Fera's Animal Health Monitoring service is growing and this role is to lead the expanding team and manage the laboratory and its processes to ensure the best delivery for our customers.
Job title:
Animal Health Monitoring Team & Laboratory Manager
Job Description:
About the Role:
As the animal health monitoring (AHM) team and laboratory manager, you will be accountable for the management, planning, delivery and reporting of the team’s work, providing visible leadership to your staff.
The team delivers a range of services to the research community, ensuring that they are able to maintain a healthy population of animals (https://www.fera.co.uk/animal-health-monitoring).
You will be responsible for all staff management functions and improving team performance through monthly 1:1s, coaching, mentoring and setting effective goals and objectives. The AHM service is growing rapidly, and this role will initially manage five people with the expectation of more in the future.
You will be responsible for implementing and controlling an efficient and cost-effective stock control system, quality system and workflow.
You will work closely with the Head of Health Monitoring and Lead Scientist to provide support and to encourage innovation in new services and in improving current services, seeking advice of the Head of Animal Health Monitoring and Science Lead where necessary.
You will perform bacteriology, parasitology, serology and molecular assays when necessary covering for absences and during periods of heavy workloads.
You will ensure that our customers are at the core of all we do.
You will contribute to business planning and the strategic development of both the programme your team is in and Fera as a whole. You will be jointly accountable for business development and revenue targets within your team. You will participate in business development activities including customer visits and conferences.
You will work with the Head of Animal Health Monitoring and Lead Scientist to produce publications which highlight Fera’s expertise in the field.
The way that Fera delivers its science is extremely important and you will be a role model for your colleagues. You will ensure that the team fully understands the importance of working to specific quality systems, licensing requirements and health and safety practices and that all work is undertaken appropriately.
It is important that Fera teams work closely together and you will be key in maintaining and enhancing communication to provide support where required and share knowledge across the business.
What you’ll be doing:
- Understand full requirements of service/project delivery; manage and prioritise team members` workload in terms of deadlines and resource availability.
- Allocate work taking into consideration team members` skills , knowledge, experience, existing workload and the opportunity for development.
- Understand Fera’s overarching strategic goals and make clear the work and processes that will be required of your team to reach them. Ag ree clear performance objectives with the staff which define good performance for the job .
- Understand the business environment in which Fera operates, including the approach to strategy and business planning. Work with Senior Scientists and Science Leads to integrate science developments into these plans.
- Understand the framework under which your science is delivered (H&S, QA, licensing) and ensure that all work is performed appropriately within this framework. Provide direction to all team members in this area and share good practice across the business.
- Understand the importance of good communication as an essential tool to ensure operations run smoothly as well as to maintain strong relationships within the team and with other areas of the business.
What we’re looking for:
- Ability to work to the strengths of staff and utilise mentoring and coaching techniques to help them and their teams identify and address areas for development
- Ability to lead large groups of people in any circumstances, including times of change
- Ability to see through to the core of issues
- Familiarity with project / service management and an ability to strike the right balance between efficient delivery and quality of output
- Ability to effectively communicate to different audiences and to know how to present persuasive arguments, both in writing and verbally
- Ideally you will have medical, veterinary or AHM microbiology skills with experience of running a laboratory
- BSc or equivalent level qualification in an appropriate subject, plus at least 5 year's relevant experience of working with collaborative teams, functional management of scientists as well as complying with quality standards (e.g. ISO 17025 and ISO 9001).
About Capita FERA
At Fera, we're making the world a better, healthier and safer place. We're a joint venture partnership between Capita and Defra and we're working proactively to protect the world we live in and the food we eat. Fera is a national and international centre of excellence for interdisciplinary investigation and problem solving across plant and bee health, crop protection, sustainable agriculture, food and feed quality and chemical safety in the environment. Join us and contribute to delivering world-class science for the future.
Fera are part of Capita Plc, a leading UK provider of technology enabled business services. We're supporting and improving the lives of millions of people every day and we can only do this with the right people in place, working towards a shared goal. We encourage an open, honest working environment where everyone can be true to themselves and people are valued for their differences. We're always challenging each other to learn and improve, because we know when we work together, we can deliver better outcomes. We work across such a huge range of businesses and sectors, that you'll have the opportunity to grow and develop your career in any number of directions.
What’s in it for you?
- A competitive basic salary (from £40,000 depending on experience)
- 23 days’ holiday (rising to 27) with the opportunity to buy extra leave
- The opportunity to take a paid day out of the office, volunteering for our charity partners or a cause of your choice
- Company matched pension, life assurance, a cycle2work scheme, 15 weeks’ fully paid maternity, adoption and shared parental leave, paternity pay of two weeks...and plenty more
- Voluntary benefits designed to suit your lifestyle – from discounts on retail and socialising, to health & wellbeing, travel and technology
- Access to our Employee Network Groups, which represent every strand of diversity and allow colleagues to connect and learn from each other on an open, inclusive platform You’ll get the chance to follow your chosen career path anywhere in Capita. You’ll be joining a network of 63,000 experienced, innovative and dedicated individuals across multiple disciplines and sectors. There are countless opportunities to learn new skills and develop in your career, and we’ll provide the support you need to do just that. Our purpose is to create a better outcome for you.
What we hope you’ll do next:
Choose ‘Apply now’ to fill out our short application, so that we can find out more about you.
We’re an equal opportunity and Disability Confident employer, which means we recruit and develop people based on their merit and passion. We’re committed to providing an inclusive, barrier-free recruitment process and working environment for everyone. If you need the job description or application form in an alternative format (such as large print or audio), or if you’d like to discuss other changes or support you might need going forward, please email Iqbal at reasonableadjustments@capita.com or call 07784 237318 and we’ll get back to you. For more information about equal opportunities and process adjustments, please visit the Capita Careers website.
Location:
York
,
United Kingdom
Time Type:
Full time
Contract Type:
Permanent