Lab Manager Position
The Robel Lab in the Department for Cell, Developmental, and Integrative Biology (CDIB) at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is looking for an experienced Laboratory Manager who can independently oversee laboratory operations, create and maintain lab management systems, and maintain mouse colonies. This position is a professional research position that is expected to function with relative independence and responsibility. We are looking for a candidate who is in for the long haul. We provide training opportunities so that you can grow your leadership and management skills.
​
You must be experienced in the use of animals (mostly mice) in research and will ultimately be responsible for managing transgenic mouse colonies, active IACUC, and laboratory biosafety protocols. Basic knowledge of mouse genetics is therefore expected.
​
You will also be responsible for financial aspects of lab operations such as cost-effective purchasing of equipment and consumables, and charging of the correct funds. You will be the “go-to person” for all team members. You can be involved in many aspects of experimentation and research, yet your main responsibility will be to set up an effective, compliant work environment, and to implement and maintain systems that enable rigorous research and high-performing team culture.
​
This may be an opportunity for you already are a research assistant/associate or lab manager and are looking to up-level your career and responsibilities. Or you may have completed a Ph.D. and are looking for a staff position rather than a postdoc. The position will be posted as Researcher 4 or 5 with flexibility as to the level of responsibility. Start date: ASAP.
​
Applications from underrepresented minorities in STEM disciplines and females are strongly encouraged.
Additional Responsibilities and Opportunities
• Joining a growth-oriented, fun, and diverse team.
• Overseeing daily operations and lab systems.
• Maintaining standard lab equipment and organizing equipment calendars.
• Working with other PIs who will utilize laboratory resources; facilitating scheduling and assisting the PI as needed.
• Training team members in lab safety, lab operations, and standard experimental approaches.
• Creating and managing lab compliance including EHS and IACUC protocols and mouse colonies for the lab, and enforce compliance with all applicable regulatory policies as well as campus- and building-specific protocols.
• Occasional availability during weekends, after-hours, and/or Holidays is expected.
Your Skills & Abilities (Required)
• Treat everyone with respect and kindness. See our Lab Values and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion statement on the home page.
• You have demonstrated lab or project management experience.
• You are comfortable interacting and negotiating with vendors, requesting quotes, placing orders.
• You are highly detail-oriented.
• You have experience managing (transgenic) mouse colonies.
• You are able to set up and maintain laboratory systems (e.g. tissue and reagent inventories, standard operating procedures, compliance protocols, mouse colony database).
• You have good writing skills; particularly with respect to report writing and editing, ability to create standard operating procedures for lab managerial and research activities.
• You are reliable and committed to your career as a lab manager. You have initiative to go beyond the minimum requirements in the lab.
• You are open to feedback, honest about your thoughts, and take responsibility for your mistakes. You are ready to hear about and overcome any habits or behavioral patterns that interfere with your productivity and growth as a person and researcher. You stretch out of your comfort zone regularly. You do not unnecessarily repeat preventable mistakes.
• You put yourself in charge of constantly improving and innovating our lab managerial systems to reduce time spent on maintenance and increase team research productivity. You don't wait for tasks to be assigned to you but find ways to support our team work.​
• You constantly tune your communication skills: We expect you to work on expressing yourself clearly and succinctly and to make your expectations and any challenges explicit to your team lead. You communicate if you don't understand. If there are any changes to your schedule you communicate with the team.
• You have high standards for your work and your personal and professional growth. You are self-organized, complete tasks efficiently and in a timely manner, you are able to prioritize and handle busy schedules, a rapid pace, and crunch times.
• Your work products are of high quality.
Preferred Qualifications
• You have institutional knowledge at UAB.
• You have experience setting up a new lab.
• You are trained in genotyping.
• You are committed to self-education: it is your responsibility to learn project-relevant facets, and to dive deeper into the technical or biological background by reading, googling, watching videos, and asking questions.
How to Apply
Please send you application materials to Stefanie Robel at srobel [at] vt.edu including the following:
• A 1-page cover letter stating why you are interested in the position and what your qualifications are.
• A 1-page essay laying out how your values and vision matches ours (see our values, vision and DEI statement on the homepage). Include three strengths that you'd like to bring to our team work and three weaknesses. You can do the self assessment at principlesyou.com to increase your self-awareness. We've all done it and are happy to share our results.
• Your resume.
• Names and contact information of three references. Please also state what the nature of your work relationship with these people was/ is.
