Laboratory Manager

Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process.

Job Category:

Academic Staff

Employment Type:

Regular

Job Profile:

Laboratory Manager

Job Summary:

The lab manager will lead the field operations associated with a multi-million-dollar (annually) barred owl removal and research program on the north coast of California, including supervising and coordinating with 7 staff. The lab manager must have prior certification and extensive experience in barred owl removals, as they will be responsible for performing barred owl surveys and removals, as well as managing staff performing these duties. They will be responsible for training and supervising crew members, coordinating field schedules, entering data, procuring and maintaining housing, vehicles, and equipment, and coordinating with our genetics team and collaborators to transport samples. They will also be responsible for communicating with project partners and stakeholders to make sure objectives are met and timely informal updates are made. The lab manager will also coordinate with landowners to access properties, prepare project reports, and present results more formally to funders. The lab manager will also publish peer reviewed papers on barred owl ecology and management.

  • Identifies, proposes, and implements new or revised unit operational policies and procedures in alignment with strategic initiatives and objectives.

  • Serves as the unit liaison to internal and external stakeholder groups providing information, making recommendations to leadership, and representing the interests of the unit.

  • Directs and supervises the day-to-day laboratory operations, quality control programs, and/or staff of a work unit to ensure compliance with organization and regulatory agency standards.

  • Monitors program budgets and expenditures.

  • May exercise supervisory authority, including hiring, transferring, suspending, promoting, managing conduct and performance, discharging, assigning, rewarding, disciplining, and/or approving hours worked of at least 2.0 FTE or equivalent employees.

  • Develops and facilitates trainings regarding scientific experimentation, technical procedures, and equipment operations to various audiences.

  • Prepares project reports and presents results to funders.

  • Collaborates on research with other lab staff and graduate students.

  • Performs barred owl surveys and removals following strict protocol.

Key Job Responsibilities:

  • Directs and supervises the day-to-day laboratory operations, quality control programs, and/or staff of a work unit to ensure compliance with organization and regulatory agency standards
  • Develops and facilitates trainings regarding scientific experimentation, technical procedures, and equipment operations to various audiences
  • Performs barred owl surveys and removals following strict protocol.
  • Identifies, proposes, and implements new or revised unit operational policies and procedures in alignment with strategic initiatives and objectives
  • Monitors program budgets and expenditures
  • Collaborates on research with other lab staff and graduate students.
  • Serves as the unit liaison to internal and external stakeholder groups providing information, making recommendations to leadership, and representing the interests of the unit
  • Prepares project reports and presents results to funders.
  • May exercise supervisory authority, including hiring, transferring, suspending, promoting, managing conduct and performance, discharging, assigning, rewarding, disciplining, and/or approving hours worked of at least 2.0 FTE or equivalent employees

Department:

Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology

Compensation:

$80,000 to $95,000

Required Qualifications:

  • Demonstrated experience conducting barred owl removals, as well as spotted owl field work.

  • Supervisory experience, including training, scheduling, risk-management, and managing project based field crews in remote or logistically complex settings across multiple field seasons.

  • Demonstrated research expertise in this field, including peer-reviewed publications in barred owl management.

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Demonstrated experience managing multi-million-dollar grants, including budgets, staffing, and reporting.

  • Experience conducting and managing fieldwork in northern coastal California or similar ecosystems, at all times of day, including at night.

  • Experience using autonomous recording units (ARUs) in the field to record, deploy, collect and analyze ambient audio; e.g. bird, wildlife. 

Education:

Bachelor's degree required or Master’s preferred in Wildlife Ecology or related degree .

How to Apply:

Click on the "Apply Online" button to start the application process. You will be prompted to upload the following documents/application materials:

Resume (required) - Detail your educational and professional background

Cover letter (required) – Refer to your related work experience

It is important that your cover letter and resume reflect your experience for this position related to the Qualifications section. Your application materials will be used during our evaluation to determine your qualifications as they relate to the job.  The most qualified applicants will be invited to participate in the next step of the selection process.

Contact Information:

For questions, please contact Jared Slagle at jslagle2@wisc.edu.

Institutional Statement on Diversity:

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity Employer. 

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence by acknowledging skills and expertise from all backgrounds and encourage all qualified individuals to apply. For more information regarding applicant and employee rights and to view federal and state required postings, visit the Human Resources Workplace Poster website.

To request a disability or pregnancy-related accommodation for any step in the hiring process (e.g., application, interview, pre-employment testing, etc.), please contact the Divisional Disability Representative (DDR) in the division you are applying to. Please make your request as soon as possible to help the university respond most effectively to you.

Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require your references to answer questions regarding misconduct, including sexual violence and sexual harassment. 
 
The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7). 
 
The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report contains current campus safety and disciplinary policies, crime statistics for the previous 3 calendar years, and on-campus student housing fire safety policies and fire statistics for the previous 3 calendar years. UW-Madison will provide a paper copy upon request; please contact the University of Wisconsin Police Department.

Back to blog

Common Interview Questions And Answers

1. HOW DO YOU PLAN YOUR DAY?

This is what this question poses: When do you focus and start working seriously? What are the hours you work optimally? Are you a night owl? A morning bird? Remote teams can be made up of people working on different shifts and around the world, so you won't necessarily be stuck in the 9-5 schedule if it's not for you...

2. HOW DO YOU USE THE DIFFERENT COMMUNICATION TOOLS IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONS?

When you're working on a remote team, there's no way to chat in the hallway between meetings or catch up on the latest project during an office carpool. Therefore, virtual communication will be absolutely essential to get your work done...

3. WHAT IS "WORKING REMOTE" REALLY FOR YOU?

Many people want to work remotely because of the flexibility it allows. You can work anywhere and at any time of the day...

4. WHAT DO YOU NEED IN YOUR PHYSICAL WORKSPACE TO SUCCEED IN YOUR WORK?

With this question, companies are looking to see what equipment they may need to provide you with and to verify how aware you are of what remote working could mean for you physically and logistically...

5. HOW DO YOU PROCESS INFORMATION?

Several years ago, I was working in a team to plan a big event. My supervisor made us all work as a team before the big day. One of our activities has been to find out how each of us processes information...

6. HOW DO YOU MANAGE THE CALENDAR AND THE PROGRAM? WHICH APPLICATIONS / SYSTEM DO YOU USE?

Or you may receive even more specific questions, such as: What's on your calendar? Do you plan blocks of time to do certain types of work? Do you have an open calendar that everyone can see?...

7. HOW DO YOU ORGANIZE FILES, LINKS, AND TABS ON YOUR COMPUTER?

Just like your schedule, how you track files and other information is very important. After all, everything is digital!...

8. HOW TO PRIORITIZE WORK?

The day I watched Marie Forleo's film separating the important from the urgent, my life changed. Not all remote jobs start fast, but most of them are...

9. HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR A MEETING AND PREPARE A MEETING? WHAT DO YOU SEE HAPPENING DURING THE MEETING?

Just as communication is essential when working remotely, so is organization. Because you won't have those opportunities in the elevator or a casual conversation in the lunchroom, you should take advantage of the little time you have in a video or phone conference...

10. HOW DO YOU USE TECHNOLOGY ON A DAILY BASIS, IN YOUR WORK AND FOR YOUR PLEASURE?

This is a great question because it shows your comfort level with technology, which is very important for a remote worker because you will be working with technology over time...