An exciting opportunity to lead the Operations Team at Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst, an award-winning location for companies to start-up, scale-up and commercialise therapeutic innovations in the centre of the golden triangle.

About Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst

Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst co-located on the Elevate Quarter Campus in Stevenage with a focus on providing accommodation and support to help companies develop and commercialise cutting edge therapeutics.

The Campus is home to major organisations including GSK, the Cell & Gene Therapy Manufacturing Catapult, LifeArc and Cytiva alongside a cluster over 45 start-up companies which together have raised over £3.6bn in funding since 2012.

Laboratory and office accommodation is provided within 3 separate buildings. The facilities have been designed to foster cooperation, dialogue and interaction between entrepreneurs. Access is offered free of charge to business support and scientific equipment that would otherwise be beyond the reach of small or medium-sized companies.

Responsibilities

The Operations Director will be a critical part of the executive management team and will report directly to the Chief Executive Officer. This is a leadership role aimed to help deliver the aspirations of SBC to develop the Stevenage campus as world leading therapeutics cluster.

The role will include line management of the Operations team including the Facilities and Estates Manager, M&E Buildings and Operations Manager, Safety and Technical Services Manager and the Facilities Coordinator.

The Operations Director will be responsible for the management of services and processes that support the core business of SBC. They will ensure that the organisation provides the most suitable and safe working environment for its occupiers, employees and their activities. Duties vary but the Operations Director will be generally focus on using best business practice to improve efficiency, by reducing operating costs while increasing productivity and adhering to Health and Safety regulations and practices.

This is a wide role with a diverse range of responsibilities. The Operations Director will be involved in both strategic planning and day-to-day operations, particularly in relation to buildings and premises. Likely areas of responsibility include:

Property
• Building operation, maintenance and efficiencies
• Specification, tender and management of major & minor capital projects e.g. refurbishment, upgrades, dilapidations etc

Services
• Procurement and contract management
• Management and supervision of on-site FM provider
• Management and supervision of M&E service provider
• Fire safety systems management and maintenance
• Access control systems management and maintenance
• Health and Safety adherence and support
• Security of buildings and people
• Reception
• Cleaning
• Catering and vending
• Management of IT/AV and telecommunications contracts
• Shared lab operation/management
• Utilities

Estates
• Estate and grounds maintenance and efficiencies
• Estates/car parking
• Liaison with campus stakeholders Forge, GSK and CGTC

General
• Communication with Occupiers re premises
• Health and safety management and meetings
• Occupier Operations meetings
• Security management
• Space management
• Project management support
• Service charge support – building and estate
• Business rates input and support

Work activities

The responsibilities for the Operations Director will require working with others within the group and with other organisations on site. Typical tasks may include:

• Preparing documents to put out tenders for contractors
• Project management and supervising and coordinating work of contractors
• Review RAMS and PTW documentation
• Calculating and comparing costs for required goods or services to achieve maximum value for money
• Working with the finance team to agree the service charge to occupiers on an annual basis
• Working with others in relation to planning future developments
• Lead cross campus operational meetings
• Lead on rolling out SBC’s ESP initiatives to all users of SBC buildings
• Directing and planning essential central services such as reception, security, maintenance, mail, archiving, cleaning, chemical storage and disposal, clinical waste disposal, manage lab gas procurement and support, catering, waste disposal and recycling
• Ensuring the building and occupier areas meets health and safety requirements
• Checking that agreed work by staff or contractors has been completed satisfactorily and following up on any deficiencies
• Coordinating with other organisations across site various areas of responsibility
• Using performance management techniques to monitor and demonstrate achievement of agreed service levels and to lead on improvement
• Responding appropriately to emergencies or urgent issues as they arise.

Skills and Abilities

The Operations Director will ideally have the following skills and abilities:

• Organisational and systematic thinking
• Understanding of delivering soft and hard FM services
• Advanced Health and Safety knowledge
• Project management skills, knowledge and experience
• Space planning
• Buildings and planning regulations knowledge
• Laboratory and office fit out design and construction
• Understanding ESG and Net Zero impact
• Strong numeracy and the ability to understand financial data
• Research skills and the ability to draw information from various sources, including people;
• IT skills
• Clear and concise writing skills and the ability to handle long and complex documents
• Interpersonal, relationship-building and negotiation skills
• Flexibility and the ability to work on more than one task at a time

Salary and Benefits

• Competitive salary based on candidate experience and qualifications
• Benefits: up to 15% bonus, 8% company pension contribution, life insurance of 4 x salary, SBC healthcare scheme and green car scheme.

For more information about Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst please go to www.stevenagecatalyst.com