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Job Title: R&D Laboratory Team Leader
- Competitive salary
- Possible relocation package
- Company bonus
- Pension scheme
- Income protection/Life assurance
- 25 days holiday plus bank holidays
- Electric Car & Cycle to Work Scheme
About Our Client:
Our client is a leading provider of sustainable packaging solutions, paper products, and recycling services in more than 30 different countries. It’s a very exciting time to join, as they have committed to investing in their future across their strategic growth enablers within Innovation (R&D), Sustainability, and Digital & Data.
About the Role:
The R&D Laboratory Team Leader will be based in our client's Laboratory in Kemsley, providing material testing for Group R&D strategic innovation projects and product lifecycles.
Reporting to the Head of Laboratory Services and Facilities Manager, you will take a lead role in designing, executing, and analysing experiments (and data) in line with agreed milestones and deliverables. You will be able to perform root cause analysis and other troubleshooting activities, understanding issues quickly and implementing resolutions to enable developments in a timely manner.
This role will involve managing a team to ensure productivity of laboratory work requests within set KPIs and SLAs. The role will have a mixture of laboratory management, material testing and analysis, and developing test methodologies and product technologies, mainly supporting the Group R&D team.
Key Responsibilities:
- Organise resource deployment of laboratory engineers to support R&D trials, conducting instantaneous assessment of materials and/or manufacturing processes, including analysis, conclusions, improvements, and providing agility for business value and trial success.
- Responsible for the inventory of consumables (chemicals, solvent, paper, board, tape, PPE, etc.), purchasing from approved suppliers, and performing monthly reconciliation and basic budget tracking.
- Lead experimental design, execution, interpretation, and data analysis, reaching sound technical conclusions based on fundamental scientific principles, and propose future project work.
- Act as a Subject Matter Expert to troubleshoot laboratory results and perform root-cause analysis (RCA) to highlight and understand issues from either manufacturing or new material development.
- Actively engage with the research laboratory quality management system, including standard operating procedures, policies, method work instructions, quality/change notices, and CAPAs.
- Ensure the research laboratory and equipment are maintained to the correct standard by performing routine audits of laboratory forms and verifying calibration (including preventative maintenance schedule).
- Employ strong communication skills to update internal stakeholders, including account managers, sales, project managers, and directors, on project data, laboratory progress, and outline risks, issues, and limitations as soon as possible to maintain good relationships.
- Write and review scientific project and laboratory reports on data, statistical analysis, conclusions based on scientific principles and literature, and present clear and concise conclusions with future work.
- In conjunction with the Head of Laboratory Services and Facilities Manager, be responsible for ensuring all research laboratory activities are supported by risk assessments, safe systems of work, and COSHH assessments, ensuring reviews are performed on a regular schedule.
About You:
- Experienced in a laboratory senior technical role or team management within a scientific industry or 5 years’ experience within a technical role showing capability (ideally R&D or NPD, although not essential).
- Fundamental understanding of paper, corrugate production, and laboratory testing methods for material evaluation.
- Experience in laboratory information management systems (LIMS) and contribution to quality management systems, including writing standard operating procedures, method work instructions, and risk assessments.
- Competence with Health & Safety practices and procedures, including supporting risk assessments, safe systems of work, and COSHH assessments within an R&D scientific role (ideally working with chemicals, solvents, dyes for over 1 year).
- Understanding of troubleshooting methods, including root cause analysis, multi-variable analysis, and some statistical methods.
- Demonstrated experience in conducting experiments, data analysis, conclusions, and new product development/research and development.
- Working knowledge of ISO laboratory standards/certifications (9001 & 17025).
