Laboratory Manager - Fixed Term Contract

Eurofins; Linlithgow; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

Eurofins is seeking a Laboratory Manager for its Food Testing Laboratory in Linlithgow. This role involves overseeing laboratory operations, managing staff, ensuring compliance with quality standards, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. The position is a one-year fixed-term contract, requiring a degree in Microbiology/Biological Science and previous supervisory experience.

Benefits

Enhanced Annual Leave Entitlement

Company Pension Plan

Life Assurance Scheme

Healthcare Cash Plan

Employee Assistance Programme

Health and Wellbeing Programmes

Free parking

Worldwide career opportunities

Qualifications

• In-depth technical knowledge of food testing lab activities.
• Previous supervisory/managerial experience in a busy laboratory.
• Strong performance management and leadership skills.

Responsibilities

• Manage the team including recruitment, training, and development.
• Ensure compliance with laboratory quality standards.
• Develop a culture of continuous improvement in the laboratory.

Skills

Leadership

Customer Focus

Performance Management

Continuous Improvement

Education

Degree in Microbiology/Biological Science

Tools

LIMS

Spreadsheets

Databases

Job description

Company Description

Eurofins Scientific is an international life sciences company, providing a unique range of analytical testing services to clients across multiple industries, to make life and our environment safer, healthier and more sustainable. From the food you eat, to the water you drink, to the medicines you rely on, Eurofins laboratories work with the biggest companies in the world to ensure the products they supply are safe, their ingredients are authentic, and labelling is accurate.

Eurofins is dedicated to delivering testing services that contribute to the health and safety of society and the planet, and to its corporate responsibility to protect the environment and ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion across the entire network of Eurofins companies.

We’re proud to be an armed forces-friendly place to work and welcome applications from reservists, armed forces veterans (including the wounded, injured and sick), as well as cadet instructors, and military spouses and partners.

If you want to continue to help make our world a safer and healthier place, then apply for the role below and become a part of the extraordinary Eurofins network.

Job Description

This position will be reporting to the Business Unit Manager for Food Testing in Linlithgow, the purpose of this role is to be responsible for the safe, efficient and high quality operation for the Food Testing Laboratory.

This is a one year fixed term contract, working full time 40 hours per week Monday to Friday 09.30 - 18:00

• To manage the team, including recruitment, rotas, leave, sickness, training and development, mentoring, motivation and disciplinary matters.
• To manage and maintain staff skills training matrix that is up to date at all times.
• Responsible for checking transfer of data relating to samples and results and issuing of test reports and confidentiality of information.
• To work closely with customers and translate those requirements into the laboratory.
• Knowledge of Laboratory Quality Manual in order to ensure compliance at all times with the policies, procedures and associated documents which are referred to in the manual.
• Ensure complaints and investigations are completed to a high standard and in a timely manner. .
• Develop a culture of continuous improvement in the laboratory leading to improvement in performance.
• Ensure that all work is carried out in accordance with clients’ requirements within agreed time scales.
• Ensure that staff are suitably trained and all training documents are suitably maintained including ongoing competency.
• Ensure all equipment is maintained, calibrated and serviced to the correct standard ensuring it is all safe to operate.
• Ensure the laboratory facility and environment is maintained to an acceptable level, liaising with local facilities and other stakeholders as appropriate.
• Ensure complaints and NCWs are completed to a high standard and in a timely manner as defined in KPI.
• Complete internal audits in-line with the audit schedule for the site.
• Participate in external audits.
• Control of costs to budget/agreed targets in particular consumables and labour.
• Support for projects and production of capital investment requirements on annual basis.
• Use KPIs to monitor and improve the laboratory’s productivity and performance.
• Manage waste through the laboratory ensuring this is minimized.
• Ensure the laboratory is operating to a safe standard with risk assessments, SSOW are in place and to a high standard.
• Ensure that all work carried out complies with documented procedures for all aspects of laboratory work, that all relevant information concerning samples is recorded, that samples are handled correctly, that worksheets are kept in an orderly manner.
• Manage projects in line with agreed time, budget and quality constraints, ensuring relevant stakeholders are kept informed of progress.
• Work closely with Stock Controller to ensure adequate stock levels are available and help source in emergencies.
• Taking due diligence with respect to the safety of staff and ensuring that adequate safety training and maintenance of working area’s are provided in accordance with Health and Safety at Work (COSHH) requirements.
• Help creating a culture of continuous improvement which empowers staff to take ownership of their working environment. Help develop and maintain a continuous improvement philosophy within business.

Qualifications

• Degree or equivalent in Microbiology/Biological Science.
• In depth technical knowledge of food testing lab activities (sample registration, preparation, plating, pouring, incubation etc. through to confirmation).
• Knowledge of UKAS and ISO methods.
• Previous supervisory/managerial experience in a busy laboratory.
• Competence in IT, including LIMS, spreadsheets and databases.
• Experience of working with a broad range of internal and external customers.
• Proven experience in working to and exceeding targets.
• Experience of working with a broad range of internal and external customers.
• Strong performance management and leadership skillset.
• Customer and service focused.
• A passion for providing a safe working environment.

Additional Information

At Eurofins we are growing, innovating and always learning. We celebrate the achievements of our employees through annual long service awards, recognise our colleagues special life events, and we are committed to charitable causes through global fundraising activities.

As a Eurofins employee you will benefit from:

• Enhanced Annual Leave Entitlement
• Additional Annual Leave Purchase scheme
• Annual Leave Sellback Scheme
• Additional Annual Leave at Employees set service dates
• Company Pension Plan
• Life Assurance Scheme (4 times annual salary)
• Healthcare Cash Plan (6+ months service)
• Enhanced Maternity, Adoption and Paternity Schemes
• Employee Assistance Programme – 24/7 confidential
• Health and Wellbeing Programmes
• Free parking
• Worldwide career opportunities
• We also have in place rewards recognising the great work out employees deliver, their dedicated service and celebrating special life events.

What Happens Next

Our people are the backbone of what we do, so it's incredibly important we find the right individuals to join us. As a potential new recruit you'll be invited to meet the team in the form of an assessment centre or a staged interview process dependent on the role and it's requirements, this will give you the opportunity to see what working for Eurofins is really like and enable us to get you know your key skills and strengths.

Your data
As part of any recruitment process, the company collects and processes personal data relating to job applicants. The company is committed to being transparent about how it collects and uses that data and to meeting its data protection obligations.

Closing Date
We reserve the right to close or extend this position depending on application numbers. Therefore we would urge candidates to submit an application as early as possible.

Due to the high volume of applications we receive please be aware that if you do not receive a response within 4 weeks of the vacancy expiry date unfortunately, on this occasion your application has been unsuccessful.

We embrace diversity!Eurofins network of companies believe in strength and innovation through diversity, being an Equal Opportunity Employer. We prohibit discrimination against employees or applications based on gender identity and/or expression, race, nationality, age, religion, sexual orientation, disability, and everything else that makes employees of Eurofins companies unique.

Sustainability matters to us! We are well on our way to achieving our objective of carbon neutrality by 2025, through a combination of emission reduction and compensation initiatives. We encourage our laboratory leaders to make sustainable changes at their local level, and in addition to their initiatives we also count on our dedicated carbon reduction team to help us to achieve this goal!

Find out more in our career page: https://careers.eurofins.com/