Engineering Lab Operations Leader in Newcastle upon Tyne

Salary: £47,389 to £50,253 with progression to £56,535 per annum. Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 20 April 2026

The Role

Your role will be to provide strategic and operational leadership for technical services across multiple disciplines within the School of Engineering, overseeing shared technical resources and facilities that support teaching, research and innovation. You will work closely with the School Technical Manager and other Technical Operations Managers. It is the responsibility of this role to ensure the effective planning, management and continuous improvement of laboratory operations, infrastructure, health and safety compliance, and chemical and biological laboratory management. In addition, this role provides leadership and line management for technical staff and contributes to school strategy by delivering a responsive, integrated and high-quality technical service to academic, research and student communities.

For Informal Enquiries: Jay Bartlett - Head of Technical Services

Please upload your CV and cover letter evidencing how your skills and experiences align to the person specification as outlined within the job description.

Key Accountabilities:

• Deputise for the School Technical Manager in their absence.
• Maintain and develop technical expertise and knowledge of relevant legislation to support the development and implementation of school policies and procedures, ensuring compliance with all legal and university requirements within laboratories and technical workspaces.
• Contribute to the strategic planning, design and development of technical services and facilities within the school, including equipment provision, bulk and project purchasing, and management of allocated budgets. Authorise expenditure for shared technical resources and equipment.
• Manage and ensure the effective maintenance, repair and calibration of School equipment and instrumentation through liaison with suppliers, service engineers and specialist contractors. Maintain the school asset register to support planning, compliance and insurance requirements.
• Assess future technical and infrastructure needs relating to space, equipment and specialist facilities, working with the School Technical Manager, academic colleagues, and faculty teams to support the design, refurbishment and upgrading of laboratories.
• Provide leadership and line management for technical staff within the designated area, including recruitment, performance development reviews, workload planning and the effective deployment of staff resources.
• Work with the School Technical Manager to develop and deliver an operational plan for technical services, ensuring clear objectives, priorities and alignment with university success factors.
• Support the professional development of technical staff through training opportunities, professional registration, and engagement with professional networks (e.g. NU TechNet), working with the Faculty Training Manager to coordinate apprenticeships and development programmes.
• Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of technical services through stakeholder feedback and performance data, using insights to drive continuous improvement and inform workforce planning and succession.
• Oversee the provision of technical advice and training for PhD students and research staff in the safe and effective use of laboratory equipment and facilities.
• Any other duties within the scope and general nature of the grade which may be required.

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience:

• Significant recent experience in a senior technical role within a STEM or Engineering discipline.
• Experience of managing multiple laboratories or technical facilities within a large and complex organisation.
• Thorough working knowledge of relevant health and safety legislation and its application within laboratory environments.
• Proven leadership and staff management experience, including building and developing high-performing teams and services.
• Experience of establishing, reviewing and monitoring technical and operational systems and processes.
• Experience of managing projects and delivering outcomes on time and within budget.
• Experience of working collaboratively with senior stakeholders within a STEM or Engineering environment.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to motivate staff, implement change, and remain calm and diplomatic in challenging situations.
• Strong interpersonal and negotiation skills with the ability to build effective working relationships across teams and disciplines.
• Strong organisational and project management skills with the ability to manage competing priorities.
• Strong digital and IT skills to support the management of technical systems, data and records.
• Ability to work across organisational boundaries and coordinate communication within complex organisations.

Desirable:

• Experience of working within a research-intensive or higher education environment.
• Knowledge of biosafety and experience of working with containment level 2 laboratories.

Attributes and Behaviour:

• Ability to analyse and interpret complex or conflicting information, taking account of different stakeholder perspectives across schools, faculties and university services.
• Demonstrates a strong commitment to good governance by maintaining clear, accurate records and audit trails using appropriate systems and tools.
• Communicates clearly, concisely and accurately, adapting style and approach to the audience and encouraging open, two-way communication.
• Demonstrates collaborative leadership, building effective working relationships across academic, technical and professional service teams.
• Aligns team and service development with wider school and university strategic aims and objectives.

Qualifications:

• Degree in a relevant STEM discipline, or equivalent relevant experience.
• A scientific or engineering background relevant to laboratory-based technical services.

Desirable:

• Relevant professional qualification or professional registration (e.g. RSci, CSci, EngTech) or willingness to work towards this.

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution. We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population. At Newcastle University we hold a Gold Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education. We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme. In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.