The opportunity
A growing, internationally recognised molecular analysis CRO is hiring a Lab Operations Director to lead its laboratory site in Sweden. It's a senior, hands-on role for someone who likes ownership and solving problems, and who can make confident decisions in a fast-moving environment while keeping regulatory and quality standards high.
You'll own lab operations, facilities and coordination across the site. Your job is to make sure the site runs smoothly, the right infrastructure and processes are in place, and the scientific teams have what they need to deliver for pharma and biotech clients around the world.
About the organisation
- Specialist molecular analysis CRO, part of a wider international group
- Supports pharmaceutical and biotech sponsors worldwide
- Works under GxP (GLP/GCLP) and holds an accredited quality system (ISO 17025)
- Technical strengths in qPCR, dPCR, NGS and biomarker analysis
- Collaborative, entrepreneurial culture focused on precision medicine
What you'll do
- Lead day-to-day operations across the laboratory site
- Act as the main escalation point for lab teams, operational issues and project delivery
- Make sure lab infrastructure, equipment and facilities are well maintained and run efficiently
- Manage relationships with vendors, service providers, contractors and facility partners
- Help teams with prioritisation, problem-solving and operational decisions
- Work with scientific and operational leads to deliver client projects successfully
- Drive capacity planning, resource allocation and site growth
- Build a safe, compliant, high-performing site culture
- Represent site operations to clients, vendors and regulators, including during audits and inspections
- Own the site operations budget
- Shape site strategy in line with group goals, and present progress to the COO, CEO and board
What we're looking for
We're keen to hear from people with a range of backgrounds, such as laboratory operations, site or facility leadership, test facility management, QA/compliance leadership, or senior scientific management.
- MSc or PhD in a life science or related field, plus solid industry experience
- Experience leading laboratory or technical operations, ideally in a regulated setting
- Exposure to GxP (GLP, GCLP, GMP) and/or accredited quality systems such as ISO 17025 or ISO 15189
- A people leader who motivates through energy, trust and collaboration
- Comfortable owning decisions, including under time pressure
- Able to juggle several stakeholders and priorities at once
- Experience working with vendors, contractors or technical service partners
- Strong communication skills in English
Desired Skills and Experiencelab Operations Director, Lab Ops, RNA, CRO, Clinical Research Organization
