Senior Operations Manager

For 75 years, Charles River employees have worked together to assist in the discovery, development and safe manufacture of new drug therapies. When you join our family, you will have a significant impact on the health and well-being of people across the globe. Whether your background is in life sciences, finance, IT, sales or another area, your skills will play an important role in the work we perform. In return, we’ll help you build a career that you can feel passionate about.Job SummaryWe are seeking a Senior Operations Manager to support our CRADL (Charles River Accelerator & Development Labs) animal facilities in San Diego.The Senior Operations Manager provides operational leadership across Charles River Accelerator & Development Labs (CRADL) site(s) or IS contracts, managing various levels of employees and vivarium operations to maintain performance levels consistent with and according to company standards and client objectives. Leading management of overarching CRADL programs that have national impact. Ensure financial revenue and expense budget performance including capital planning. Partner with other senior management to develop, implement, and achieve short- and long-term goals for the CRADL organization. Provides cross-program consistency in CRADL branded vivarium management and operations. Ensure implementation innovative techniques to improve productivity, increase efficiencies, and maintain quality standards. Assure site performance is consistent with company standards, meets or exceeds financial expectations, aligned in operations with the CRADL organization and meets client contractual requirements.ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILTIESResponsible for personnel management activities such as mentorship, personnel actions (hiring, promotions, terminations, etc.), training & development, providing regular direction and feedback on performance, disciplinary actions, delivering annual performance and salary reviews.Recommend and implement techniques to improve communication, employee relations, productivity, increase efficiencies, and reduce costs.In coordination with Human Resources representative, conduct interviews, assist in recruitment efforts, investigate personnel problems, and respond to employees in accordance with company policies and procedures.Communicate with clients, listen to feedback/concerns, and respond promptly and professionally, demonstrating strong organizational skills to manage multiple tasks, prioritize effectively, and ensure that client service operations run smoothly.Manage and customize approach to clientele depending on business need by engaging in reoccurring meetings, enhancing CRADL to client communications and tracking timeliness of follow-up.Manage customer relationships across all CRADL sites by identifying customer needs, coordinating services, monitoring customer trends and resources, and proposing action plans to drive sales. Liasson with business development and client alliance teams.Serve as a model to CRADL employee as it relates to CRL Core Values (CARE, LEAD, OWN, COLLABORATE). Provide mentorship, leadership, and motivation to all CRADL personnel.Serve as temporary backfill for People Leaders during leaves of absence, vacations, key personnel vacancies or new CRADL site startups as needed.Participate in the development of short-and-long-range operating objectives, organizational structure, financial budget, employee requirements, retention, and succession plans.Generate and submit internal and external reports, including key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics in the required formats and timeframes.Provide operational oversight of CRADL site(s) or IS contracts, managing various levels of employees. May be managing overarching CRADL programs that have national impact.Lead Program Description review and editing, lead and participate in all AAALAC accreditation activities for the site and the organization ensuring site, client, and employee readiness.Plan, budget, and order approved capital equipment for operational CRADL sites. Participate in annual budget planning..Demonstrates strong time management skills by prioritizing key objectives, delegating effectively, and maintaining confidence in organizational goals while focusing on solutions and positive outcomes.Ensures resources are allocated for site and equipment needs/improvements for all CRADL sites to lead in budget management. Provides business justifications for operational or managerial recommended changes for approval.Collaborating with internal and external Veterinarians on monitoring animal welfare trends, reducing instances, and ensuring standards of welfare excellence.Assist in the evaluation and implementation of new technology platforms to enhance operations and automation.Assist with all vendor contracts/service agreements for CRADL operational services.Prepare and submit required written records, charts, logs, and inventories as requested.Responsible for ensuring appropriate SOPs are in place and reviewed pertaining to CRADL sites.As required, respond, and facilitate the resolution of facility problems with clients, including, but not limited to the allocation of space, use of equipment and personnel, diagnosis of and control of disease.As needed, assist People Leaders to ensure that assigned animal care employee maintain adequate care, feeding and delivery of animals; sanitation of the equipment and facilities; and the inventory, procurement, and storage of supplies at each site.Periodically review CRL employee and facility records, ensuring that detailed, accurate records and files are maintained as required by facility SOPs and policies.Participate in the development of projections for equipment, supplies and personnel needed to effectively operate the research facilities in a manner consistent with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and all local, state, and federal requirements.Ensure site employee operate and maintain equipment and supplies according to SOPs and all applicable safety guidelines.Perform purposeful presence walk throughs of CRADL sites and provide reports as to the condition of the facilities, quality, compliance, etc. to the CRADL Director throughout the year.Assist People Leaders and employees to review and analyze operational needs. Develop processes to reduce waste and enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of CRADL operations. Lead and encourage 5S practices.Periodically review site quality assurance procedures for monitoring of the effectiveness of facility sanitation, cage washing and autoclaving procedures, monitoring of incoming animal shipments for container integrity, monitor the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), internal facility reports for monitoring deviations from pre-established parameters, other quality assurance services (e.g., water cultures)..Ensure all IACUC semi-annual activities including ensuring all follow-up items for the site are completed with reports and corrections provided by deadline.Ensure all Internal & client audit activities for the site are organized, completed and follow-up/corrections are provided by deadline.Act as subject matter expert in cross-site operations management.Conduct and participate in Train the trainer sessions.Identifies employee training needs and ensures necessary training is conducted and competence for duties is achieved.Attend and participate in on-the-job and classroom training sessions and complete all assigned computer-based safety and professional development training by predetermined due dates.Assist in assessing training needs, and in developing and presenting training for employee and clients. Work with technical trainers and supervisors as needed to help develop course content and materials for training and continuing education of the animal care employee to achieve AALAS certification.Comply with safety and security policies and procedures and MSDS guidelines, including those related to biohazards and radioactive substances and in compliance with local, state, and federal regulations.Maintain required attendance level and adherence to work schedule in accordance with required employee levels to ensure that assigned duties are completed.Perform all other related duties as assigned.MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONSThe following are minimum requirements related to the Senior Operations Manager.Candidates must possess one of the following:Bachelor's degree (B.A./B.S.) and a minimum of eight (8) years of experience in a laboratory animal facility, including five (5) years of management or supervisory experience.Associate's degree (A.A./A.S.) and a minimum of ten (10) years of experience in a laboratory animal facility, including five (5) years of management or supervisory experience.PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONSAALAS certification at the Certified Manager of Animal Resources (CMAR).The pay range for this position is $130-$140 annually. Please note that salaries vary within the range based on factors including, but not limited to, experience, skills, education, certifications, and location.About Insourcing SolutionsCharles River Insourcing Solutions can streamline research by delivering operational and cost efficiencies through the strategic insourcing of GMP, GLP and non-GLP research services from discovery through safety assessment. Insourcing Solutions provides you with the ability to maintain control of your facility and expertise while leveraging available space.About Charles RiverCharles River is an early-stage contract research organization (CRO). We have built upon our foundation of laboratory animal medicine and science to develop a diverse portfolio of discovery and safety assessment services, both Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) and non-GLP, to support clients from target identification through preclinical development. Charles River also provides a suite of products and services to support our clients’ clinical laboratory testing needs and manufacturing activities. Utilizing this broad portfolio of products and services enables our clients to create a more flexible drug development model, which reduces their costs, enhances their productivity and effectiveness to increase speed to market.With over 20,000 employees within 110 facilities in over 20 countries around the globe, we are strategically positioned to coordinate worldwide resources and apply multidisciplinary perspectives in resolving our client’s unique challenges. Our client base includes global pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, government agencies and hospitals and academic institutions around the world.At Charles River, we are passionate about our role in improving the quality of people’s lives. Our mission, our excellent science and our strong sense of purpose guide us in all that we do, and we approach each day with the knowledge that our work helps to improve the health and well-being of many across the globe. We have proudly worked on 80% of the drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the past five years.We’re committed to providing benefits that elevate your quality of life. Based on your position these may include: bonus/incentives based on performance, 401K, paid time off, stock purchase program, Health and wellness coverage, employee and family wellbeing support programs, and work life balance flexibility.Equal Employment OpportunityCharles River is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all qualified applicants and employees without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, mental or physical disability, family status, pregnancy, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.It is unlawful in some states (including Massachusetts) to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.If you are interested in applying to Charles River Laboratories and need special assistance or an accommodation due to a disability to complete any forms or to otherwise participate in the resume submission process, please contact a member of our Human Resources team by sending an e-mail message to View email address on click.appcast.io. This contact is for accommodation requests for individuals with disabilities only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.For more information, please visit ID: 236198_en_USEmployment Type: ExemptJob Area: Executive Leadership / Site LeadershipPosted Date: 10/09/2026