Manager, Undergraduate Biology Laboratories

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Job Type:

Employee

Duration in Months (for fixed-term jobs):

N/A

Job Family:

Laboratory Support

# of Open Positions:

1

Faculty/Service - Department:

Department of Biology, Faculty of Science

Campus:

Main Campus

Union Affiliation:

N/A

Date Posted (YYYY/MM/DD):

2025/11/10

Applications must be received BEFORE (YYYY/MM/DD):

2025/12/01

Hours per week:

35

Salary Grade:

Non-Union Grade NM1

Salary Range:

$104,880.00 - $131,101.00

About the Faculty of Science

Welcome to the Faculty of Science, a great place to learn, to explore, to question, to discover — opening your mind and pushing boundaries. It’s an exciting time to be part of a rewarding career in life sciences, natural sciences and mathematics. You will have access to world-class facilities, including our Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Complex, our extensive Biosciences Complex and our cutting-edge Advanced Research Complex, that are the envy of many universities. We have strong links with a multitude of government and private research centres, providing countless opportunities and experiences.

We have become a true centre of excellence, earning recognition across Canada and abroad for our prowess in teaching and in our laboratories, where our researchers are addressing some of the most important and relevant scientific questions of our time. Our past is a testimonial to our passion, so will be our future. Will you be part of it?

Position Purpose
Reporting to the Chairperson, Department of Biology, manage the administrative and academic functions of the undergraduate Biology teaching laboratories including the supervision of staff and students, management of budgets, development and implementation of new experiments, maintaining health and safety standards and ensuring the availability of scientific equipment and materials.  Provide sessional lecturing including the development of didactic materials and performing student evaluations.

In this role, your responsibilities will include:

• Laboratory and Operations Management: Oversee the daily operations of Biology teaching laboratories, including budget planning, assessing equipment and materials, scheduling of activities, supervision of lab technicians and teaching assistants to ensure efficient operations in line with the programs and policies. Formulate policies and procedures promoting the responsible use of all lab equipment in order to contribute to the safety of all users and preserve the value of the assets.

• Resources management: Recruit, mentor and supervise a team of laboratory technicians, coordinate their duties and work schedules. Provide guidance and expert advices on technical issues, safety procedures and regulatory compliance matters within the laboratories.  Perform annual evaluations of the technicians to identify issues or needs in terms of resources or professional development.  Develop action plan to address problems and ensure the team’s effectiveness and compliance. 

• Budgets Management and Procurement: Administer the operational and equipment budgets of the teaching labs, approve purchase of supplies and material. Evaluate and recommend the acquisition of new scientific equipment to maintain lab functionality and high quality standards.  Monitor the effects of enrollment upon resource needs and review accounting records of the unit in order to determine, assess, and forecast expenditures. 

• Health, Safety and Facilities: Ensure that protocols and all legal requirements are in place to provide a safe work environment and maintain high standards of safety. Respond to any emergency or abnormal situation occurring in the teaching labs. Coordinate the ongoing maintenance, repair, or renovation of lab spaces with the Facility team to meet the changing needs of the users.

• Student Lecturing: Organize, prepare and present lecture material for up to two courses per year. Prepare, write and maintain didactic materials including manuals, assignments and examinations.  Develop and maintain online content (including online examinations) for the undergraduate laboratory courses in order to communicate efficiently with students. Establish office hours to respond to student questions. Engage in researching new pedagogical tools to keep students motivated and increase their academic results.

What you will bring:

• Ph.D. in Biology or comparable qualifications.

• Minimum of seven (7) years of experience in research and laboratory operations.

• Teaching experience and expert knowledge of laboratory protocols and procedures. 

• Experience in resources allocation and management including human, financial and material resources.

• Strong organizational, problem solving, time management and decision-making skills.

• Experience in supervision and evaluation of personnel.

• Demonstrated experience in designing, modifying and optimizing laboratory experiments.

• Advanced knowledge of laboratory tools, equipment, instruments and their safe usage. Experience purchasing lab equipment and manage an inventory.

• Experience with hardware: electronic measurement devices, computers, physical sensors, data acquisition hardware.  Ability to test, diagnose and repair laboratory equipment.

• Excellent pedagogical and technical skills, analytical ability, abstract reasoning and judgment with a strong operational focus.

• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate scientific and technical concepts in a clear and concise manner, both orally and in writing.

• Bilingualism (English/French), written and oral.

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Key Competencies at uOttawa:
Here are the required competencies for all or our employees at uOttawa: 

Planning: Organize in time a series of actions or events in order to realize an objective or a project. Plan and organize own work and priorities in regular daily activities.
Initiative: Demonstrate creativity and initiative to suggest improvements and encourage positive results. Is proactive and self-starting. Show availability and willingness to go above and beyond whenever it is possible.
Client Service Orientation: Help or serve others to meet their needs. This implies anticipating and identifying the needs of internal and external clients and finding solutions on how to meet them.
Teamwork and Cooperation: Cooperate and work well with other members of the team to reach common goal(s). Accept and give constructive feedback. Able to adjust own behaviour to reach the goals of the team.

The University of Ottawa embraces diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We are passionate about our people and committed to employment equity. We foster a culture of respect, teamwork and inclusion, where collaboration, innovation, and creativity fuel our quest for research and teaching excellence. While all qualified persons are invited to apply, we welcome applications from qualified Indigenous persons, racialized persons, persons with disabilities, women and LGBTQIA2S+ persons. The University is committed to creating and maintaining an accessible, barrier-free work environment. The University is also committed to working with applicants with disabilities requesting accommodation during the recruitment, assessment and selection processes. Applicants with disabilities may contact hrtalentmanagement@uottawa.ca to communicate the accommodation need. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

Note: if this is a union position: The hiring process will be governed by the current collective agreement related to the union affiliation noted above; you can click here to find out more.

If this is a front-line position with responsibilities to interact with students, selected candidates must be rated at the Low Advanced proficiency level or higher for both oral comprehension and reading comprehension in their second official language. The rating is determined by a proficiency test designed by the Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute.

Prior to May 1, 2022, the University required all students, faculty, staff, and visitors (including contractors) to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 as defined in Policy 129 – Covid-19 Vaccination. This policy was suspended effective May 1, 2022 but may be reinstated at any point in the future depending on public health guidelines and the recommendations of experts.