General Chemistry Manager

What is on offer?

AHK has an exciting opportunity for a General Chemistry Manager to join our main Laboratory Facility in Liverpool (UK), where you will be functionally responsible to the General Chemistry Head of Department in ensuring that the department/ section underthe post holder’s responsibility operates at all times to the highest standard. Maintaining analytical excellence within the team to deliver a high-quality analytical service meeting reporting deadlines and client priorities.

About us

Alfred H Knight are an independent provider of inspection and testing services. Established in 1881, AHK operates in more than 40 countries with a well-earned reputation for providing reliable, professional services. We provide specialist services for awide range of commodities within base and minor metals, steel raw materials, ferroalloys, precious metals, platinum group metals, industrial minerals, solid fuels and fertilisers. Our clients include miners, smelters, refineries, traders, financial institutionsand government bodies. We maintain rigorous quality standards to ensure that our operations provide the highest level of services to our clients. We achieve this through compliance with industry standards and regulations for laboratory, inspection and qualitymanagement, including ISO: IEC 17025, 17020, 9001, 14001 and 45001. Our people are our finest asset and as a truly global company, we value diversity, and respect people from all backgrounds.

**Responsibilities**:

- Support in ensuring that the workforce is sufficiently motivated, skilled, and properly trained to meet the operational needs of the business. It is the post holder’s responsibility to inform the Operations Manager of continual resourcing difficulties and/oroperational problems.
- Ensuring at all times that a high degree of accuracy and precision is applied to analyses through incorporating and promoting good laboratory practice principles. And for ensuring that work throughput is followed in accordance to documented methods andprocedures. It is the post holder’s responsibility to inform his Head of Department of any failure in compliance to documented methods.
- Ensure all direct reports are working in a safe and effective environment.
- Being functionally responsible for providing technical advice and support to the laboratory staff as required, on technical problems, acting in a 'trouble shooting’ capacity to all.
- Maintaining and updating training records of staff, reviewing competency documentation for authorisation, and agreeing the training goals and development targets of staff with the Departmental Manager.
- Maintaining record keeping, such that work is clearly and easily auditable, and traceable within the guidelines of AHKI’s 17025 accreditation.
- Supporting the Laboratory Management in organizing and participating in client visits, laboratory tours, and client related technical discussion.
- Participating in the interview and recruitment process of personnel with prior consent from the Laboratory Manager.
- Ensuring that the Company’s induction procedure is followed for new employees, and that all documents relating to an employee’s induction are kept up-to-date.
- Monitoring staff attendance and punctuality in consultation with Human Resources.
- Hold scheduled 1:1 meetings with staff to ensure that operational or personnel issues are discussed and rectified as soon as possible, and for keeping the Laboratory Manager informed of serious and/or developing personnel issues.
- Ensuring equipment is maintained in a working and calibrated state, organizing maintenance where necessary.
- Ensuring consumable stock holdings are maintained to support effective work and on-time delivery.
- Ensuring laboratory work areas and office areas are kept clean and tidy, with unwanted materials and debris being removed.
- By routine monitoring and involvement in the Group Quality Exercises ensure all key analytical methods under the post holder’s control are meeting desired standards of accuracy.
- Lead the delivery of all actions raised in the Group Auditing Programme related to the area under the post holder’s responsibility.
- Continue to deliver the Group Method Validation Protocol for the full scope of existing and new methods in use in the UK General Chemistry Laboratory.
- Notifies their Departmental Manager and/or Group Technical Manager or UK Laboratory Manager of any serious or repetitive sources of error and risks to service.
- Performs ad-hoc tasks at the request of Laboratory Senior Management.
- Perform scheduled 1:1 meetings with those staff under the post holder’s responsibility.
- Discuss training needs with the Senior Laboratory Management and L&D department, and agree the most appropriate course of action.
- Actively encourage and motivate others to continually learn, develop and achieve organizational standards.
- Monitor staff attendance and punctuality in consultation with your Departmental Manager and Human Resource.
- Plan, prioritize and delegate work in order to achieve results of a high standard and on time.

Do you have what it takes?

To be successful at Alfred H Knight, you will need to display the following:
Required Competencies:

- Able to critically review technical information and spot root causes and suggest solutions.
- High attention to detail.
- Able to focus on meeting given deadlines.
- Able to work independently and take the initiative.
- Able to communicate effectively in a range of different formats and at all levels in the organisation.

Required Work Experience:

- Substantial experience in a commercial analytical laboratory environment.
- A proven track record in people management.

Required Qualifications:

- Higher National Education level knowledge or equivalent vocational experience.
- Further scientific qualifications of interest.

What are the benefits?

We are offering an excellent opportunity with a salary and benefits package to match including pension, life assurance and an employee assistance programme.