Project Manager

Job Summary:

The Manager is responsible for the daily operational delivery of activities within a Phenotyping Core of the CBA.This includes but is not limited to responsibility for: *Designing, conducting, quality controlling, analyzing and interpreting phenotyping experiments;*Scheduling personnel, space and equipment to maximum effect;*Setting up, validating and troubleshooting specialized phenotyping platforms;*Managing direct reports, ensuring effective training, scheduling and professional development;*Ensuring a safe and compliant operation;*Project managing a complex and dynamic portfolio of projects;*Fiscal responsibilities such as generating quotations and billing in an accurate and timely manner, and forecasting workload to develop accurate budgets.

Key Responsibilities & Essential Functions: Phenotyping activities (50%):

Participate in all daily aspects of the core facility, demonstrating leadership, and scientific and technical expertise. This includes contributing to experimental design consultations, conducting testing on phenotyping platforms, maintaining accurate experimental records, ensuring timely data upload to defined LIMS systems, ensuring the traceability, integrity and security of data and analyses delivered to clients, and optimizing data processing, reducing manual intervention wherever possible. Deliver data analysis and basic interpretation, synthesizing data into summary packages, vignettes, progress reports, and content for grant submissions and manuscripts. This is expected to result in authorship on peer reviewed publications. Assure service quality by assessing processes, procedures, protocols, controls, and deliverables for accuracy and completeness. Develop testing paradigms and integrate them into CBA offerings as needed. This includes contributing to capital procurement activities, setting up and extending the capabilities of existing equipment e.g. for use with wild derived strains, as well as establishing and validating new platforms. Ensure equipment maintenance and calibration, including managing service contracts. Troubleshoot equipment and experiments. Remain current in research technologies and paradigms through literature review, and attending, presenting and leading seminars, workshops, courses and conferences.

Leadership and supervision (20%):

Assume line management responsibility for up to eight direct reports, typically Research Assistants or equivalent. Design and deliver consistent and comprehensive phenotyping competency and validation training. This includes the development and maintenance of accurate and high quality standard operating procedures that meet modern standards for research replicability, providing structured training plans i.e. 90 day goals and Competency forms, and confirming competency through the stringent application of validation protocols. Deliver Continuous Professional Development, appropriately tailored for each team member, ensuring clear succession planning for key positions. Conduct constructive and effective Performance Dialogues, assigning SMART goals that align with the mission of the CBA. Proactively manage competency and performance issues. Hold staff accountable for performance and behavior, promoting all aspects of JAX Core Values. Where applicable to project delivery, deliver effective matrix management e.g. interfacing with RAF, Mouse Production, other Scientific Service members and CBA Phenotyping Cores. Lead effective and timely recruitment cycles to ensure staffing opportunities are fully realized.

Project Management (15%):

Schedule personnel, space and equipment to maximum effect. Ensure space utilization delivers current requirements whilst considering future scalability. Develop and maintain a skills and training matrix that matches competency and capacity with demand. Track status and progress of every Project to ensure the completion of deliverables, on time and within budget. Ensure successful receipt and handoff of animals and data to and from Clients, and, where applicable, between CBA Phenotyping Cores. Ensure current knowledge and competency of all necessary LIMS solutions:o iLAB (project onboarding, quoting and billing), PFS (mouse inventory management, phenotyping and data management), MPD (phenotyping data visualization and analysis), JAXLIMS (KOMP specific). Create and track Key Performance Indicators and QC metrics to monitor performance and data quality. Use these metrics to identify the need for remedial actions such as retraining.

Administrative duties (15%):

Collaborate with EHSS and the CBA Operations team to ensure a safe working environment that is compliant with all necessary regulations. Maintain an accurate and complete drug inventory. Ensure all work is authorized by IACUC. Work with the CBA Operations team to ensure AUS and RP documentation is current and complete. Ensure accurate and timely cost recovery for the phenotyping core. This includes generating quotations and submitting billing using defined LIMS systems, and assisting in the creation and validation of Item Codes. Contribute to budget development through forecasting work volumes (Volume Builder activities), projecting FTE requirements and operational running costs including service contracts, and proposing capital expenditure.

Other Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

BS/MS in Neuroscience, Metabolism, Preclinical Imaging, Physiology, Cardiovascular, Biology, Genetics, Animal Science or related discipline plus 6 years of relevant experience; or a PhD in the above fields, with 2 years of relevant experience.
Exceptional mouse handling and phenotyping skills with a deep understanding of the equipment used within the Core, and a proven ability to troubleshoot equipment and experiments.
Demonstrable expertise with data processing, analysis, and basic interpretation.
Critical attributes include independent thinking, strong analytical skills and proven success project managing a complex, multiple project operation. The incumbent must demonstrate a flexible approach and positively embrace change management in order to succeed in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
Demonstrate superlative leadership and line management skills to build and maintain a highly productive, effective, professional, and competent team, ensuring data quality lies at the center of all that you do.
Demonstrable success in establishing SOPs, providing competency and validation training to users, and monitoring the validity of data, thereby assuring operations are within set tolerances for efficiency, delivery and quality.
Demonstrable experience managing a fiscally disciplined scientific operation, preferably a core service, within established IACUC guidelines, and regulatory & safety standards.
Excellent communication skills and experience are also required for contributing material towards grant applications, and writing publications, project plans, animal protocols, and interfacing with the IACUC.

Education Required: Bachelor's Degree
Education Preferred: Doctorate Degree
Experience Required: 6 years
Experience Preferred: 2 years
Supervisory Experience Required: none required
Supervisory Experience Preferred: none required

Pay Range: $65,018 - $101,081, pay is determined by years of experience

About JAX:

The Jackson Laboratory is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institution with a National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center and nearly 3,000 employees in locations across the United States (Maine, Connecticut, California),Japan andChina. Its mission is to discover precise genomic solutions for disease and empower the global biomedical community in the shared quest to improve human health.

Founded in 1929, JAX applies over nine decades of expertise in genetics to increase understanding of human disease, advancing treatments and cures for cancer, neurological and immune disorders, diabetes, aging and heart disease. It models and interprets genomic complexity, integrates basic research with clinical application, educates current and future scientists, and provides critical data, tools and services to the global biomedical community. For more information, please visitwww.jax.org.

EEO Statement:

The Jackson Laboratory provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment in all job classifications without regard to race, color, religion, age, mental disability, physical disability, medical condition, gender, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, marital status, national origin, veteran status, and other classifications protected by applicable state and local non-discrimination laws.