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Laboratory Director
Location: South West England
Sector: Laboratory Testing / TIC
Employment: Permanent, Full-Time
The Opportunity
A well-established UK laboratory services organisation is looking to appoint an experienced Laboratory Director to lead the operational, technical, and commercial performance of one of its key laboratory businesses. This is a senior leadership position with responsibility for the overall performance of a busy ISO/IEC 17025 accredited testing environment, encompassing people leadership, laboratory operations, quality, customer delivery, and continuous improvement.
The successful individual will inherit an established operation and be given the autonomy to identify opportunities to improve performance, develop the team, and support the continued growth of the business.
Key Responsibilities
- Take overall leadership responsibility for day-to-day laboratory operations.
- Lead, develop, and support laboratory management and technical teams.
- Ensure consistently high standards of quality, compliance, turnaround time, and customer service.
- Maintain a strong culture around ISO/IEC 17025, UKAS accreditation, health & safety, and regulatory compliance.
- Drive operational efficiency, productivity, and continuous improvement across the laboratory.
- Monitor laboratory capacity, workflow, resource requirements, and performance against agreed KPIs.
- Work closely with commercial teams to support customer retention, new business, and service development.
- Identify opportunities to improve processes, introduce new capabilities, and increase laboratory capacity.
- Take ownership of budgets, cost control, and wider financial performance.
- Support capital investment and business cases for new equipment, technology, and infrastructure.
- Build strong relationships with key customers and act as a senior point of escalation when required.
- Recruit, develop, and retain high-performing scientific and operational teams.
- Work collaboratively with senior stakeholders across the wider organisation.
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Candidate Profile
We are looking for an established laboratory leader with significant experience operating within an accredited commercial testing environment.
You are likely to have:
- Strong experience within an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited laboratory.
- Previous leadership responsibility for laboratory operations and multidisciplinary teams.
- Experience within commercial analytical testing, ideally across microbiology, chemistry, molecular testing, or related scientific disciplines.
- A strong understanding of UKAS requirements and laboratory quality systems.
- Demonstrable experience improving laboratory performance, productivity, and service delivery.
- Experience managing budgets and understanding the commercial drivers of a laboratory business.
- Strong people leadership capabilities with experience developing management teams.
- A customer-focused and commercially aware approach.
- The ability to balance technical excellence with operational and financial performance.
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A scientific or technical degree would be advantageous, although significant relevant industry experience will be equally valued.
The organisation is particularly interested in individuals who can bring structure, energy, and accountability to an established laboratory while maintaining the technical and quality standards expected within a highly regulated environment.
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