Laboratory Operations Manager - Equipment & Safety Lead

Avantor; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 62,000; Full time

Job summary

Avantor is seeking a proactive Laboratory Manager in Cambridge to support Antibody Discovery, Protein Engineering, Biology, and Biopharmaceutical Development teams. You will ensure lab infrastructure, equipment, consumables, and processes run smoothly while enabling scientific excellence and continuous improvement.

You will coordinate maintenance, manage consumables, supervise inductions, and drive safety, compliance, and cross-functional collaboration in a dynamic, multi-user lab environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a scientific discipline and several years of laboratory experience.
• Experience supporting or managing busy, multi-user laboratory spaces.
• Knowledge of laboratory operations, health and safety requirements, and compliance standards.
• Strong project management and organizational skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel.
• Demonstrated ability to influence stakeholders and drive positive outcomes.
• Experience building collaborative relationships across different functions and levels.
• Comfortable handling challenging situations and escalating issues.
• Customer-service mindset with a focus on delivering solutions.
• Experience with risk assessments, audits, and safety initiatives is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Laboratory Operations: act as primary contact for users, ensure labs run efficiently, manage inductions and onboarding.
• Equipment Management: coordinate installation, servicing, IQ/OQ/PQ processes and vendor coordination.
• Health, Safety & Compliance: support audits, safety initiatives, risk assessments, COSHH.
• Stakeholder & Vendor Management: build relationships with scientists, suppliers, and service providers; manage priorities.
• Continuous Improvement & Business Support: identify efficiency opportunities, support cost-saving initiatives, assist with new technologies.

Skills

Project management

Organizational skills

Written and verbal communication

Analytical thinking

Stakeholder management

Excel

Influencing stakeholders

Collaborative relationships

Customer-service mindset

Laboratory operations knowledge

Health and safety compliance

Matrix working

Education

Bachelor's degree in a scientific discipline

Tools

IQ/OQ/PQ

Job description

Avantor is seeking a proactive Laboratory Manager in Cambridge to support Antibody Discovery, Protein Engineering, Biology, and Biopharmaceutical Development teams. You will ensure lab infrastructure, equipment, consumables, and processes run smoothly while enabling scientific excellence and continuous improvement.

You will coordinate maintenance, manage consumables, supervise inductions, and drive safety, compliance, and cross-functional collaboration in a dynamic, multi-user lab environment.