Bioprocessing Team Leader Upstream

Hobson Prior is working alongside a pharmaceutical company seeking a Bioprocessing Team Leader Upstream to oversee safe, compliant, and reliable manufacturing for clinical and commercial gene therapies. This role involves managing a team of scientists, ensuring compliance with regulations, and maintaining high standards in the manufacturing process.

Please note that to be considered for this role you must have the right to work in this location.

Major Activities:

• Line manages a team of Bioprocessing Scientists providing training, support, motivation, development and performance management.
• Responsible for coordinating, organising and supporting the training of the team and the personal development of our team members.
• Responsible for ensuring that own work and that of the team complies with GMP, Data Integrity and Good Documentation Practice (GDP) and is undertaken in accordance with applicable procedures.
• Responsible for ensuring that own training and that of the team is undertaken in a timely and GMP compliant manner before the task is undertaken.
• Responsible for ensuring that any GMP documentation e.g. (but not limited to) Issues, CAPAs, Change Controls, BMRs & audit/inspection actions, within own area of responsibility, is closed timely and in a right-first-time state.
• Ensure on-time availability of GMP product manufactured according to the agreed manufacturing schedule.
• Work collaboratively across departments to deliver UK manufacturing performance targets and to solve problems and remove barriers constraining performance and improvement.
• Responsible for leading Quality issue first response during bioprocessing and ensuring Quality on the Shop Floor is in place to verify our facility is inspection-ready at all times.
• Responsible for ensuring our team understand the relevant safety hazards and controls for their area, that all activities are risk assessed before performing them, and that our team is protected from harm.
• Effectively communicate short-term business and operation goals, progress and updates within team.
• Champion continuous improvement within the team, providing coaching and support for team members and maintaining the continuous improvement system for the team.
• Responsible for setting and confirming high standards for quality critical manufacturing activities including but not limited to cleanroom behaviour, environmental monitoring, cleaning, and materials handling.

Key Performance Indicators:

• Prevention of injuries and incidents across the manufacturing facilities.
• Timely closure of GMP commitments (regulatory, deviations, CAPA, change Controls).
• Adherence to manufacturing and supply schedule.
• Delivery of product development, clinical and launch manufacturing milestones.
• Positive regulatory inspection outcomes.
• High employee engagement and talent retention.

Job Responsibilities:

• Lead a team of up to 12 Bioprocessing Scientists.
• Accountable for GxP compliance within Downstream processing areas.
• Accountable for safety of Downstream processing team and areas.

Job Background:

• University degree in Science or Engineering.
• Strong background in manufacturing operations and quality systems and understanding of process development lifecycle.
• Experience in conducting regulatory inspections and audit readiness activities.

Key Job Competencies:

• Management and oversight of advanced biochemical drug substance manufacturing to cGMP requirements.
• Management of operational health and safety in a dynamic and changing environment.
• Leadership, coaching and development of operational and technical teams with high potential individuals in organizations undergoing significant growth and change.
• Strong organisation skills, planning and managing risk effectively to ensure manufacturing and project commitments are achieved on time and in full.
• Strong analytical mindset, synthesizes complex information, uses intuition and experience to complement data.
• Creation and embedding performance systems, establishing workflows and procedures built on simplicity, reliability and effectiveness.
• Experienced with structured problem solving, identifies and resolves problems effectively and urgently; gathers and analyses information skilfully; develops alternative solutions; works very well in cross functional teams for problem solving.
• Fosters a continuous improvement mindset and capability within and across teams.

For more information, please contact Abigail Sivertsen.

Apply now

If you are interested in learning more or applying to this exciting opportunity then please click ‘Apply’ and upload a copy of your CV. Alternatively for further details or to talk directly to a life sciences recruitment specialist directly please select ‘Contact me’ at the top of this page.