Laboratory Director

Vanderbilt University Medical Center; Tullahoma (TN); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is seeking a Director, Laboratory to oversee administrative, fiscal, and technical activities ensuring efficient operation of the clinical laboratory and regulatory compliance. The role includes quality control, quality assurance, and managing personnel, payroll, and staff development.

The Director functions as a technical supervisor for off-site and hospital-owned laboratory operations, ensuring CAP, AABB, Joint Commission, and CLIA compliance while

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (as stated).
• 3 years of relevant laboratory leadership or management experience.

Responsibilities

• Oversee administrative, fiscal, and technical activities to ensure efficient laboratory operations.
• Ensure quality control, quality assurance, and regulatory compliance (CAP, AABB, JCAHO, CLIA).
• Hire, discipline, staff development, evaluation, and payroll responsibilities for laboratory personnel.
• Plan, organize, direct, and evaluate laboratory work and coordinate with hospital departments.

Skills

Quality control

Quality assurance

Regulatory compliance

Staff evaluation

Education

Bachelor's

Job description

Job Summary:

The Director, Laboratory oversees administrative, fiscal, and technical activities to ensure the efficient operation of the clinical laboratory and compliance with corporate policies. The Director is responsible for quality control, quality assurance, and point‑of‑care testing programs. This role plans, organizes, directs, controls, and evaluates laboratory work, coordinating with other hospital areas, and is responsible for all personnel, including hiring, discipline, staff development, evaluation, and payroll. The Director acts as a technical supervisor for off‑site and hospital‑owned laboratory functions, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements (CAP, AABB, JCAHO, CLIA).

Key Responsibilities:

• Completes employee evaluations in a timely manner and assesses staff competencies on an ongoing basis.
• Demonstrates proficiency at hospital‑wide and/or department‑specific computer software and technology.
• Demonstrates fiscal accountability for department resources and the ability to achieve outcomes within allocated resources.
• Communicates and supports the hospital's mission, vision, and values as well as departmental goals to all staff.
• Defines performance objectives and metrics for the department.
• Demonstrates population appropriate skill sets for all relevant patient populations.
• Collaborates with other departments to problem‑solve ongoing issues that impact department/organization goals and/or patient care delivery.
• Incorporates quality improvement data and/or patient satisfaction data into departmental goals.
• Ensures accurate and timely reporting of department payroll.
• Effectively plans the goals, objectives, and workflow of the clinical laboratory to achieve optimal performance.
• Assures the laboratory is compliant with all regulatory agency (CAP, AABB, Joint Commission, CLIA) requirements.
• Successfully meets department productivity goals by scheduling staff according to workload.
• Effectively keeps abreast of changes in laboratory medicine and keeps the laboratory current with these changes.
• Evaluates the capital equipment needs of the laboratory and makes responsible recommendations for procurement.
• Ensures laboratory billing issues and errors are corrected in a timely manner.
• Effectively promotes, encourages, and provides continuing education opportunities for laboratory staff.
• Represents the department at appropriate meetings and/or committees and actively participates in the facility's PI program.
• Works diligently to recruit and retain competent staff in the department and effectively manages staff disciplinary actions.
• Manages departmental inventory, ordering, storage, and utilization as appropriate.

Core Accountabilities:

Organizational Impact: Directs activities to achieve operational plans with some near‑term effect on results of the department/area. Problem Solving/Complexity of work: Identifies issues, gathers facts to resolve technical and operational problems. Breadth of Knowledge: Applies in-depth knowledge and skills of a professional/technical area and basic management knowledge to manage the work of the team. Team Interaction: Leads a complex department with a focus on implementation, typically executing on short‑to‑medium term strategies.

Core Capabilities:

• Supporting Colleagues: Develops Self and Others – invests time, energy, and enthusiasm in developing self/others to help improve performance and gain knowledge in new areas.
• Builds and Maintains Relationships – maintains regular contact with key colleagues and stakeholders using formal and informal opportunities to expand and strengthen relationships.
• Communicates Effectively – recognizes group interactions and modifies one's own communication style to suit different situations and audiences.
• Serving Others with Compassion – seeks to understand current and future needs of relevant stakeholders and customizes services to better address them.
• Solves Complex Problems – approaches problems from different angles; identifies new possibilities to interpret opportunities and develop concrete solutions.
• Offers Meaningful Advice and Support – provides ongoing support and coaching in a constructive manner to increase employees' effectiveness.
• Ensures High Quality – Performs Excellent Work – engages regularly in formal and informal dialogue about quality; directly addresses quality issues promptly.
• Ensures Continuous Improvement – applies various learning experiences by looking beyond symptoms to uncover underlying causes of problems and identifies ways to resolve them.
• Fulfills Safety and Regulatory Requirements – understands all aspects of providing a safe environment and performs routine safety checks to prevent safety hazards from occurring.
• Managing Resources Effectively – Demonstrates Accountability – demonstrates a sense of ownership, focusing on and driving critical issues to closure.
• Stewards Organizational Resources – applies understanding of the departmental work to effectively manage resources for a department/area.
• Makes Data‑Driven Decisions – demonstrates strong understanding of information or data to identify and elevate opportunities.
• Fostering Innovation – Generates New Ideas – proactively identifies new ideas/opportunities from multiple sources or methods to improve processes beyond conventional approaches.
• Applies Technology – demonstrates an enthusiasm for learning new technologies, tools, and procedures to address short‑term challenges.
• Adapts to Change – views difficult situations and/or problems as opportunities for improvement; actively embraces change instead of emphasizing negative elements.

Certifications:

• Medical Laboratory Scientist – American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP)

Work Experience:

Relevant Work Experience

Experience Level:

3 years

Education:

Bachelor's

Benefits:

This role offers the opportunity to make a meaningful impact within Vanderbilt Health, supported by a comprehensive benefits package which may include health, disability, retirement and/or wellness offerings to enhance your well‑being and professional growth.

Equal Opportunity Statement:

Vanderbilt Health is committed to fostering an environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and is committed to the principles of equal opportunity. EOE/Vets/Disabled.