Associate Director Laboratory Sciences

For 75 years, Charles River employees have worked together to assist in the discovery, development and safe manufacture of new drug therapies. When you join our family, you will have a significant impact on the health and well-being of people across the globe. Whether your background is in life sciences, finance, IT, sales or another area, your skills will play an important role in the work we perform. In return, we’ll help you build a career that you can feel passionate about.

Job Summary

An Associate Director within the Lab Sciences discipline is responsible for providing general oversight and management of staff assigned to multiple functions. This individual is expected to provide leadership and guidance for staff development; verify staff compliance with regulatory and other requirements; develop efficient and scientifically valid processes and procedures; provide budget oversight, and to contribute knowledge to quality metrics, performance metrics, and project risk assessments. They will demonstrate effective communication with both on-site and off-site peers as well as with Sponsors. They may function as a Principal Investigator, Individual Scientist and/or Project Scientist if required. They may manage cross discipline interdependencies in collaboration with leadership as well as provide mentorship.

• Efficiently perform supervisory responsibilities in accordance with organizational policies and applicable laws to include interviewing, hiring, training and developing employees
• Effectively demonstrates the behaviors and performance characteristics as described in the CRL DNA
• Develop organizational strength by hiring, identifying and developing personnel who are scientifically and/or technically strong
• Establishes a positive culture and atmosphere to maintain good retention and low turnover using available tools and metrics (e.g. Glint survey results)
• Provides effective short- and long-term solutions that support continuous improvement
• Maintain critical thinking, troubleshooting and time management skills aligned with needs of operational areas
• Consistently demonstrates role model leadership and effective communication skills through informal discussions with peers, supervisor, team, cross-site, and externally with collaborators and sponsors
• Ensure laboratory tasks and operations are executed in compliance with SOPs, protocols, regulatory requirements as needed
• Accurately review and approve Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), protocols, policies, best practices and study procedures
• Maintain contemporaneous knowledge of regulatory requirements
• Effectively plans, assigns and directs work within one operational area with expanded scope and/or complexity
• Establishes and actively monitors performance metrics for operational area
• Demonstrates consistent enforcement of policies with employees and manages performance based on the requirements of the employee’s role. Effectively applies progressive discipline as required
• Actively communicates and effectively collaborates and builds strong working relationships with multiple departments within site
• Effectively assists in providing accurate costing estimates for components of applicable studies
• Skillfully oversees the design, conduct, interpretation and reporting of studies as required by operational area
• Effectively utilizes project management systems
• Effectively leads implementation of new procedures and refinement of existing procedures to meet current and future business needs
• Effectively aligns operational resources with the current needs in one operational area
• Actively manages cross-service line interdependencies in collaboration with organizational leadership
• Effectively leads planning (resource management, budgets and study coordination) as well as track budgets and spend vs. revenue for one operational area
• Actively collaborates and consults with prospective Sponsors, providing scientific expertise and developing ongoing Sponsor relationships
• Provides effective leadership, expert consultation and mentorship to cross-functional company teams

Job Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent with 11-14 years of relevant experience. With at least 5 years of management experience required

Experience: An equivalent combination of education and experience may be accepted as a satisfactory substitute for the specific education and experience listed above.

Certification/Licensure: None

Other:

• Ability to communicate verbally and in writing at all levels inside and outside the organization
• Basic familiarity with Microsoft Office Suite
• Computer skills, commensurate with Essential Functions, including the ability to learn a validated system
• Ability to work extended hours beyond normal work schedule to include, but not limited to evenings, weekends, extended shifts, and/or extra shifts, sometimes on short notice
• Ability to work under specific time constraints

Workplace Requirements:

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee must be able to perform general office and/or laboratory procedures, which require, talking, hearing, standing, or sitting for long periods of time, typing/entering data into a computer, using appropriate instruments, reaching with hands and arms, and wearing safety equipment (PPE) according to OSHA regulations and company standards.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.
• General office working conditions, the noise level in the work environment is usually quiet.
• While performing the duties of this job the employee may occasionally be required to wear protective clothing (goggles, face shield, surgical mask, cap, gloves, scrubs, boots), work near toxic or caustic chemicals, work with biohazards, and/or work with live animals with risk of exposure to allergens and/or zoonotic diseases.
• The employee may occasionally be exposed to fumes or airborne particles, unpleasant odors, and/or wet, humid and/or extreme temperature conditions.

All employees are required to satisfactorily perform the essential duties and responsibilities of their position. The essential duties and responsibilities listed above are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required. Duties and responsibilities may change without notice. • Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this job or as otherwise required to comply with applicable law.

The pay range for this position is $140-150k/year. Please note that salaries vary within the range based on factors including, but not limited to, experience, skills, education, certifications, and location.

Must be authorized to work in the United States without a sponsor visa.

About Safety Assessment
Charles River is committed to helping our partners expedite their preclinical drug development with exceptional safety assessment services, state-of-the-art facilities and expert regulatory guidance. From individual specialty toxicology and IND enabling studies to tailored packages and total laboratory support, our deeply experienced team can design and execute programs that anticipate challenges and avoid roadblocks for a smooth, efficient journey to market. Each year approximately 300 investigational new drug (IND) programs are conducted in our Safety Assessment facilities.

About Charles River
Charles River is an early-stage contract research organization (CRO). We have built upon our foundation of laboratory animal medicine and science to develop a diverse portfolio of discovery and safety assessment services, both Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) and non-GLP, to support clients from target identification through preclinical development. Charles River also provides a suite of products and services to support our clients’ clinical laboratory testing needs and manufacturing activities. Utilizing this broad portfolio of products and services enables our clients to create a more flexible drug development model, which reduces their costs, enhances their productivity and effectiveness to increase speed to market.

With over 20,000 employees within 110 facilities in over 20 countries around the globe, we are strategically positioned to coordinate worldwide resources and apply multidisciplinary perspectives in resolving our client’s unique challenges. Our client base includes global pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, government agencies and hospitals and academic institutions around the world.

At Charles River, we are passionate about our role in improving the quality of people’s lives. Our mission, our excellent science and our strong sense of purpose guide us in all that we do, and we approach each day with the knowledge that our work helps to improve the health and well-being of many across the globe. We have proudly worked on 80% of the drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the past five years.

We’re committed to providing benefits that elevate your quality of life. Based on your position these may include: bonus/incentives based on performance, 401K, paid time off, stock purchase program, Health and wellness coverage, employee and family wellbeing support programs, and work life balance flexibility.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Charles River is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all qualified applicants and employees without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, mental or physical disability, family status, pregnancy, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

It is unlawful in some states (including Massachusetts) to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

If you are interested in applying to Charles River Laboratories and need special assistance or an accommodation due to a disability to complete any forms or to otherwise participate in the resume submission process, please contact a member of our Human Resources team by sending an e-mail message to [email protected]. This contact is for accommodation requests for individuals with disabilities only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.

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