Animal Care Manager - Minneapolis, United States - Xenspire Technologies

Description

Job Title: Animal Care Manager

Research Animal Resources (RAR) is hiring for the position of Animal Care Manager. This position will be responsible for supervising and directing the activities of approximately half of the departments 10 animal care supervisors in collaboration with a second Animal Care Manager. Together, the Animal Care Managers and Supervisors oversee a team of nearly 100 people responsible for the care of laboratory animals across the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus. This management role is intended to provide another level of support to the supervisors and staff in the department, ensuring all safety, sanitation, and research requirements are followed and that the needed resources (human, facilities, and equipment) are available. The manager will also be asked to lead and oversee various husbandry-related projects.

The work duties for this position are complex and varied and will require the interpretation of technical and detailed guidelines, policies, and procedures. Analytical ability is needed to gather and interpret data and information to aid in making decisions regarding refining methods, processes, and techniques used to maintain high quality animal care and customer service. Innovation, critical thinking, and problem solving are an essential underlying part of the job duties described within this posting. Also, a balanced commitment to the employees, animals and management must be maintained.

This position reports to the client Assistant Director of Operations.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities necessary to be successful in position:

• Possess communication, independence and leadership skills needed to interact with veterinary technician employees, professional staff, other technical and administrative staff, and husbandry operations staff

• Ability to work collaboratively with co-manager in making consistent and harmonized management decisions

• Ability to delegate appropriately as needed

• Ability to work and think independently to produce quality work and to encourage the same quality work from employees

• Interest in mentoring, teaching, and cross-training staff to promote professional growth of employees

• A thorough knowledge of animal welfare regulations related to areas in the Preferred Qualifications

• Working knowledge of generally accepted laboratory animal husbandry practices and the ability to work collaboratively with operations and husbandry supervisors and animal care technicians to promote advances in animal care and research

• Excellent attention to details, analytical thinking skills, resourcefulness, ingenuity, project organization, and management skills

• Computer skills necessary to learn and use current RAR electronic systems and to adapt to new software programs as they are implemented

• Experience with conflict management and the ability to deescalate difficult situations

• Must be flexible, resilient, change-agile, forward-thinking, and motivated to succeed in client's mission

Duties/Responsibilities:

50% - Direct supervision of the animal care supervisors

• Supervise and direct the work of 5-7 animal care supervisors

● Plan training/cross-training of staff to ensure standard, consistent operations across all RAR animal facilities

● Ensure staff implement proper and consistent husbandry care for all species & areas within RAR

● Create and maintain work schedules (including weekend/holidays) and work with team to cover work during employee absences

● Provide performance feedback, both immediate and at annual performance reviews.

● Mentor employees to further career goals and support continued educational and certification opportunities

● Ensure direct reports have the resources, training, and support needed to be effective, supportive supervisors for their direct reports

• Ensure all animal care billing is completed in a timely fashion

• Investigate and resolve HR issues for labor represented employees

• Determine appropriate staffing levels and communicate needs with Associate Director of Operations and co-manager

• Coordinate personnel resources in collaboration with co-manager to cover needs of the department

• Hiring manager for animal care supervisor positions as needed

25% - Oversight/Management of Equipment and Facilities

● Work with animal care supervisors to understand acute and long-term facility and equipment needs

● Communicate needs with Assistant Director of Operations

● Ensure animal care supervisors have the appropriate knowledge and training to ensure proper maintenance and minor repairs on equipment and in their facility, as well as alerting the Facilities Maintenance team as appropriate

● Develop and maintain a system for understanding and monitoring facility utilization, including forecasts and investigator requests, while ensuring that census activities and cage card management are conducted as timely and efficiently as possible

15% - Project Management and Project Oversight

● Lead husbandry-related projects as assigned by supervisor

● Collaborate with colleagues to drive initiatives forward from idea through implementation.

● Ensure all husbandry working teams have the correct support

5% - Develop and maintain cross unit communication and relationships within client

• Maintain effective communication with the client Training, Operations (Business and Animal-related), and Veterinary Services teams

• Identify improvement opportunities regarding communication and bring ideas to managers and senior leaders

• Provide mentorship and resolve conflict professionally without the need for escalation

Requirements

Required Qualifications:

• BA/BS degree plus at least 5 years of experience or a combination of related education and work experience to equal at least 9 years

• Direct managerial experience of employees, >2 year in duration

Preferred Qualifications:

• Direct managerial experience with bargaining unit employees

• Supervisory experience in the laboratory animal industry

• ALAT or higher certification through AALAS

• Hands-on experience working with multiple research animal species

• Thorough understanding of cage wash and vivarium sanitation operations

• Excellent communication skills and experience working in a university setting with diverse staff, laboratory researchers and research models