Sample Reception Coordinator

at  Ministry of the Environment Conservation and Parks

Effective January 1st, 2024 the salary range for this position is $26.92 to $31.31 per hour in compliance with OPSEU Unified Bargaining Unit collective agreement provisions. The new rates, effective retroactive to January 1, 2024, were recently confirmed and dates for implementation of the new salary rates are still to be determined.
Are you looking for a challenging opportunity to build your administrative career? Are you comfortable working in an environment where each day can bring a new challenge? Do you value being a critical member of a team effort to ensure urgent, time-sensitive matters are dealt with appropriately and where you are often the key liaison into and out of the organization for branch/regional matters? Then consider this chance to provide support to the team in a fast paced and high pressure work environment

DRINKING WATER SAMPLE ANALYSIS, PROCEDURE AND POLICIES FOR SAMPLE RECEPTION AND ENVIRONMENT LEGISLATION KNOWLEDGE

• You understand and have basic knowledge of science and environmental analysis.
• You have comprehensive knowledge of the responsibilities of analytical departments within an environmental analytical testing laboratory and sample flow within laboratories.
• You have knowledge of policies, procedures and protocols to coordinate the sample intake/reception function for environmental testing within an ISO 17025 accredited laboratory.
• You have knowledge of regulations associated with drinking water testing to understand sample reception function related to the receipt and recording of drinking water samples, and to provide customer service on the Help Desk.
• You have knowledge of sampling containers, volume and preservation requirements for environmental analytical testing in order to ensure the stability of received samples for testing, to reject samples and to provide advice to customers.
• You have knowledge of legislation, policies and procedures related to health and safety including WHMIS and health and safety protocols as it relates to the sample intake function within an environmental analytical laboratory.
• You have knowledge of chemical waste disposal policies and procedures in order to dispose of waste samples that are not being processed in accordance with required legislation.

CUSTOMER SERVICE AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS

• You will provide diplomacy and tact in order to deal with difficult customer interactions.
• You will provide day to day customer service and to interact with internal branch staff and external customers on a daily basis.
• You will respond to assessor and inspector questions during audits and inspections.
• You will utilize excellent negotiation and diplomacy skills to initiate consultations with, answer queries from, and advise customers.
• You will have excellent oral and written communication skills in order to communicate with customers in person, by phone or in writing.

ORGANIZATIONAL AND PLANNING SKILLS

• You will be required to prioritize day to day work including submissions and samples based on perishability, customer needs and analytical staff needs while ensuring same day service.
• You will be required to demonstrate skills to organize and plan daily activities for the area of sample reception to meet same day standards.

ADMINISTRATIVE SKILLS

• You know how to apply administrative functions such as filing, tracking submissions and processing mail.
• You know how to use computers and related software with existing software packages and relational databases in order to enter information, summarize information, respond to emails, and tabulate information.
• You have the ability to perform accurate data entry of information efficiently and effectively for hours at a time in order to meet the same day sample receiving and processing requirements.
• You have the ability to handle the phones and at the reception counter provide customer service and advise customers, to provide direct testimony, and to summarize information in reports.

ANALYTICAL AND PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS

• You will have to determine the course of action in the face of discrepancies between matrix, sample description, client ID, program code, product request information provided by the customer.
• You will be able to troubleshoot barcode printers, MFD printers and sample routing problems resulting from inconsistent information provided on source documents and bottle labels.

LEADERSHIP AND TEAM-BUILDING SKILLS

• You will be able to provide guidance and check the work of rotational staff and students in the sample reception area.
• You have the ability to work independently and as part of a team and maintain co-operative and collegial relationships with co-workers, customers, and others such as the general public.

In this role you will be required to:

• Provide an efficient, timely, and safe sample intake/reception function, including the sorting of samples, documentation, and data entry of sample information, the distribution of samples to various analytical units within the Laboratory complex within stringent time parameters.
• Resolve problems related to sample numbering, coding, etc. to ensure the proper identification and tracking of each sample.
• Provide guidance and advice on sample reception procedures to students, contract employees and regular staff working in sample reception on a rotational basis.
• Provide customer service to external and internal customers of the branch and section.