 samplers scientists and support staff are hard at work analysing their way through an average of one test every minute. With so many tests going through the lab youll prioritise work within your team. And youll manage routine maintenance of instrumentation to help avoid unplanned downtime.

Over the two days youll be analysing basic inorganic chemistry parameters of pH and suspended solids to help ensure the quality of Scotlands Water and environment. Then youll help us translate the results for customers. Getting it right is important so youll work to ISO 17025 and ISO14001 (if you know you know).

Naturally weve got a big focus on health and safety. The goal 100% compliance with the strictest standards many of them set out in law.

What youll need:

First of all you love science you should also have a qualification in Science or be working towards one. And although it probably goes without saying maintaining a safe and healthy workplace is your thing.

Ideally youll have some experience working in an ISO 17025 or GLP-accredited analytical laboratory or at least have a good handle on the standard.

Beyond that we hope that delivering great customer service is what gets you out of bed in the morning. And youre committed to always improving processes.

Looking out for you

While the work we do is important we know its not the only thing that matters. Thats why we make sure you have everything you need to find a good work-life balance.

Youll get plenty of time to recharge with 38 days (Pro-rata) of holiday every year (including public holidays). And you can even buy five more if you need a little extra time. You can also take time off to volunteer in your community.

When it comes to major life events we have family-friendly policies around adoption maternity and parental leave. And for the everyday We embrace flexible working.

For your future theres our pension (the know-what-youll-get-when-you-retire kind) and life assurance.

As for some nice extras You will participate in a company bonus scheme. Not to mention access to SW Splash handy rewards that can save you money on holidays bills and shopping.

The not-so-small print

This role will be a Grade 2. If youre new to Scottish Water youll join us on a starting salary of 28480. Performance-driven pay progression would then allow you to move through the range to a maximum of 31260 (Pro-rata)

If youre interested in this role or know someone else who might be - well be accepting applications until midnight on 12th October 2026

Job offers at Scottish Water are conditional and will be confirmed on completion of our pre-employment screening e.g. referencing criminal record checks license checks etc. Screening is conducted on our behalf by a third party and must be completed before your start date. Dont worry - well only start these checks once youve accepted an offer

A few final things worth knowing

Research shows that some people avoid applying for jobs unless they can meet every single criteria. If youre interested in this job but dont tick all the boxes apply anyway! We hardly ever hire people who can do every part of a job from Day One. Everyone has a learning curve. So dont rule yourself out!

Let us know if there are any changes we can make to our recruitment process to help you perform at your best. Lots of our people have disabilities or neurodiverse conditions (including some of our recruiters!). Were also aware that some people might be experiencing temporary challenges because of life events like menopause. Were very used to making adjustments so please dont be afraid to ask.

As part of our commitment to developing a flourishing Scotland its important that all our employees are Scottish taxpayers. If you join us your home address will need to be in Scotland. If you dont already live here youll need to commit to moving here within your first three months.

Candidates should be aware that a valid UK driving licence is required for driving on Scottish Water business and claiming business mileage expenses.

Please note Scottish Water takes the safety health and wellbeing of our employees colleagues and customers very seriously and as such you may be subject to Drug & Alcohol testing in line with our policy.

Finally (finally!) candidates who havent submitted an application in the last 12 months will have their records removed from our recruitment database. You wont need to do anything. Your data will be automatically deleted.

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