Microbiology Product Testing Laboratory Manager - 14 Month FTC/Secondment

Site Name: UK - County Durham - Barnard Castle

Posted Date: Apr

FTC/Secondment role with a duration of 14 months, that offers a unique opportunity to make a meaningful impact while gaining valuable experience.

Job Purpose

At GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), we are committed to delivering high quality, innovative healthcare solutions. This role presents an exciting opportunity to contribute to ensuring our products consistently meet the highest standards of quality and compliance across global markets.

We are seeking an experienced and capable QC Release Laboratory Manager, Microbiology to lead our Product Testing Laboratories. In this role, you will oversee the safe, efficient, and compliant operation of the laboratory, ensuring timely batch release, adherence to regulatory requirements, and the sustained delivery of exceptional quality standards. Also, you will lead and manage the Microbiology Product Testing Laboratory to ensure its effective operation and compliance with GSK quality expectations.

Key Responsibilities

• Oversee the performance of the QC Release Microbiology Team to deliver finished product testing and batch release requirements.
• Ensure robust, validated, and compliant microbiological methodologies in line with regulatory and company quality standards.
• Drive continuous improvement, deviations, root cause analysis, and process improvements within the team.
• Train and develop team members, creating structured development plans and fostering a safe and efficient working environment.
• Support microbiology testing-related project activities, ensuring adherence to schedule, including New Product Introduction (NPI) requirements.
• Lead preparation activity and represent the department during external regulatory inspections and company internal audits.
• Provide technical leadership, supervise lab investigations, and address GMP microbiological issues in collaboration with production and quality teams.
• Drive resource planning, monitor team workload, compliance metrics and training status, prioritising workload demands effectively.
• Support the QC improvement plan aligned to the six QC KPIs.

Basic qualifications

• Higher National Certificate (HNC)/Higher National Diploma (HND) in a scientific or related discipline (e.g., Microbiology, Pharmacy, or other relevant science fields).
• Experience in regulatory and technical knowledge of GMP requirements and GSK quality regulations.
• Experience supervising teams or leading activities within GMP/GLP operations or quality functions.
• Experience analysing complex information and making decisions based on defined risk criteria, using structured communication and established mentoring processes.
• Experience compiling technical information into structured documentation, presenting data and conclusions clearly to relevant stakeholders, and providing coaching using predefined materials and standardised processes.
• Experience planning, organising, and managing defined workloads, including the use of specified IT systems to meet operational timelines.

Preferred Qualifications

• Degree in a scientific or related discipline, such as Microbiology, Biomedical Sciences, Applied Biology, Quality Assurance, or other STEM fields, with experience working in regulated environments.
• Practical working knowledge of GPS principles, including PPM, problem solving, CI, and LSW, and knowledge to improve GPS maturity scores.

Work Arrangements

• This role offers an on site (5 day) working model; remote or fully home working arrangements are not available for this role.

GSK is an Equal Opportunity Employer. This ensures that all qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), parental status, national origin, age, disability, genetic information (including family medical history), military service or any basis prohibited under federal, state or local law.