Lab Operations Lead: Safety, Growth & Excellence

Umicore AG & Co. KG; Województwo opolskie; On-site; PLN 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Umicore AG & Co. KG in Nysa, Poland, is seeking a Laboratory Supervisor to lead a team of shift leaders, laboratory staff and technicians in analytical testing, ensuring safety, quality and timely delivery of results.

You will drive performance management, recruitment, onboarding and training, optimize workflows, manage budgeting and resources, and uphold regulatory and customer requirements while promoting continuous improvement and data integrity.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Chemistry, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Analytical Science, or related field.
• Minimum 3 years of people management experience in laboratory, manufacturing, industrial, or R&D environment.
• Demonstrated leadership of laboratory teams with a focus on safety, quality, and compliance.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of shift leaders, laboratory and technicians.
• Foster a culture of safety, quality, accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Conduct performance management activities, development discussions, and competency reviews.
• Support recruitment, onboarding, training, and workforce planning activities.
• Build team capability and maximize organizational flexibility through cross-training and competence development.
• Ensure adequate succession planning and capability growth within the laboratory team.
• Manage daily laboratory activities to ensure safe and timely execution of analytical testing.
• Coordinate workload, staffing, priorities, and resources to achieve operational targets.
• Monitor laboratory performance and proactively address bottlenecks, capacity constraints, and operational risks.
• Ensure laboratory services support production, R&D, customers, and other stakeholders in accordance with service levels.
• Follow-up on lab material usage, initiate purchase when needed.
• Drive rapid escalation and resolution of analytical, operational, and resource-related issues.
• Ensure compliance with all applicable quality, regulatory, and customer requirements.
• Maintain adherence to laboratory procedures, work instructions, and management systems.
• Support internal audits, external audits, customer audits, and accreditation activities.
• Ensure proper investigation and closure of deviations, non-conformances, CAPAs, and change controls.
• Promote data integrity, traceability, and technical excellence across laboratory operations.
• Ensure full compliance with EHS standards and safe working practices.
• Lead safety observations, risk assessments, and incident investigations.
• Drive implementation of preventive and corrective actions to eliminate safety risks.
• Promote a proactive safety culture focused on risk awareness and continuous improvement.
• Own competency assessment and qualification processes for laboratory personnel.
• Develop and maintain competence matrices and training plans.
• Ensure personnel are qualified and authorized to perform assigned analytical activities.
• Support development of technical expertise and standardized working practices.
• Drive operational excellence initiatives focused on efficiency, standardization, and waste reduction.
• Monitor and improve laboratory KPIs, including productivity, First Time Quality and other metrics.
• Identify opportunities for automation, digitalization, and process optimization.
• Serve as a primary operational interface between the laboratory and key stakeholders.
• Support communication with production, process control, R&D, quality, engineering, customers, and other analytical communities.
• Provide regular updates on laboratory performance, risks, and improvement initiatives.
• Contribute to strategic laboratory growth and capability expansion plans.

Skills

People mgmt

Lab leadership

Safety culture

Performance mgmt

Recruitment

Cross-training

Data integrity

Root cause analysis

Analytical testing

KPIs monitoring

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in Chemistry/Materials/Engineering

Tools

LIMS

MS Office

Job description

Umicore AG & Co. KG in Nysa, Poland, is seeking a Laboratory Supervisor to lead a team of shift leaders, laboratory staff and technicians in analytical testing, ensuring safety, quality and timely delivery of results.

You will drive performance management, recruitment, onboarding and training, optimize workflows, manage budgeting and resources, and uphold regulatory and customer requirements while promoting continuous improvement and data integrity.