Quality Assurance Officer - Health & Environmental Testing Laboratory

State of Maine•Augusta, ME

12d•$56,264 - $78,998•Hybrid

About The Position

This position is responsible for assisting in the continuing development of the laboratory quality assurance program for the Clinical Microbiology Department. The role involves providing training, performing audits, investigating and documenting performance issues, and evaluating the effectiveness of corrective actions to improve testing services as required by Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA), federal CDC, Maine CDC, and the Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory (HETL). The Quality Assurance Officer will also serve as the U.S CDC’s Laboratory Response Network (LRN) Laboratory Program Advisor, requiring extensive interactions with private and federal entities such as hospital laboratories and the U.S CDC. Duties include conducting periodic state-wide visits to hospital laboratories and performing assessments of testing capability and capacity to ensure they are up to date on the most recent analytical methods for the isolation and identification of agents of bioterrorism. This role also ensures the HETL possesses the analytical capability to test for agents of bioterrorism and maintains compliance with responsible sections of the Federal Select Agent Rules.

Requirements

A Bachelors Degree in Medical Technology or chemical, physical, or directly related life science
Six (6) years of clinical laboratory experience
Comparable experience may be substituted for education on a year-for-year basis

Nice To Haves

Professional certifications such as ASCP, MLT, or MT
Knowledge or experience with federal laboratory accreditation programs such as CLIA or CAP
Extensive technical knowledge of serology, bacteriology, virology, molecular, biology, and histology laboratory methods
Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with a diverse group of internal and external partners

Responsibilities

Oversight of quality assurance and quality control measures in the Clinical Microbiology section within HETL
Review of CLIA guidelines to assure laboratory compliance
Review of IQCP/QA/QC metrics for all standard operating procedures (SOPs)
Oversight of CLIA competencies and proficiencies to assure annual completion
Preparation of all documents for CLIA inspections
Developing and coordinating monthly QA Committee meetings with clinical and LRN Staff
Developing and coordinating quarterly meetings with the Epi-Lab Work Group
Managing non-conformance programs using quality notification forms and corrective action reports
Coordination with the Laboratory Safety Officer and Biosafety Officer
Partnering with the Maine CDC and state groups on emergency preparedness
Managing and coordinating an outreach program with all Sentinel laboratories for sample submissions, workflows, and post-analytical processes for all patient testing
Providing assessment and evaluation of Sentinel laboratory capability and capacity to facilitate LRN response
Managing proficiency testing for CDC assessment of Maine's capability to monitor for biological agents of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Benefits

13 paid holidays
3+ weeks of vacation leave annually
Personal leave for overtime-exempt employees
12 days of sick leave per year
Health Insurance Coverage (State pays 85%-95% of employee-only premiums)
Health Insurance Premium Credit (Participation decreases employee-only premiums by 5%)
Dental Insurance (State pays 100% of employee-only dental premiums)
Retirement Plan (State contributes 14.06% of employee's pay to MainePERS)
Gym Membership Reimbursement (up to $40 per month)
Health and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts
Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness eligibility
Living Resources Program (employee assistance program)
Six weeks of fully paid parental leave for all employees welcoming a child
Voluntary Deferred Compensation (MaineSaves 457(b) account)