Director of Operational Strategy

Eurofins•Madison, WI

About The Position

The Director of Operations Strategy will own the operational strategy and performance roadmap for Eurofins’ rapid microbiology food testing laboratory. The role defines capacity, workflow, method-deployment and productivity strategy, working across Laboratory Operations, Quality, Scientific/Technical, Commercial and Finance teams to deliver fast, accurate results at scale. The position requires experience with high-volume, turnaround-sensitive microbiology testing and the ability to translate strategy into measurable operational execution. The director will develop multi-year operational plans, manage capacity and demand, improve turnaround time and throughput, standardize workflows, and support deployment of rapid methods, automation and digital tools. The role also ensures operating plans support relevant accreditation, regulatory and customer requirements; builds business cases for investments; and develops operations leaders and technical talent. The posting highlights success measures for the first 12–18 months, including achieving service and cost targets, establishing a multi-year roadmap, improving productivity, scaling at least two new method or automation initiatives, and reducing retests and nonconformances.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Microbiology, Food Science, Life Sciences, Engineering or a related field.
10+ years of progressive experience in laboratory operations, operations strategy, process improvement or business operations within testing laboratories, food safety, diagnostics or life sciences services.
At least 5 years of experience in a leadership role.
Demonstrated track record of improving throughput, turnaround time and cost per test in a high-volume laboratory environment.
Working knowledge of food microbiology, rapid methods and the regulatory and accreditation environment, including FDA/FSMA, USDA-FSIS, GFSI schemes and ISO 17025.
Strong financial acumen, including capacity modeling, budgeting and P&L management.
Excellent communication and influencing skills, with the ability to work effectively with scientists, laboratory managers and senior customers.

Nice To Haves

MBA or advanced degree.
Lean Six Sigma Green or Black Belt certification.
Experience with LIMS, laboratory automation and BI tools such as Power BI or Tableau.
Prior experience with M&A integration, new site launches or multi-lab network standardization.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute a multi-year operations strategy for rapid microbiology food testing, including pathogens, indicator organisms, spoilage, environmental monitoring and shelf-life.
Build capacity and demand plans that account for seasonal volume changes and customer segments.
Lead annual and long-range operating planning, including cost, headcount, throughput and capital targets.
Own turnaround-time, on-time-delivery and throughput performance, identifying and removing bottlenecks from sample receipt through report release.
Lead lean and continuous improvement programs across sample receiving, preparation, testing, data review and reporting.
Standardize workflows and best practices across laboratory teams and, where applicable, multiple sites.
Partner with Scientific leadership to evaluate and deploy rapid methods, including validation, verification and rollout planning.
Drive automation, LIMS and digital initiatives that improve productivity, data integrity and traceability.
Build business cases for equipment, facility and capacity investments.
Ensure operating plans support ISO 17025 accreditation, FDA/FSMA, USDA-FSIS, GFSI and customer audit requirements.
Partner with Quality to reduce error rates, retests and nonconformances.
Plan for business continuity, including reagent, consumable and supply chain resilience.
Align capacity and service commitments with Commercial for new programs, pricing and customer onboarding.
Partner with Finance on cost per test, margin, labor productivity and P&L performance.
Develop and mentor operations leaders and build the talent pipeline for technical and supervisory roles.