Manager, Laboratory

About this role

Discover Vanderbilt University Medical Center :  Located in Nashville, Tennessee, and operating at a global crossroads of teaching, discovery, and patient care, VUMC is a community of individuals who come to work each day with the simple aim of changing the world. It is a place where your expertise will be valued, your knowledge expanded, and your abilities challenged. Vanderbilt Health is committed to an environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and where your uniqueness is sought and celebrated. It is a place where employees know they are part of something that is bigger than themselves, take exceptional pride in their work and never settle for what was good enough yesterday. Vanderbilt’s mission is to advance health and wellness through preeminent programs in patient care, education, and research.

Organization: PMI CHTN Job Summary: We are seeking a strategic and operationally strong Laboratory Manager to lead a high-performing human tissue biorepository supporting cutting-edge cancer research. If you are a leader who thrives in complex scientific environments, can develop operational infrastructure, and is passionate about building cohesive, high-functioning teams, this is the opportunity for you! As the Laboratory Manager, you will oversee daily laboratory operations, biospecimen workflows, staff development, customer engagement, and data-driven performance management while ensuring regulatory compliance and service excellence. This is an exceptional opportunity for you to shape the future of translational research support!

REQUIRED: • Bachelor’s Degree (or equivalent experience) • 5 years of relevant experience • Ability to effectively communicate w/a small team consisting of various degrees of knowledge and experience, from novice to expert • Experience in developing Key Performance Indicators

You will work Monday-Friday, standard, daytime business hours on site at our office located at Vanderbilt Medical Center North on 21st Ave. in Nashville, TN. . DEPARTMENT SUMMARY : The Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology offers  a variety of post-doctoral fellowship opportunities  for individuals with the M.D., Ph.D., D.V.M., or equivalent degree. Fellowships can be purely research-oriented experiences, and opportunities for these positions can be found at Employment and Training Opportunities. In addition to postdoctoral research fellowships, the department offers fellowship opportunities combining advanced subspecialty clinical training with related research experience. For additional information, please visit https://www.vumc.org/pmi/ .

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES • Operational Leadership • Direct day-to-day biorepository and laboratory operations supporting academic and commercial investigators.

• Optimize workflows related to tissue procurement, processing, annotation, storage, and distribution.

• Implement scalable processes that enhance efficiency, quality, and turnaround times.

Team Leadership & Development • Manage, mentor, and develop a growing research team.

• Foster a collaborative, accountable, and mission-driven culture.

• Lead performance management activities, including coaching, evaluations, and professional development.

Strategic Performance Management • Design and implement Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)  to measure operational success.

• Utilize metrics to drive continuous improvement and inform leadership decision-making.

• Develop dashboards and reporting structures for program visibility.

Customer & Stakeholder Engagement • Serve as a primary operational liaison to investigators and research partners.

• Ensure exceptional service delivery and responsiveness.

• Identify opportunities to expand services and improve the customer experience.

Technology & Data Systems • Leverage enterprise platforms such as Workday  and laboratory databases to support operational excellence.

• Partner with IT teams to improve data infrastructure and reporting capabilities.

• Champion data integrity and process automation where possible.

Scientific & Regulatory Excellence • Apply strong knowledge of cancer biology  and translational research workflows.

• Ensure adherence to regulatory requirements, institutional policies, and quality standards.

• Support audits, documentation, and accreditation activities.

Required Qualifications • Bachelor’s degree in biological sciences or related field (Master’s preferred).

• 5–8+ years  of progressive laboratory leadership experience.

• Direct experience working within a human tissue biorepository  or biospecimen-focused program.

• Strong background in cancer biology or translational research environments.

• Demonstrated success managing teams and complex operations.

• Experience developing KPIs and performance metrics.

• Proficiency with Workday , database platforms, and the Microsoft Office Suite .

• Exceptional organizational, communication, and leadership skills.

• Proficiency with EPIC or other related Electronic Medical Records systems

Preferred Qualifications • Familiarity with biospecimen informatics systems.

• Lean/process improvement training.

• Experience scaling laboratory services.

    Allied health is among the fastest growing occupations in healthcare today. This area can be defined as credentialed professionals who perform supportive, diagnostic, and therapeutic health care services to promote health and prevent disease in a variety of settings.

These areas are crucial to Vanderbilt Health’s reputation for excellence in these areas that has made us a major center for patient referrals from throughout the Mid-South.

Each year, people throughout Tennessee and the southeast choose Vanderbilt Health for their health care because of our leadership in medical science and our dedication to treating patients with dignity and compassion. ​

Core Accountabilities:

* Organizational Impact: Directs activities to achieve operational plans with some near term effect on results of the departmen

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