Laboratory Team Leader (Pre-Analytics)

Pre-Analytics Team Leader

(Internal Only)

Responsible to: Laboratory Operations Manager

Purpose of Role:

The Pre-Analytics Team Leader supports the effective day-to-day operation of the laboratory by coordinating pre-analytical staffing and workloads, monitoring team performance, and promoting staff wellbeing and engagement. The role provides an additional point of contact for staff and helps identify and escalate issues that may affect service delivery, productivity, quality or team culture.

This is an additional responsibility on top of the candidate’s substantive role on an approximate 80/20 (substantive role/team leader) split.

Working Pattern:

Team Leader activities 20% of working week (subject to review)/80% substantive role. 37.5 hours over 5 days per week on rotation Mon-Fri/Tues-Sat between the hours of 7am to 7pm.

About this role:

This is an amazing development opportunity for an established colleague to take their first steps into people and performance management, whilst maintaining their core operational skills.

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Key Responsibilities

Performance Monitoring

• Plan and carry out scheduled staff performance reviews, using agreed objectives, performance data and documented examples.
• Provide constructive, balanced feedback and agree appropriate actions to support performance and development.
• Monitor individual and team performance against agreed productivity, quality and working-practice expectations.
• Identify recurring underperformance, training needs or concerns affecting team effectiveness and escalate these to the Laboratory Operations Manager.
• Recognise positive contributions and encourage accountability, collaboration and continuous improvement.
• Maintain accurate, confidential records of performance reviews and agreed actions in line with company procedures.

Pre-Analytical Rotas and Resource Planning

• Create and maintain pre-analytical laboratory rotas in line with operational requirements, staffing levels, skills and competency requirements.
• Aim to distribute shifts and duties fairly and consistently, taking account of agreed working patterns and service needs.
• Identify potential gaps in cover, capacity constraints or rota risks and discuss proposed solutions with the Laboratory Operations Manager.
• Communicate rota arrangements and changes clearly and in a timely manner.

Sickness Reporting and Attendance Communication

• Act as a designated point of contact for staff to telephone when reporting sickness absence, in accordance with the organisation’s absence-reporting procedure.
• Record and communicate relevant absence information promptly to the appropriate manager and operational contacts.
• Support the identification of immediate staffing and workload implications arising from sickness absence, including amending rotas to ensure operational delivery.
• Escalate repeated absence concerns, failure to follow reporting procedures or other attendance-management matters to the Laboratory Operations Manager.
• Oversight of lab team attendance and punctuality - reporting any failure to uphold contracted working times to the laboratory operations manager.

Operational Oversight and Escalation

• Review pre-analytical workload, staffing and performance information to identify operational pressures or emerging risks.
• Escalate Pre-Analytics Team underperformance, recurring productivity concerns and failure to meet agreed targets to the Laboratory Operations Manager.
• Identify and escalate operational issues, bottlenecks, backlogs, resource constraints and workflow interruptions that may affect service delivery.
• Escalate quality, safety, equipment or service risks promptly to the laboratory operations manager.

Role Boundaries and Accountability

• The Team Leader may conduct scheduled performance reviews as delegated, provide feedback and agree appropriate development actions, but must escalate formal or persistent concerns to the Laboratory Operations Manager.
• The post holder does not independently approve contractual changes, formal changes to working patterns or other decisions outside their expressly delegated authority.
• Urgent quality, safety or operational concerns must be escalated promptly and must not wait until the next designated Team Leader day.
• Responsibilities should be planned proportionately to circa 20% of working week, with priorities agreed with the Laboratory Operations Manager.

This job description is not exhaustive and serves only to highlight the main requirements of the post holder. The line manager may stipulate other reasonable requirements. The job description will be reviewed regularly and may be subject to change.

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Person Specification

The preferred candidate will have the following experience, abilities, and aptitudes:

Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.

Knowledge and Experience:

Experience working in a laboratory environment, with a good understanding of pre-analytical workflows and operational requirements. [Essential]

Previous experience supporting colleagues, training staff or undertaking supervisory responsibilities. [Desirable]

Skills:

Strong organisational skills and the ability to plan rotas and coordinate competing priorities.

Good communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to provide constructive feedback professionally.

Ability to handle performance and absence information sensitively and confidentially.

A fair, consistent and approachable manner, with a commitment to staff wellbeing and positive workplace culture.

Confidence using relevant IT systems, and MS Office applications.