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Toxicologist/Senior Toxicologist

Oxfordshire, UK or Brussels, Belgium

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Penman Consulting is a specialist consulting business supporting the chemical, petrochemical and plant protection industries on product regulatory, health and environmental issues.  Founded in 2007 Penman Consulting has rapidly gained wide recognition for its ability to deliver on regulatory and associated scientific issues.   We provide advice and assistance to companies both large and small and to trade organisations on a global basis.

With our origins in the petrochemical industry, we manage some of the largest regulatory projects in the EU such as Lower Olefins and Aromatics REACH Consortium (LOA) and have been involved in other large consortia and numerous activities for companies large and small.  Our clients recognise the leadership and expertise that we bring to such projects and we are well-recognised within the industry.

Penman Consulting provides Product Stewardship services for client companies, where the offering is supported by a unique approach and IT system Active Steward™ which allows us to provide services in a cost effective and efficient manner.

Penman Consulting is staffed by professionals with considerable experience within the chemical industry managing regulatory affairs, toxicology and environmental science on both a product and site basis. We believe this allows us to provide a business perspective to our service which is of value to our clients. Where necessary we partner with other organisations to provide a holistic service, from legal and financial support to specialised science areas.

Penman Consulting has offices in Brussels, Belgium and in South Oxfordshire, UK. 

Job Description

Penman Consulting has the position of Toxicologist/Senior Toxicologist available.  The permanent role will be flexible and will adapt to the skills of the job holder allowing significant scope for further development arising from the growth of the business.  We are open to home-based work, however regular attendance will be required at our offices in Oxfordshire, UK or in Brussels and for customer meetings as the need arises.

The position will focus on supporting the work Penman Consulting does on the scientific regulatory aspects within the chemical, petrochemical and agrochemical industries, – specifically understanding health hazards through evaluation of scientific data, performing risk assessments, developing technical and regulatory strategies to address toxicological concern. In addition, communication of those assessments to third parties (customers, regulators, associations) through written and/or oral, including face to face presentations.

The successful candidate will

  1. Be interested in regulatory and toxicological sciences.
  2. Have relevant training, and experience.
  3. Be able to work in a multidisciplinary team with project managers, regulatory specialists, toxicologists, environmental and exposure scientists and IT specialists.
  4. Be confident in their ability as a toxicologist and be prepared to debate, defend and adapt their position to meet the needs of the team and the project.
  5. Be flexible and be prepared to support the team to meet regulatory or client deadlines.
  6. Be prepared to continue to develop professionally with an emphasis on mammalian toxicology and EU regulatory developments.
  7. Be a member of the team, be self-motivated and engage positively with colleagues.
  8. Have good attention to detail and be proficient in data analysis and interpretation.
  9. Have good communication skills, be engaged and be a confident and clear speaker.
  10. Be able to work in an environment that is fast paced and often requires imminent attention to multiple projects.
  11. Penman Consulting runs a Quality Management System (ISO 9001) and an Information Security Management System (ISO 27001) which all employees are expected to comply, contribute to and build upon.

Areas of responsibility
Note:  some of these areas will require orientation and training before the jobholder is fully functional. This will be initiated as soon as the jobholder is in place with a clear plan of action and target dates.

  1. Provide toxicological input and advice to Penman Consulting clients.
    • Regulatory advice and assistance.
    • Provide expertise in designing and monitoring toxicological studies at Contract Research Organisations, reviewing the outcome and putting the data into context, providing an evaluation of any classification considerations.
      • Summarise data in robust study summaries.
    • Assessment of data and preparation of read across justifications.
    • Endocrine disruption and assessment.
    • Preparation and submission of dossier to regulatory authorities.
    • Use of software tools such as IUCLID and Chesar, Microsoft office, Graphpad, Deepdyve, Active Steward and others as needed.
    • Respond to enquiries arising from regulatory bodies and clients.
  2. Act as Project or Working Group Manager for client projects.
    • Planning, managing and working with the company multidisciplinary team.
    • Managing budget and resources.
    • Ensure adequate documentation of decisions and deliverables.
    • Reporting on progress to the Section Head and management team.
    • Take responsibility within your project teams for, and oversee the input of, toxicological data summaries and data interpretation into regulatory systems such as IUCLID and its submission to the Agency or to clients.
  3. Provide an expert resource to the company when required by other projects.
  4. Work closely with staff throughout the organisation and provide coaching and help to more junior staff to help grow overall competencies.
  5. Contribute to the growth and development of the product stewardship tool Active Steward.  Use of the systems on a daily basis and also input into the user group and the development team based on your expert knowledge.
  6. Contribute to the sales process within the Company working with the Business Development Manager though industry contacts and knowledge.
  7. Represent Penman Consulting in external fora and with clients.

Desired profile

  1. Scientific background with a specialization in life science (toxicology, biology or related discipline)
  2. Sound toxicological background with at least 5 years of relevant experience
  3. Understanding of REACH Regulations
  4. A chemistry background is an asset
  5. Skills in project management
  6. Excellent communication skills
  7. Fluent in English, other EU languages are an asset

Place of work

A mixture of remote and office-based working is possible, but the jobholder will need to come to the UK / Brussels office on a regular basis. It should be noted, that for face-to-face customer or company meetings travel is expected.

If you are interested in applying for this position, please submit your CV and cover letter to recruitment@penmanconsulting.com.

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