Senior Director, R&D Lab Operations
About The Position
Are you ready to build a world-class lab ecosystem that frees scientists to focus on discovery and accelerates breakthroughs for patients? As Senior Director, R&D Lab Operations, you will shape how our laboratories run, scaling services, systems, and partnerships that directly speed our pipeline and help move life-changing medicines to those who need them! You will lead a multidisciplinary team and a network of strategic suppliers to deliver safe, efficient, and responsive lab services across sites. Your work will turn strategy into execution: aligning people, process, and technology; optimizing cost and quality; and creating space plans that anticipate growth and new ways of working. How will you redesign services to give time back to scientists and fast-track the next generation of treatments? The Senior Director, Lab Operations Leads a multidisciplinary organization to deliver consistent, high quality laboratory services across North America & EU Oncology R&D sites. Partners with R&D leadership, BPOs, scientific groups, Site Operations, Procurement/Finance, and strategic suppliers to translate business needs into service models, long term space strategies, and resourcing plans that enable science, accelerate delivery, and optimize value. This role oversees a multidisciplinary Lab Operations team to develop and implement site Lab services (equipment maintenance/calibration, data and utilization analytics, consumables) to meet current and future requirements, focusing on innovation and best practice which add business value in partnership with critical suppliers. This position manages a central team (Site Master Planning, PMO, Standards). It aligns governance, important metrics, and roadmaps with internal strategy partners. This supports scalable, resilient, and efficient operations.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in lab based biomedical, pharmaceutical, or biological science
- 15+ years of relevant (lab and/or operations) experience
- demonstrated ability in a management position
- Successful previous work in a matrix organization
- Proven People Management capability – to Lead an inclusive, high‑performing organization by coaching managers, and fostering cross‑site collaboration, transparent communication, constructive challenge, and continuous learning to attract, retain critical talent.
- Interpersonal and problem-solving skills
- Highly organized, efficient, and self-motivated
- Strong aptitude for customer service
- Financial Management: Budget ownership, forecasting, portfolio prioritization, and benefits realization.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Microsoft Office, database and data analysis software packages
Nice To Haves
- Master’s degree highly preferred; MBA a plus
- Strong critical and analytical problem solver
- Strategy setting & execution skills
Responsibilities
- Manage & Measure Services
- Establish Lab Operations vision and policy to ensure the team provides essential laboratory support services that enable scientists to focus on Research and Development activities which further the pipeline
- Assemble an appropriate set of multidisciplinary specialized staff which integrates support of people, processes and technology to ensure safe and effective delivery of services
- Mentor staff to develop high-performing work teams within their functional areas and to maintain good working relationships with internal and external enterprise functions
- Integrate ways of working across departments and sites, and facilitate implementation of new initiatives
- Lead strategic relationships with relevant service providers, collaborating with strategic supplier partners to drive business results
- Monitor, audit and ensure service providers operate in accordance with approved management controls
- Improve metrics & Key Performance Indicators to focus the various outside service providers on consistency, safety and responsiveness
- Processes & Capability Improvements
- Influence and promote deployment of new service offerings and improvements, including work in support of GxP activities when applicable.
- Define and drive to execution projects which improve capability and capacity
- Manage the LabOps budget and indirectly, R&D budgets, for consumables and services, by working with service providers to optimize costs while improving service delivery
- Actively solicit the necessary feedback from R&D to obtain insight into projected growth and new ways of working. Use this data to inform long term lab space requirements so as to directly contribute to Site Master Plan development
- Partner with senior R&D and functional leaders to co-create site master plans and operational blueprints that translate strategic needs into executable roadmaps, proactively shaping upcoming initiatives and programs, and coordinating with Site Operations to deliver
- Oversee implementation of services; set objectives and targets; establish roles and responsibilities for service programs; review, evaluate, and report on Lab Operations performance
- Periodically assess R&D Lab Operations to identify problem areas, generate potential solutions and services, lead organizational changes and continuous improvements as required to support overall service offerings
- Partner with other Lab Operation leaders to share standard methodologies and incorporate as required in spirit of continuous improvement
- Streamline processes and create solutions which provide value and time savings across all LabOps’ service areas to decrease risk and increase compliance
- Develop and maintain long-term business relationships with key service providers
- Customer & Strategic Focus
- Continuously manage customer expectations and monitor customer satisfaction levels of all applicable key collaborator groups for each service area
- Create clarity and communicate proactively across boundaries to ensure shared purpose and clear accountabilities across internal/external organization
- Ensure cross-functional leads set proactive, customer-facing deliverables so that LabOps can more effectively support the evolving needs of R&D
- Contribute actively to ensure the overall successful delivery of the R&D sites’ operational strategy as part of the NA Site Operations leadership team
- Integrate R&D Lab Operations Services with other Gaithersburg Site Operations strategic efforts, and with other sites as appropriate. Work closely with Site Leadership Team to implement key initiatives
- Provide primary interface to R&D Site Leaders for all R&D Lab Operations service areas
- Seek team member feedback from multiple levels of the R&D organization on matters concerning different functional areas to advise on new projects and initiatives
- Apply knowledge and communication skills to influence or gain acceptance for sensitive situations that require change management
Benefits
- qualified retirement programs
- paid time off (i.e., vacation, holiday, and leaves)
- health, dental, and vision coverage
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
