Facilities Manager

About Mestag Therapeutics:

Mestag Therapeutics is fast-growing biotech that is building something special – a company using unparalleled insight into the role of fibroblast populations in disease to deliver impactful precision medicines. We founded Mestag in 2020 to pioneer new medicines for people affected by inflammatory disease and cancer. Our leadership team includes biotech entrepreneurs and seasoned global drug discovery experts focused on translating exciting biology into meaningful therapies for patients.

We focus on activated fibroblast populations and their role in influencing the immune system in disease. Our founder team comprises leading experts in the fields of inflammatory disease, oncology, computational biology and fibroblast biology from the University of Oxford, Harvard, Broad Institute and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, including the current President of AACR.

We are progressing a pipeline of first in class therapeutics to interrupt fibroblast-mediated effects on immune cells in inflammatory disease and immuno-oncology. We are also collaborating with Janssen Biotech, Inc to discover new targets for inflammatory disease and cancer. Mestag’s investors include leading global biotech investors SV Health Investors and Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc. The company is headquartered in Cambridge, UK.

Our team shares a common purpose and puts patients at the centre of our work. Our values of trust and integrity, connection and togetherness, energy and tenacity, and ingenuity and excellence fuel our passion for science, and have created a strong culture of purpose and delivery. We are looking for proactive, creative and positive team players to help build and shape our company into a world leader.

This is an outstanding opportunity for a highly motivated, organised and committed management professional to take on the role of Facilities Manager who will have a diverse level of experience, including BSO, health & safety and facilities management. The right candidate will have the ability to adapt and work in a fast-paced environment across a range of teams, managing and delegating work as required.

Key Responsibilities:

Manage the lab and office facilities at Chesterford Research Park to provide a safe and productive working environment for all staff, contractors and visitors
Act as the primary interface with facilities and Health & Safety for labs and offices
Lead and project manage facilities maintenance liaising with the landlords on internal and external premises (e.g. gas storage) Report progress to senior management.
Lead and project manage facility expansion and improvement projects to agreed schedules and act as the primary interface with landlords and third parties involved in build programs. Report progress to senior management.
Manage the asset management process including CAPEX for laboratory needs liaising with department heads and lab-based scientists, , scheduling and execution of planned maintenance and repair with suppliers and service providers and liaising with the finance team to meet company policies and compliance requirements.
Manage IT service providers for software and hardware needs for lab and office operations including scientific software for lab-based equipment and data analysis (e.g. Prism license).
Act as a technical expert for cleanroom and laboratory design and operation.
Oversee facilities expenses and reporting for rent, services, insurance and energy for all building to agreed budgets.
Act as the Health and Safety representative for the company as required by the UK Health and Safety Executive, make submissions to the H&SE as required, chair company health and safety meetings and manage external Health and Safety consultants and provide appropriate training and support for all staff. Act as Biological Safety Officer for the company.
Ensure health and safety aspects of fire safety regulation as well as first aid provisions on-site with oversight of emergency and evacuation policies.
Responsible for operational oversight from a facilities perspective, and CRO contract management.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in a biological sciences or related field and progressive experience in pharmaceutical, biotech, or biologics operations and facilities management
Experience leading employee health and safety programs
Strong experience in lab supply chain management and process implementation
Demonstrable project management experience
Experience in working with external service providers
Experience in Contracts negotiations with CROs, external service providers
Experience and involvement in external regulatory inspections
Experience and knowledge in dealing with Health and Safety issues
Ability to effectively negotiate and build collaboration with third parties and service providers
Good interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills
Comfortable in a fast-paced small company environment with minimal direction.

Desired but not essential:

Experience in Biological and GM risk assessment, preferably as a Biological Safety Officer role
Line management experience

Note to Agencies: We are not working with agencies on this role so please do not send us any speculative CVs.