Team Leader – Barrier Production
Location: On Site - Margate, Kent
Full time (35 Hrs) Mon-Thurs 7.5hrs, Friday 5hrs

Lead people. Shape culture. Support world‑class research.
This is a leadership role first and foremost. You don’t need to walk in as a technical expert — we can teach the technical skills. What matters most is your ability to lead, coach, motivate and develop people. We're looking for a confident, resilient and positive people leader to guide a team working within a high‑standard barrier rodent model production environment. You will be required to be hands on for this position.

What you’ll do
As our Team Leader, you will:

• Lead & Develop People.
• Inspire, support and develop a team of animal technicians and working with rodents.
• Set clear expectations around behaviour, performance and accountability.
• Build a positive, inclusive and psychologically safe team culture.
• Address challenges early, fairly and constructively.
• Drive Operational Excellence.
• Coordinate daily and weekly work to meet production and welfare standards.
• Monitor workloads, staffing and training needs, adapting plans as required.
• Maintain high standards of barrier practice, routines and cleanliness.
• Ensure all work meets training documentation, regulatory requirements and internal quality standards.
• Be a Visible, Hands‑On Leader.
• Spend the majority of your time in the barrier facility—engaged, accessible and working alongside the team.
• Act as the first point of escalation for operational, welfare or people issues.
• Collaborate & Improve.
• Work closely with peer leaders and managers to ensure smooth operations (some weekend/bank holiday working on a rota basis).
• Support audits, inspections and continuous improvement initiatives.

What we’re looking for

• Experience leading or influencing people in an operational, regulated or production environment.
• Confidence to hold honest conversations and make fair, balanced decisions.
• Calm, steady and consistent leadership — especially under pressure.
• A genuine passion for helping others grow, not just managing tasks.
• Strong communication skills, integrity, and self‑awareness.

(Experience in laboratory, animal care or technical production environments is helpful but not essential — we’ll teach you what you need to know.)

About Research Models & Services
Fundamental to basic research and discovery is the use of in vivo models to help identify disease targets and determine potential biological pathways that regulate the condition. As the world’s leader in the production and distribution of the highest quality research animal, with 1 out of 2 animal models produced for preclinical research globally, we understand the importance of this step.

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.

At Charles River Laboratories, we recognize and recruit all talent. We are a company committed to fostering a sense of belonging and work daily in this direction.