Operational Site Lead

Avantor; Nijmegen; On-site; EUR 75,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Avantor’s Site Services Lead in Nijmegen oversees the delivery of onsite services at our client's facility. Acting as the primary point of contact between the client and VWR Services, you will lead day-to-day operations, manage service performance, and ensure successful onsite support delivery.

This is a hands-on leadership role requiring active operational support when needed. The role focuses on continuous improvement, maintaining service excellence, staffing coordination, and building strong

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a scientific discipline or equivalent relevant industry experience.
• Proven people management experience, including recruitment, performance management, coaching, and employee development.
• Experience creating safety and operational documentation, including work instructions, risk assessments, and COSHH documentation.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary liaison between the client and VWR Services.
• Lead and coordinate daily onsite service delivery activities.
• Manage overall program performance through operational reviews, KPI tracking, and performance reporting.
• Develop, monitor, and drive key performance indicators to support service excellence.
• Coordinate staffing, recruitment, training, associate development, and resource planning.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives and support the implementation of new services and scope expansions.
• Ensure effective workload prioritisation, coordination, and execution of daily operational activities.
• Provide operational support and team coverage during periods of absence, holidays, or increased workload.
• Support Production, Quality Control, and Facilities teams as required to ensure uninterrupted service delivery.
• Collaborate effectively with internal teams, suppliers, and stakeholders in a matrix environment.
• Ensure adherence to safety, quality, and compliance standards across all service activities.

Skills

People management

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor's degree in science

Tools

Kanban

Excel

Job description

The Opportunity:

Oversees the day-to-day execution of onsite scientific support objectives at customer facilities, ensuring productivity and delivery of high level scientific support services to customers. Supervises a team of scientists, scientific support supervisors and/or highly technical scientific support associates, either at a large site or multiple smaller sites in a geographic region. Sets operational priorities for the team, reviews completed work, and provides feedback to accomplish plans and deliver results effectively. Identifies opportunities to refine or enhance work methods, implementing adjustments to improve efficiency and the overall effectiveness of scientific support operations. Resolves challenges, like customer issues, within the scope of the services provided by analyzing relevant data and factors to develop informed solutions. Facilitates communication with external customers and internal teams to ensure mutual understanding and engagement across disciplines. Encourages a collaborative environment, supporting team members in achieving objectives while fostering alignment with broader scientific support services initiatives.

Operational Site Lead Location: Nijmegen, Netherlands Contract: Full-time | Initial 1-year contract with the possibility of conversion to a permanent position

About the Role

We are seeking a proactive, customer-focused Site Services Lead to oversee the delivery of onsite services at our client's facility in Nijmegen. Acting as the primary point of contact between the client and VWR Services, you will be responsible for leading day-to-day operations, managing service performance, and ensuring the successful delivery of onsite support services. This is a hands-on leadership role where you will not only manage the overall onsite services program but also actively support operational activities when required. The successful candidate will play a key role in driving continuous improvement, maintaining service excellence, and building strong relationships with stakeholders across the site.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary liaison between the client and VWR Services.
• Lead and coordinate daily onsite service delivery activities.
• Manage overall program performance through operational reviews, KPI tracking, and performance reporting.
• Develop, monitor, and drive key performance indicators to support service excellence.
• Coordinate staffing, recruitment, training, associate development, and resource planning.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives and support the implementation of new services and scope expansions.
• Ensure effective workload prioritisation, coordination, and execution of daily operational activities.
• Provide operational support and team coverage during periods of absence, holidays, or increased workload.
• Support Production, Quality Control, and Facilities teams as required to ensure uninterrupted service delivery.
• Collaborate effectively with internal teams, suppliers, and stakeholders in a matrix environment.
• Ensure adherence to safety, quality, and compliance standards across all service activities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a scientific discipline or equivalent relevant industry experience.
• Proven people management experience, including recruitment, performance management, coaching, and employee development.
• Experience creating safety and operational documentation, including work instructions, risk assessments, and COSHH documentation.

Knowledge & Experience

• Knowledge of GLP, GxP regulations, and audit requirements.
• Experience with inventory and stock management systems and methodologies such as Kanban.
• Strong data capture, analysis, and reporting skills, with advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and other business systems.
• Experience working within laboratory, scientific, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or regulated environments is preferred.

Skills & Competencies

• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build strong customer relationships.
• Strong project management capabilities and the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Exceptional planning, organisational, analytical, and networking skills.
• Proven customer service mindset with a collaborative and solution-oriented approach.
• Ability to partner effectively with internal teams, suppliers, and customers to deliver results.
• Strong problem-solving skills and confidence in making sound decisions under pressure and with limited information.
• Self-motivated, energetic, dependable, and highly detail-oriented.
• Strong team player with a commitment to supporting colleagues and achieving shared objectives.
• Flexible and adaptable, with the willingness to adjust working hours when necessary to meet customer and operational requirements.

What We Offer

• Opportunity to lead a critical onsite services program within a dynamic scientific environment.
• Exposure to a broad range of operational, quality, and facility support activities.
• A collaborative and supportive team culture.
• Professional development and leadership opportunities.
• A full-time position with an initial 1-year contract and the potential for permanent employment based on performance and business needs.

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, 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.

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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.