Global Head of Sample Management & Digital Platform

GSK; Stevenage; Hybrid; GBP 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

Healthcare

Pension plan

Shares and savings programme

Hybrid working model

Job summary

GSK seeks a Senior Director, Global Head of Sample Management to lead the global operation of automated storage, sample prep and logistics, integrating it with a digital platform. This role reports to the VP, Data, Automation and Predictive Sciences and sits on the DAPS leadership team.

The position combines high‑throughput physical operations with digital product accountability, requiring cross‑site leadership and a strong focus on data quality, traceability and global collaboration.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD in a life or physical science, engineering, computer science, informatics or data science, or equivalent experience.
• Extensive leadership experience in sample management, compound or biologics logistics, or laboratory operations at scale in a biopharmaceutical or comparable scientific environment.
• Demonstrated ownership of a digital product or laboratory informatics capability — inventory, registration, LIMS or equivalent — with personal accountability for roadmap, adoption and data quality, not only for using the system.
• Experience of leading leaders across multiple sites and countries, and of building teams that combine operational, engineering and digital expertise.
• Working understanding of data standards, data models and integration patterns, including APIs, events and FAIR principles.
• Experience delivering capital programmes end to end, including business case, procurement, FAT/SAT, validation and handover.
• Working knowledge of controlled and restricted materials, chain of custody, material transfer agreements, and international shipping and export requirements.

Responsibilities

• Define and deliver a single global strategy and roadmap for physical and digital sample management across modalities and sites, aligned to LIAL and priority technology programmes.
• Lead leaders: the US and UK Sample Management leads, together with dedicated digital and platform capability held inside the function, as one global, service‑oriented team.
• Act as accountable business and product owner for the Sample Management digital estate — registration, inventory, requesting and fulfilment, real‑time tracking and analytics.
• Own the cross‑modality sample data model — entity, batch, sample, container, aliquot, state and lineage — and decide the system of record for sample identity and lineage.
• Deliver API‑and‑event‑driven sample services (request, reserve, prepare, deliver, return) for automated labs and AI agents.
• Run high‑throughput, modality‑agnostic operations and global cold‑chain logistics with measurable cycle times and traceability.
• Own the external sample network — offsite archives, CROs, collaborators and future external partners — with digital manifests and data return.
• Lead site transitions and capital programmes, including a UK relocation and readiness of new facilities from business case to handover.
• Ensure safe, compliant and inspection‑ready operation — materials control, chain of custody, export requirements and data integrity.

Skills

Leadership experience

Digital product ownership

Data standards & integration

Global cross-site leadership

API & data workflows

Education

Bachelor’s/Master’s/PhD in life sciences, engineering, informatics or data science

Tools

LIMS / digital estate

API integrations

Data integrity practices (ALCOA+)

Job description

GSK seeks a Senior Director, Global Head of Sample Management to lead the global operation of automated storage, sample prep and logistics, integrating it with a digital platform. This role reports to the VP, Data, Automation and Predictive Sciences and sits on the DAPS leadership team.

The position combines high‑throughput physical operations with digital product accountability, requiring cross‑site leadership and a strong focus on data quality, traceability and global collaboration.