Manager of Tissue Operations

McKesson•Nashville, TN

10d

About The Position

As the Manager of Tissue Operations you will provide operational and people leadership for Tissue Operations to ensure timely, high-quality procurement, processing, and management of tissue samples supporting clinical research activities. This role is accountable for end-to-end workflow oversight, turnaround time (TAT) performance, cross-functional coordination, and continuous process improvement. The Manager ensures consistent execution of tissue operations, establishes clear accountability for prioritization and escalation, and develops staff to support a scalable, high-performing function.

Requirements

Clinical research operations, including tissue and specimen management workflows
Regulatory, sponsor, and quality requirements related to specimen handling
Process improvement and performance metric tracking
Operational leadership and team management
Process design, workflow optimization, and problem-solving
Data analysis and performance tracking
At least three years of experience in clinical research, laboratory operations, or tissue/specimen management.

Responsibilities

Oversees end-to-end tissue operations, including procurement, receipt, processing, documentation, shipment, and return of fresh and archival specimens
Directly manages Tissue Operations staff, including hiring, onboarding, performance management, and professional development
Establishes clear expectations, accountability, and workload prioritization across the team
Ensures appropriate coverage, workload distribution, and operational readiness
Owns tissue turnaround time (TAT) performance, including prioritization decisions and intervention strategies
Tracks, trends, and analyzes key metrics (e.g., fresh, archival, priority TAT) to drive performance improvement
Drives accountability for meeting defined operational targets and service-level expectations
Ensures compliance with SOPs, work instructions, sponsor requirements, and regulatory standards
Develops, implements, and maintains SOPs and work instructions to support consistent operations
Ensures adherence to corporate policies, quality standards, and audit readiness expectations
Identifies process gaps and implements sustainable workflow improvements to enhance efficiency and reduce delays
Partners with internal teams (physicians, research nurses, coordinators, laboratory staff) to ensure alignment on study needs and timelines
Coordinates with external partners (pathology labs, sponsors, CROs) to support timely specimen procurement and issue resolution
Serves as escalation point for complex or time-sensitive issues impacting specimen flow or study timelines and addresses concerns as needed with leadership and physicians
Ensures consistent, high-quality communication and service across internal and external stakeholders
Supports training, competency development, and ongoing education for the team