Associate Director, Laboratory Space Planning

Laboratory Planning and Space Strategy

• Lead site-level laboratory development and planning activities partnering with Site Operations and stakeholders.
• Support development and maintenance of laboratory space strategies and capacity plans.
• Maintain dashboards and data sources reflecting as-is lab allocation, layout, adjacencies, and operational constraints.
• Partner with scientific, operational, and planning stakeholders to understand laboratory space demand, equipment needs, and occupancy requirements.
• Translate business requirements into practical laboratory space solutions including allocation plans, adjacency recommendations, and future-state scenarios.
• Support planning for new laboratories, renovations, reconfigurations, and restacks.
• Contribute laboratory planning expertise to broader site planning and infrastructure discussions.
• Support lab planning and space discussions for global Oncology R&D managed sites.

Drive Laboratory Space Optimization

• Drive laboratory space optimization initiatives to improve flexibility, sharing, utilization, and efficiency.
• Work with AD Lab Insights to understand utilization data, occupancy information, and observational findings.
• Partner with Lab Operations and laboratory users to improve bench utilization, instrument sharing, and support space allocation.
• Implement space optimization methodologies including 5S, workplace organization principles, standardized zoning, and utilization governance.
• Recommend laboratory planning models and space concepts appropriate to scientific workflows.

Project Planning and Delivery Support

• Lead laboratory planning workstreams for site-based projects including programming input, concept development, adjacency planning, and occupancy scenarios.
• Collaborate with architects, engineers, project managers, facilities teams, and laboratory users.
• Review laboratory layouts, design proposals, and planning documents for alignment with workflows, safety standards, and regulatory expectations.
• Support moves, transitions, and commissioning activities.
• Identify planning risks, dependencies, and constraints and develop mitigation options.

Stakeholder Management and Customer Engagement

• Develop trusted partnerships with scientific leaders and laboratory managers.
• Build strong working relationships with scientists, laboratory managers, site leaders, and enabling functions.
• Gather and synthesize voice-of-customer insights regarding space challenges and future requirements.
• Facilitate laboratory planning discussions and decision-making forums.
• Communicate planning assumptions, recommendations, timelines, and constraints clearly.
• Promote adoption of new ways of working that improve laboratory efficiency, sustainability, and collaboration.

Governance, Standards, and Continuous Improvement

• Apply laboratory planning standards, governance frameworks, and operational guidelines.
• Develop and refine planning tools, templates, processes, and metrics.
• Support governance processes for laboratory space allocation, requests, prioritization, and change control.
• Ensure planning recommendations reflect safety, compliance, operational, and facility requirements.
• Capture lessons learned and share best practices.

Team Leadership and Technical Guidance

• Provide guidance and technical leadership to planners, coordinators, analysts, or project resources.
• Lead cross-functional working teams associated with laboratory planning, optimization, or renovation initiatives.
• Coach stakeholders through planning decisions and change impacts.
• Contribute to a culture of collaboration, knowledge sharing, customer focus, and continuous improvement.

Essential Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in lab-based biomedical, pharmaceutical, or biological science required.
• Demonstrated knowledge of laboratory environments, laboratory operations, and space planning principles within an R&D, pharmaceutical, biotech, or similarly regulated scientific setting.
• 1-3 years of relevant managerial experience.
• 3-5 years Lab planning experience.
• Strategy setting & execution skills.
• Strong critical and analytical thinker.
• Strong aptitude for customer service.
• Good interpersonal and problem-solving skills.
• Highly organized, efficient, and self-motivated.
• Successful previous work in a matrix or project organization.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Desirable Qualifications

• Strong preference for previous Lab Operations experience.
• Master's degree, MBA or higher preferred.
• Customer Focus.
• Decision Quality.
• Directing Others.
• Motivating Others.
• Organizing.
• Priority Setting.
• Process Management.