Technical officer

Type of contract: Full-time and undetermined duration contract (CDI)

Le Laboratoire national de santé (Institut public au Grand-Duché de Luxembourg)is recruiting a Technical Officer (Scientist with a PhD in Analytical Chemistry, Biochemistry or a related field) (m/f) for the Service 'Environmental Hygiene and Human Biological Monitoring' (Department Health Protection) in a full time position (40h/week), with a permanent contract starting at the earliest convenience.

About the Laboratoire national de santé (LNS)

The " Laboratoire national de santé " (LNS) is a public institution under the supervision of the Ministry of Health and Social Security in Luxembourg. As a multidisciplinary institute, it is made up of four diagnostic departments in the fields of medical biology, microbiology, forensic medicine and health protection. It also houses two national centers, one in the field of Pathology and the other in the field of Genetics. All activities are supported by support services forming the administrative and finThe mission of the LNS is to develop analytical and scientific expertise related to the prevention, diagnosis and monitoring of human diseases and to ensure the role of a national control or reference laboratory as well as to carry out forensic tasks. The institution also contributes to the development, harmonization and promotion of technical laboratory methods in close collaboration with local and international analytical laboratories. Within the scope of its responsibilities, the LNS is also leading research and teaching activities in collaboration with partners in Luxembourg and abroad.

With its modern infrastructure in line with the recent evolution of medical and analytical sciences, the LNS is an ambitious laboratory with innovative projects that increase its expertise in public health.

About the service 'Environmental Hygiene and Human Biological Monitoring'

The Department Health Protection supports public health and health care for problems caused or aggravated by the environment, including indoor pollution, the working context, and consumer products. We fulfill this mission through servicing including expert advice, education and applied research. Our main stakeholders are the hospitals, the ministries and the services for occupational medicine in Luxembourg.

The Department Health Protection hosts two Services:

• The Service "Environmental Hygiene and Human Biological Monitoring" carries out laboratory analyses - chemical and microbiological - in dust, air and surface samples (ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation). In parallel, the Service analyses the concentrations of substances or their metabolites directly in human medical samples, for example blood, urine, hair. The Service measures not only human biomarkers of exposure (ISO 15189 and ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation), but is expanding its portfolio of human biomarkers of effect relevant in the pathways of disease development and progression.

The Service is also an active partner in the European Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals (PARC). PARC is funded by the European Union's "Horizon Europe" framework program for the period of . Within PARC, LNS is grant signatory for Luxembourg and key partner in several workpackages related to human biomonitoring and risk assessment for human exposure to chemicals from the indoor and occupational environment. It involves 200 partners from 28 European countries, including national and EU agencies as well as affiliated research organizations.

• The Service "Medical Expertise and Data Intelligence" hosts the medical, epidemiological and toxicological expertise in environmental and occupational health/medicine. The Service supports the National Service for Environmental Medicine at the Hospital Center Emile Mayrisch (CHEM) and is in charge of the European science-policy programs and the epidemiological surveys in the general and working population in Luxembourg that include human biological monitoring and/or environmental/occupational exposure assessment.

A departmental administrative team and a departmental quality and technical coordination team support the Services and the department head.

RESPONSIBILITIES

As a Technical Officer in the laboratory "Environmental Hygiene and Human Biological Monitoring", you are in charge of human biomonitoring and environmental monitoring.

Therefore, you will

• Optimize existing methods and develop new methods for the analyses of organic pollutants and/or their metabolites in samples collected for the indoor and occupational environment as well as for human biomonitoring (using GC-MS; GC-MS/MS, LC-MS/MS, ICP-MS, etc.);
• Validate the developed methods according to the department's quality system and international standards;
• Draft standard operating procedures (SOPs) and protocols for the developed methods;
• Habilitate and support laboratory technicians;
• Participate in the daily maintenances and problem solving related to the analytical instruments (GC-MS; GC-MS/MS, LC-MS/MS , etc);
• Publish your analytical methodology developments and validations in international peer-review journals;
• Active involvement in PARC tasks, e.g analytical developments, participation in meetings, workshops and reporting.

This list of tasks should not be considered exhaustive. Missions may vary depending on the specific needs of the service and the department.

PROFILE

Job specific skills:

• A PhD in chemistry, biochemistry or a related field, with specialization in GC-MS, GC-MS/MS and LC-MS/MS for the analysis of complex organic compounds in environmental and human biological samples;
• Substantial and demonstrated experience in the method development and validation following international standards for organic compounds in a chemical laboratory, preferentially in the field of environmental and occupational health;
• Proven track record in human biological monitoring and/or environmental monitoring;
• Proven track record of publications in international peer-review journals;
• A perfect fluency in English and/or French (oral and written).

Will be considered as an asset:

• Working experience in an accredited chemical laboratory (ISO/IEC 17025 and/or ISO 15189) ;
• Knowledge of other analytical techniques, e.g. ICP-MS;
• Submission of and proven success rate in ensuring external funding or co-funding opportunities ;
• Knowledge of chemical risk evaluation based on environmental and/or human biomonitoring data;
• Working proficiency in Luxembourgish and German.

Key skills:

• Strong organizational skills and structured way of working;
• Strong analytical thinking;
• Excellent team working and networking skills;
• Strong writing skills for official reports as well as for international peer-review scientific journals;

If you meet the above profile and wish to apply, please submit your application (CV and Cover letter) via our website. Your application will be treated confidentially.

At the final stages of the recruitment process, the successful candidate will be asked to provide supporting documentation such as, copies of diplomas and certificates of employment. An official criminal record (bulletin no.3) will also be required for consultation purpose.