Laboratory Manager

5010 - United Kingdom - VWR Lab Services Limited; Slough; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Avantor in Slough seeks a Laboratory Manager to oversee operations, ensure safety and compliance, and drive operational improvements across the site. The role leads projects, supports expansions, and helps set up new laboratory spaces, partnering with scientists, facilities teams, vendors, and leadership.

The successful candidate will hold a scientific Bachelor's degree, have extensive laboratory operations experience, and excel in stakeholder management, communication, and driving results in a

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a scientific discipline is required.
• Significant experience in laboratory operations, services or support.
• Strong stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration.
• Ability to drive continuous improvement and lead operational projects.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day operation of laboratory facilities to ensure safety, compliance, and productivity.
• Coordinate preventative maintenance, calibration, and servicing of laboratory equipment.
• Provide guidance and training to laboratory users and staff.
• Support procurement activities, including supplier quotations and vendor relationships.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance operations and user experience.
• Lead laboratory expansion, relocation, and startup activities.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Project leadership

Communication

Problem solving

Independent working

Education

Bachelor's degree in a scientific discipline

Tools

Microsoft Office

SOPs & documentation

Lab equipment maintenance tools

Job description

The Opportunity: Laboratory Manager Permanent | Slough

Are you an experienced laboratory operations professional who thrives in a fast-paced scientific environment and enjoys driving operational excellence across laboratory facilities? We are seeking a proactive and hands‑on Laboratory Manager to oversee laboratory operations, support scientific teams, and lead operational improvement initiatives within our Slough site. This is an exciting opportunity for a senior laboratory professional looking to broaden their impact beyond the bench or an experienced laboratory manager looking for a new challenge. Working closely with laboratory users, scientists, facilities teams, vendors, contractors, and senior stakeholders, you will ensure laboratories remain safe, compliant, efficient, and fully operational. You will also have the opportunity to lead operational projects, support laboratory expansions, and contribute to the setup of new laboratory spaces.

Laboratory Leadership & Operations

• Lead the day-to-day operation of laboratory facilities to ensure a safe, compliant, and productive working environment.
• Build strong relationships with laboratory end users and scientific teams, ensuring excellent customer service and operational support.
• Serve as a trusted operational partner to scientists and laboratory users, supporting the effective delivery of research activities.
• Provide guidance and knowledge-sharing to laboratory users.
• Coordinate preventative maintenance, calibration, and servicing of laboratory equipment.
• Deliver user training on common laboratory equipment and provide troubleshooting support.
• Develop, maintain, and improve equipment work instructions, SOPs, and operational documentation.
• Manage and triage operational support requests, ensuring timely resolution and escalation where required.
• Support procurement activities, including obtaining supplier quotations, managing purchase requests, and coordinating vendor relationships.
• Ensure laboratory chemicals and biological materials are stored, handled, and managed safely.
• Maintain shared laboratory spaces and ensure laboratories remain inspection and audit ready.

Stakeholder & Laboratory User Support

• Act as the primary point of contact for laboratory operational support.
• Build effective partnerships with scientists, laboratory users, facilities teams, vendors, contractors, and leadership teams.
• Develop strong relationships with laboratory end users to understand operational needs and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Coordinate onboarding and offboarding activities for laboratory users and visitors.
• Organize specialist equipment training with internal and external providers.
• Support laboratory and facility modification requests.
• Coordinate contractor access and operational activities within the facility.
• Effectively manage stakeholder expectations and communicate progress, risks, and priorities.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance laboratory operations and user experience.

Project Leadership

• Lead laboratory operational projects, including equipment installations, laboratory upgrades, facility improvements, and process optimisation initiatives.
• Coordinate cross‑functional activities and stakeholders to ensure successful project delivery.
• Take ownership of operational initiatives from planning through execution.
• Identify opportunities to improve workflows, increase efficiency, and enhance laboratory capabilities.
• Support laboratory expansion, relocation, and startup activities.
• Contribute to the design, planning, and implementation of new laboratory spaces and capabilities.

Skills & Experience

• Essential Bachelor's degree in a scientific discipline or equivalent experience.
• Several years of experience working within laboratory operations, laboratory services, or laboratory support environments.
• Strong experience supporting laboratory end users, scientists, and technical teams.
• Experience acting as a senior laboratory resource and influencing colleagues without direct line management responsibility.
• Strong stakeholder management experience with the ability to build trusted relationships across scientific, operational, facilities, and leadership teams.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate activities across multiple groups and drive outcomes through influence rather than authority.
• Experience managing multiple priorities in a fast‑paced environment.
• Confident working independently, taking initiative, and driving actions through to completion.
• Strong organisational, problem‑solving, and decision‑making abilities.
• Excellent communication and customer service skills.
• Good knowledge of Microsoft Office, particularly Word and Excel.
• Strong commitment to quality, operational excellence, and safety.

Preferred Experience

• Leading laboratory operational projects, equipment implementations, site improvements, or facility upgrades.
• Experience managing vendors, suppliers, and contractor relationships.
• Knowledge of laboratory equipment maintenance, qualification, and calibration.
• Experience with procurement, inventory management, and laboratory logistics.
• Familiarity with health, safety, environmental, and regulatory requirements within laboratory environments.
• Experience supporting laboratory expansion, relocation, or laboratory startup activities.
• Experience establishing or setting up laboratories from scratch.
• Experience mentoring or coaching laboratory users, technicians, or junior team members.

What You'll Bring

• A highly proactive and service‑oriented approach.
• A strong hands‑on mindset and willingness to be actively involved in day‑to‑day laboratory operations.
• Confidence to work autonomously and take ownership of priorities.
• Excellent stakeholder management and relationship‑building skills.
• The ability to influence and coordinate activities across diverse teams.
• Strong project leadership skills and the ability to manage multiple workstreams simultaneously.
• A continuous improvement mindset focused on operational excellence.
• Flexibility and adaptability within a dynamic and changing environment.
• Enthusiasm for building, improving, and optimizing laboratory environments.
• Excitement about contributing to the creation, expansion, and development of laboratory facilities.

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.

Avantor is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.

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.

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, colour, 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.

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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.