VP, National Lab Ops & Enterprise Automation

Job Description

Pay Range: $310,000 - $360,000 /year plus annual and long-term incentive. 

Salary offers are based on a wide range of factors including relevant skills, training, experience, education, and, where applicable, certifications obtained. Market and organizational factors are also considered. Successful candidates may be eligible to receive annual performance bonus compensation. 

Benefits Information: 

We are proud to offer best-in-class benefits and programs to support employees and their families in living healthy, happy lives. Our pay and benefit plans have been designed to promote employee health in all respects physical, financial, and developmental. Depending on whether it is a part-time or full-time position, some of the benefits offered may include: 

• Day 1 Medical, supplemental health, dental & vision for FT employees who work 30+ hours 
• Best-in-class well-being programs 
• Annual, no-cost health assessment program Blueprint for Wellness 
• healthyMINDS mental health program 
• Vacation and Health/Flex Time 
• 6 Holidays plus 1 "MyDay" off 
• FinFit financial coaching and services 
• 401(k) pre-tax and/or Roth IRA with company match up to 5% after 12 months of service 
• Employee stock purchase plan 
• Life and disability insurance, plus buy-up option 
• Flexible Spending Accounts 
• Annual incentive plans 
• Matching gifts program 
• Education assistance through MyQuest for Education 
• Career advancement opportunities 
• and so much more! 

The Vice President, National Laboratory Operations and Enterprise Automation has two major focus areas: 

1. To proactively drive the standardization, optimization and automation of lab processes (leadership of the National Lab Operations Team) 
2. To drive automation (and AI) for the entire order-to-cash process. (leadership of the Automation Team) 

The combined team pursues four major objectives. The first is to lead and govern the standardization and governance of the technical aspect of our test methods, to ensure optimization, compliance to all standards, standardization across labs, and management of all required validation and IT systems.

The second objective is to drive equipment and process standardization and optimization across the network, to ensure optimal customer service at the best possible cost structure, a proactive management of processes and equipment (e.g. maintenance) and the implementation of Lean principles in all our labs. This includes optimization of the lab network by creating centers of excellence, optimizing the production strategy (what test to produce where), etc. 

Third is the drive of automation and AI across the entire value chain, with a strong focus on labor intensive processes (priority lab at the moment). This includes design, collaborative development with key suppliers, testing and implementation of new automation solutions to reduce dependance on manual labor, improve quality and productivity and save costs. 

Finally, this team also supports M&A and other growth activities to ensure we have the appropriate capacity, processes, equipment and overall lab capacity and flexibility to drive growth for Quest. 

This person ensures that Quest has a clearly articulated strategy on automation and deploys this strategy through the entire operations network in a systematic and economical way. This includes defining the strategy, working within a cross-functional team to create the roadmap, managing a central team of experts to support field staff in the execution of the strategy, partnering with internal customers to pilot new solutions and determine improvement metrics, building relationship with core suppliers and partners to implement the strategy, providing oversite to the final roll-out of the solutions, and measuring outcomes against the defined deliverables. It also includes defining (with internal partners) the business case for automation solutions and tracking the actual benefits after the implementation to ensure we realize the relevant savings/ improvements.

Responsibilities: - Define and implement overall lab operations strategy; Set direction for journey toward an optimized Lab of the Future with standardized, optimized and automated processes across the enterprise. - Optimize Lab footprint and production network: Optimize hub and non-hub network footprint balancing customer experience and cost effectiveness by optimizing the physical network (e.g. consolidation), optimizing the production network (i.e. create CoE, produce tests at the most effective location, regionalize from Esoteric where possible, etc.). - Optimize and implement equipment strategy: Jointly with procurement, define and execute an equipment strategy to drive standardization, simplification and optimization of the equipment fleet to drive quality, productivity and cost. Drive reliability and value engineering strategy: Accountable for enterprise-wide asset management, total productive maintenance strategy and process, reliability engineering, service contract optimization and bio-medical development. - Enable growth: Partner with Clinical Franchises on product deployment (new test launch process improvement and prioritization). Optimize cost of testing as we launch new tests. Partner with M&A on setting up or integrating deals into our network. Support the S&OP process to proactively identify and remediate capacity constraints across the entire network. - Enable lab systems standardization: In close partnership with Information Technology, leverage the lab systems standardization project to allow for simplified and optimized specimen flow from lab-to-lab across the network. Support future IT transformations for Lab Information System (LIS) modernization. - Drive operational excellence: Improve operational effectiveness and efficiency through front-end specimen processing and regional lab operations using the Lean operations framework, tools and approaches. - Build strong operational leadership group with the regional operational leaders to create a self-governing production leadership group that drives and executes the operations strategy, holds each other accountable, and optimizes for the benefit of patients and Quest. - Technical excellence: Develop and lead technical standards for Lab Operations as it relates to medical quality and patient-care. Responsible for technical excellence across the following disciplines: Microbiology, Clinical Toxicology & Drug Monitoring, Hematology/Coagulation/UA, Molecular/Genetics, Immunology/Special Chemistry, Auto/Immuno Chemistry, etc. - Develop and drive enterprise automation strategy to help optimize, standardize, and automate manual processes along the entire order to cash value chain, but with a special focus and priority on the lab processes. - Partner with internal stakeholders/ customers to align on this strategy and adapt automation solutions to specific local needs and operational strategies. Set-up tight governance on automation with all key stakeholders. - Build a strong automation team which works across all functions, regions, technologies as an integrated center of excellence for automation starting with automation of manual processes, but gradually also encompassing automation using AI and other digital tools - Create, maintain, and manage execution of an automation roadmap that aligns critical parties including IT, facilities, suppliers, and field operations to ensure timely and effective implementation in accordance with key deliverables and outcomes. - Work cross-functionally to ensure all automation prerequisites are met: IT connectivity, process standardization, equipment standardization, supply standardization, lab layout/ construction, etc. - Work with external partners to identify new automation solutions (in healthcare and beyond looking at all industries and potential suppliers), co-develop Quest specific solutions, pilot them and implement them across the network. - Manages Senior Directors, Laboratory and Automation (grade 53) and indirectly supervises their teams.


Qualifications: Required Work Experience: - minimum-15 years professional experience in operations management, having led a manufacturing or similar operations leadership with P&L ownership - Leadership role in the development and implementation of industrial automation. Travel: 25% - 50% Preferred Work Experience: - Previous clinical laboratory experience preferred but not required. Knowledge: - Strong influencing skills and management of objectives and results in a matrix - Strong operational management skills, including Lean deployment, in a manufacturing setting (not necessarily lab operations) - Strong leadership and learning skills, to quickly learn the technical aspects, build credibility and create impact - Demonstrated strong collaboration and interpersonal communication skills. - Demonstrated success in building partnerships with suppliers, universities, and other stakeholders to identify laboratory and automation opportunities, innovations, and strategies including the design and implementation of novel automation solutions - Demonstrated ability to manage and implement a company-wide automation solution working jointly within a highly diverse cross-functional leadership team. Education: - Masters degree in advanced engineering degree or laboratory sciences (Preferred) - Bachelors degree in advanced engineering degree or laboratory sciences (Required) Skills: - Consistently leads through demonstrating Our Purpose and The Quest Way + - Effectively Building, Leading and Motivating teams - Skilled at leading and influencing without authority - Innovative Change Leadership - Business & Financial Acumen - Strategic Agility - Automation expertise and experience - Customer Focus - Drive for Results - Problem Solving - Interpersonal Savvy - Process Management and Six Sigma / Lean Orientation


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