Lab Manager

Avantor; Macclesfield; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Permanent employment

Collaborative environment

Career development

Competitive salary

Job summary

Avantor is seeking a proactive Laboratory Manager in Macclesfield to oversee day-to-day laboratory operations and ensure safe, compliant, and efficient functioning across multiple spaces. The role acts as the main contact for scientists, suppliers, and visitors, focusing on operational excellence and cost-effective support to scientific teams.

You will coordinate maintenance, manage inventory and budgets, and support project delivery while promoting best practices within a collaborative

Qualifications

• Experience in laboratory operations, management, or scientific support.
• Strong organisational and project coordination skills.
• Experience working with multiple stakeholders, suppliers, and service providers.
• Knowledge of laboratory health and safety and compliance processes.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the day-to-day operation of assigned laboratory areas, serving as the primary point of contact for scientists and external visitors.
• Coordinate preventive maintenance, repairs, and service activities with Facilities Management providers to minimise disruption.
• Monitor and track FM helpdesk requests, ensuring timely resolution of issues.
• Investigate SLA deviations, perform root cause analyses, and communicate improvement plans to stakeholders.
• Support scientific teams with reagent and consumable planning, inventory management, and cost-saving initiatives.
• Coordinate laboratory inductions for new, temporary, and visiting users and support visits from stakeholders and regulatory agencies.
• Provide operational support to business projects and identify opportunities for process improvement.

Job description

Laboratory Manager

Location: Macclesfield, UK Contract Type: Permanent

About the Role

We are seeking a proactive and highly organised Laboratory Manager to oversee the day-to-day management of a portfolio of laboratory spaces in Macclesfield. Acting as the primary point of contact for scientists, service providers, and visitors, you will play a critical role in ensuring laboratories operate safely, efficiently, and in full compliance with regulatory and company standards. This is an excellent opportunity for an individual with laboratory operations, facilities management, or scientific support experience who thrives in a collaborative environment and is passionate about delivering high-quality operational support to scientific teams.

Key Responsibilities

Laboratory Operations & Facilities Management

• Manage the daily operation of assigned laboratory areas, serving as the key point of contact for scientists and external visitors.
• Coordinate preventive maintenance, repairs, and service activities with Facilities Management (FM) providers to minimise disruption to laboratory operations.
• Monitor and track FM helpdesk requests, ensuring timely resolution of issues.
• Investigate service-level agreement (SLA) deviations, conduct root cause analyses, and communicate improvement plans to stakeholders.
• Support scientific teams with reagent and consumable planning, inventory management, and cost-saving initiatives.
• Coordinate laboratory inductions for new, temporary, and visiting laboratory users.
• Organise and support visits from internal stakeholders, external partners, and regulatory agencies.
• Provide operational support to business projects and identify opportunities for process improvement.

Equipment Management

• Partner with IT teams and service providers to ensure laboratory equipment is operating effectively and utilised efficiently.
• Coordinate equipment servicing, planned maintenance, breakdown management, installations, and decommissioning activities.
• Attend planning meetings, monitor facility-related issues, and support service delivery excellence.
• Maintain relevant operational, compliance, and training documentation.
• Track and report key performance indicators (KPIs), service metrics, and weekly operational activities.
• Promote best practice through collaboration with the wider laboratory management network.

Health, Safety & Compliance

• Support departmental leadership in maintaining high standards of Safety, Health, and Environment (SHE) compliance.
• Assist with documentation including risk assessments, COSHH assessments, and other compliance requirements.
• Facilitate SHE meetings and ensure important safety information is communicated effectively.
• Participate in audits and drive corrective actions to maintain regulatory and operational excellence.
• Support quality compliance activities in partnership with Quality Assurance and operational teams.

Additional Responsibilities

• Monitor laboratory consumables and capital expenditure, maintaining accurate inventories and asset records.
• Support future equipment demand planning and technology enhancement initiatives.
• Liaise with suppliers to organise demonstrations, training sessions, and equipment evaluations.
• Support change control activities and laboratory quality compliance programs.
• Identify and implement opportunities for cost savings and operational efficiencies.
• Assist with laboratory skills training for new starters when required.
• Provide flexibility in working hours when business needs require additional support.

About You

To be successful in this role, you will ideally have:

• Experience in laboratory operations, laboratory management, scientific support, facilities management, or a related environment.
• Strong organisational and project coordination skills.
• Experience working with multiple stakeholders, suppliers, and service providers.
• Knowledge of laboratory health and safety requirements, including risk assessments and compliance processes.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
• Strong problem-solving abilities with a continuous improvement mindset.
• Experience managing inventories, consumables, equipment, and operational budgets is advantageous.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively across cross-functional teams.

What We Offer

• Permanent employment with a stable and growing organisation.
• Opportunity to work within a highly collaborative scientific environment.
• Career development and professional growth opportunities.
• Competitive salary and benefits package.
• A key role supporting cutting-edge laboratory operations and scientific excellence.

Why Avantor?

Dare to go further in your career. Join our global team of 14,000+ associates whose passion for discovery and determination to overcome challenges relentlessly advances life-changing science. The work we do changes people's lives for the better. It brings new patient treatments and therapies to market, giving a cancer survivor the chance to walk his daughter down the aisle. It enables medical devices that help a little boy hear his mom's voice for the first time. Outcomes such as these create unlimited opportunities for you to contribute your talents, learn new skills and grow your career at Avantor. We are committed to helping you on this journey through our diverse, equitable and inclusive culture which includes learning experiences to support your career growth and success. At Avantor, dare to go further and see how the impact of your contributions set science in motion to create a better world.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer.

Disclaimer: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of employees assigned to this position.

EEO Statement: We are an Equal Employment/Affirmative Action employer and VEVRAA Federal Contractor. We do not discriminate in hiring on the basis of sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religious creed, national origin, physical or mental disability, protected Veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state/province, or local law. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please contact us by email at [e-mail] and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Requests for accommodation will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Please note that only inquiries concerning a request for reasonable accommodation will be responded to from this email address.

Privacy Policy: We will use the personal information that you have submitted to us in order to consider your application for the relevant role. Your privacy is important to us. We also explain the rights you have in relation to your information and how to contact us with any queries or requests.

Avantor, a Fortune 500 company, is a leading global provider of mission-critical products and services to customers in the biopharma, healthcare, education & government, and advanced technologies & applied materials industries. Our portfolio is used in virtually every stage of the most important research, development and production activities in the industries we serve. One of our greatest strengths comes from having a global infrastructure that is strategically located to support the needs of our customers. Our global footprint enables us to serve more than 225,000 customer locations and gives us extensive access to research laboratories and scientists in more than 180 countries. We set science in motion to create a better world.