Animal Facility Manager / Vivarium Manager

 Under the direction of the Associate Director of Facility and Husbandry Operations of the BWH Center for Comparative Medicine (CCM) the Facility Manager's primary responsibility is the management of CCM Research Animal Specialist-levels 1-3 and Senior (RAS) personnel. Position responsibilities include the management and oversight of husbandry and animal care conducted within the CCM Animal Facilities.  The Manager will ensure compliance with federal and state regulations, AAALAC accreditation standards, and support research needs of the investigative research staff. 

Position requirements include personnel management responsibilities and collaboration with internal hospital departments, outside equipment venders, and service contractors. The CCM Facility Manager must understand and champion teamwork, staff empowerment, standardization of processes and continuous improvement initiatives while collaborating with other CCM managers and professional staff in the standardization and continuous improvement of department initiatives.

PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

 Supervises facility staff including conducting regular performance evaluations, mentoring, training and career development.  Active participant in hiring and as necessary disciplinary process for facility staff.
 Manage day-to-day operations of RAS staff providing animal health checks, husbandry services, and research support services by scheduling tasks, motivating staff to achieve targets, and assisting as needed
 Assure daily husbandry and welfare standards, facility maintenance, animal receipt, transfers, euthanasia, importation/exportation and safety requirements are adequately and efficiently met.
 Manage team-based work assignments, facilitate workplace organizational improvements, and structured team problem solving.
 Assure consistent delivery of supplies to CCM Animal Facilities.
  Assure appropriate husbandry and support is provided to the animals under CCM's care.
 Conduct facility orientation training for new researchers.  This includes scheduling of training, credential review, and experience assessment.
 Direct new researchers to CCM resources for training.
 Responsible for inventory management within CCM Animal Facilities assuring adequate supplies are available while minimizing waste due to poor inventory management.
 Promote a team culture and lead continuous improvement initiatives within the facility and throughout the department. 
 Act as a mentor and provide timely feedback to employees under their supervision.
 Champion a customer-centric environment throughout the facility. Address and resolve problems or questions from investigative staff concerning the facility or animal care in general.
 Perform investigator outreach to improve customer experience and communication between CCM and research staff.
 Assure all required documentation is maintained.  This may include applicable SOPs, animal census, individual animal records, facility maintenance records, sanitation records, animal orders and receipt, inventory management, husbandry duty sign-off sheets.
 May be required to work weekends and holidays
 Comply with CCM and BWH policies and procedures.
 Perform other duties as assigned.

WORKING CONDITIONS:

The Animal Facility has a variety of environmental conditions.  Specifically, employees may be exposed to noise, dust, chemicals, extreme heat, and animal waste products. The duration of exposure to any of the above is dependent on the assigned duties. Some aspects of this position may expose the incumbent to potential zoonotic diseases.  Appropriate protective clothing and equipment may be required and will be provided when required, accompanied by appropriate training.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY:

Directly supervises RAS1-3 and Senior RAS husbandry teams.

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY:

 Expected to identify ways to perform required duties in the most economical way possible and make recommendations for cost and resource saving improvements.
 Sound management of inventories to prevent waste.

QUALIFICATIONS:

 Bachelor's degree from an accredited college
  OR
Certification by the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science at the LATg level with 5 years' industry managing experience required.
 CMAR certification or the qualifications to obtain CMAR at the time of hire preferred.
 Minimum of 2 years' work experience in a laboratory Animal Facility in a leadership role required.
 

SKILLS / ABILITIES / COMPETENCIES REQUIRED

 Proficient in verbal and written English and Mathematics pertinent to the duties of the position and situations that may be encountered in CCM Animal Facilities. 
 Management skills appropriate with the requirements of the size of the assigned facility.
 Ability to make appropriate, sustainable decisions regarding daily facility operations and to address unusual situations that arise within the animal research facilities.
 Have a customer-focused attitude and enjoy working with similarly dedicated persons in a team fashion within a high-energy research environment.
 Ability to lift and move 50 lbs on a regular basis
 Ability to stand for long periods of time.
 Strong knowledge of Microsoft applications including Outlook, Word, PowerPoint and Excel.