Role Summary
The Laboratory Supervisor is responsible for optimizing the operational output, safety standards, and strict compliance of the laboratory environment in accordance with Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) and ISO 9001:2015 standards. This role demands an assertive, technically elite leader who achieves operational excellence through the rigorous management, accountability, and development of laboratory personnel.
Beyond routine operational oversight, this position serves as the site's primary technical anchor for complex chemistry troubleshooting, method engineering, and analytical research. The incumbent ensures that 100% accurate, uncompromised analytical results are delivered to production to safeguard plant process stability, safety, and final product specifications.
Primary Performance Pillars & Responsibilities
1. Advanced Analytical Chemistry, Method Development & R&D (New High-Focus Pillar)
- Method Development, Validation, and Verification: Routinely conduct advanced method development for special projects, incoming materials, and unique process samples. Research, author, and validate new analytical methods—or optimize existing ones—to continuously expand laboratory capabilities and accuracy.
- Product Stewardship: Develop and implement product-specific test methods to ensure relevant testing of critical parameters. Ensure full analytical compliance with regulatory registrations, technical certifications (e.g., NSF, SABS), and strict product conformity standards.
- Complex Chemistry Troubleshooting: Act as the premier subject matter expert for deep-dive technical investigations. Isolate, diagnose, and resolve chemical anomalies, sample matrix interferences, and underlying root causes of questionable production or laboratory data.
- R&D and Operational Integration: Partner with R&D, corporate technology teams, and engineering to design, oversee, and carry out robust experiment plans for non-routine or special process evaluations. Translate theoretical chemistry into practical, high-throughput laboratory methods for production support.
2. People Management, Leadership & Accountability
- Team Supervision: Directly supervise, lead, and manage the multi-shift laboratory team (including Shift Analysts, Day Technicians, Relief Analysts, and Trainees).
- Shift Roster & Timekeeping: Compile, maintain, and enforce the monthly shift and day-worker rosters. Actively coordinate rapid personnel coverage for staff lateness, unplanned illness, and leave to ensure continuous plant support. Manage and verify monthly timesheets for payroll approval.
- Accountability & Discipline: Actively monitor analyst behavior, identify performance or behavioral gaps in real-time, and implement immediate corrective action or formal progressive discipline in line with company policy. Eliminate cultures of plausible deniability within the shifts.
- Performance & Competence Evaluations: Conduct routine Planned Job Observations (PJOs) and periodic competency assessments to map out performance metrics, determine training needs, and build a culture of continuous improvement.
- Training & Certification: Design and facilitate structured one-on-one and group technical training to ensure all analysts are fully certified in standardized analytical methods, data integrity protocols, and safety standards.
3. Data Integrity, Solution Control & Quality Systems
- Real-Time Data Enforcement: Enforce the mandatory rule that all raw data, weights, volumes, and batch numbers are recorded in real-time into official logbooks and computer systems (LIMS). Zero tolerance for backdating or fabrication.
- Solution Verification: Personally verify, calculate, and sign off on all laboratory and plant solution standardizations and normalities. Ensure mandatory chemical resting periods (e.g., 24-hour rules) are followed to eliminate snowballing analytical errors.
- Primary Standards Maintenance: Oversee the strict preparation, shelf-life traceability, and immediate disposal of expired primary standards, reagents, and indicators.
- Shift Handovers: Enforce and personally audit the daily shift handover logbook. Ensure no critical quality parameters or uncompleted tasks cross shifts without clear, signed, and documented communication.
- ISO 9001:2015 & Audit Readiness: Maintain all relevant aspects of the Quality Management System (QMS). Prepare the lab for, and participate in, internal and external certification audits (ISO, Kosher, NSF, EPA, etc.). Lead formal Root Cause Analysis (RCA) investigations for any audit non-conformances or out-of-specification (OOS) trends.
4. Asset Management, Procurement & Supply Chain Compliance
- Inventory & Stock Control: Conduct comprehensive, accurate weekly physical stock takes of all laboratory consumables, chemical reagents, and glassware to completely eliminate unmonitored or missing stock.
- Procurement Compliance: Oversee the requesting of Purchase Orders (POs) and process prompt Goods Received Vouchers (GRVs) immediately upon receipt of stock. Strictly adhere to corporate financial policies to maintain healthy vendor relationships and prevent supply chain freezes.
- Glassware & Equipment Control: Actively monitor laboratory equipment and glassware. Ensure that chipped, cracked, or hazardous glassware is instantly removed from service, logged in the broken register, and replaced from storage. Maintain up-to-date manual calibration schedules and calibration curves for autotitrators, spectrophotometers, and scales.
5. Operational Support & EHS (Environmental, Health & Safety)
- Analytical Execution: Actively assist with and conduct physical, routine, or specialized chemical analysis (raw materials, in-process, final product, and customer retain samples) alongside the team when operational high-pressure volumes demand it.
- Production Status Reporting: Ensure immediate and accurate reporting of analytical findings to production departments via LIMS, paper sheets, or verbal alerts to indicate real-time product/plant status.
- Safety & 5S: Foster a high-concern safety culture. Enforce strict PPE compliance, safe chemical handling/segregation, and implement 5S methodology throughout the laboratory to eliminate housekeeping hazards.
- Meal & Break Administration: Monitor and manage staff break schedules dynamically around the plant production schedule to ensure seamless coverage.
Job Specification & Minimum Requirements
Formal Qualifications
- Minimum Requirement: A completed Bachelor’s Degree (BSc) or higher in Analytical Chemistry, Chemistry, or a related scientific discipline. An Honours or Post-Graduate degree with an emphasis on research methodologies is highly advantageous.
Experience
- Minimum 5 years of hands-on experience working in a demanding, high-pressure laboratory environment (Chemical, Manufacturing, or Heavy Industrial laboratory preferred).
- Minimum 3 years of proven, verifiable experience managing, leading, and scheduling a team of direct reports (shift analysts/technicians).
- Proven Track Record in analytical method development, formal verification protocols, and validating chemical processes.
- Direct experience handling labor relations, performance counseling, and enforcing accountability frameworks in a corporate setting.
- Proven track record in maintaining ISO 9001:2015 programs and leading Root Cause Analysis (RCA) processes.
Technical & Behavioral Competencies
- Advanced Chemistry Acumen: Deep knowledge of analytical techniques, wet chemistry, solution preparation, auto-titration instrumentation, and mathematical chemical normalities.
- Method Engineering: Proficient in designing robust validation protocols, calculating measurement uncertainty, and determining detection limits.
- Systems Proficiency: High computer literacy across MS Office Suite, LIMS, and ERP systems (e.g., SAP, procurement workflows).
- Leadership Assertiveness: Strong, principled character with the ability to stand firm on compliance, safety, and data integrity protocols under pressure.
- Communication Skills: Exceptional verbal and written communication skills to articulate risks clearly to plant operations and senior corporate management.
