Microbiology Product Testing Laboratory Manager - 14 Month FTC/Secondment

This is an 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. Responsible for leading and managing the Microbiology Product Testing Laboratory to ensure its effective and efficient operation. This role ensures that all product testing is completed in alignment with required batch release timelines for Supply. In addition, the role upholds the highest Quality standards across all laboratory activities and ensures full compliance with regulatory requirements and internal GSK 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, process improvements within the team.
• Train and develop team members, creating structured development plans along with stretch objectives, 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. Prioritisation to meet workload demands effectively.
• Support the QC improvement plan aligned to the 6 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 in supervising teams or leading activities within GMP/GLP operations or quality functions.
• Experience to analyse complex information and makes decisions based on defined risk criteria, using structured communication and established mentoring process.
• Experience compiling technical information into structured documentation, present data and conclusions clearly to relevant stakeholders, and provide coaching using predefined materials and standardized 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 improving GPS Maturity Scores.

Work Arrangements:
Location: Barnard Castle
This role offers an on-site (5-day) working model; Remote or fully home-working arrangements are not available for this role.

Why GSK?
Uniting science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together. GSK is a global biopharma company with a purpose to unite science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together. We aim to positively impact the health of 2.5 billion people by the end of the decade, as a successful, growing company where people can thrive. We get ahead of disease by preventing and treating it with innovation in specialty medicines and vaccines. We focus on four therapeutic areas: respiratory, immunology and inflammation; oncology; HIV; and infectious diseases – to impact health at scale.

GSK is an Equal Opportunity Employer. This ensures that all qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, color, 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.