Biosafety Manager

About the role

The Biosafety Manager is responsible for the overall leadership, strategic planning, finances and management of UCLA's comprehensive biosafety, high containment and vivarium safety programs. This position directly oversees six Environmental, Health & Safety (EH&S) professionals and ensures the safety and compliance of biological research, high-containment facilities and vivarium environments.

Responsibilities

• Act as the campus Biosafety Officer (BSO), serving as the campus subject matter expert for biological safety/biosecurity at UCLA.
• Be ex-officio member of the UCLA Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) and advise the committee on best management practices for mitigating biological hazards.
• Act as the Alternate Responsible Official to the High Containment Director and Associate Biosafety Officer for the Select Agent Program.
• Support and oversee the High Containment Director in managing the BSL-3 facilities & operations.
• Support and oversee the Vivarium Safety Officer in providing safety services to vivarium staff and researchers working with animals and plants.
• Set schedules and assignments of biological use authorization reviews.
• Set inspection assignments of laboratories with biological hazards including animal biocontainment facilities.
• Function as point of contact during regulatory inspections (NIH, CDC USDA, etc.).
• Review and manage the campus medical waste program.
• Provide input for Research Safety Plan Reviews.
• Manage biosafety training development.
• Develop and maintain campus documents and policies such as the UCLA Biosafety Manual, Exposure Control Plans, Standard Operating Procedures/Policies, etc.
• Oversee comprehensive financial management for their unit, ensuring accountability for all allocated resources.
• Administer the day-to-day budget with particular focus on specialized laboratory equipment acquisition, inventory management, personnel training programs, and required certifications.
• Maintain systematic expense tracking protocols and produce detailed financial reports.
• Develop, maintain, and forecast fiscal documentation for research initiatives when pursuing supplementary funding opportunities.
• Lead or participate in campus hazardous materials spill response efforts for regular and off-hour emergencies.

Requirements

• Minimum 7 years Relevant experience in biosafety, including management of BSL-3 or higher containment facilities and working with infectious agents, human gene transfer, recombinant and/or synthetic nucleic acids.
• Animal handling experience (preferred).
• Demonstrated leadership experience overseeing professional staff in a highly regulated environment, including mentoring and performance management.
• In-depth knowledge of NIH Guidelines, Cal/OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standard, Cal/OSHA Aerosol Transmissible Disease Standard, and federal select agent regulations.
• Experience working with vivarium operations and high-containment environments, managing risks associated with animal care, zoonotic diseases and infectious agents.
• Ability to establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with other staff members, administrators, managers, subordinates and academia.
• Ability to analyze complex technical data from environmental surveys, using logic and quantitative reasoning.
• Ability to make oral presentations, lead meetings, with persons of various social, cultural, economic, and educational backgrounds to persuade others to accept a specific action or opinion, and also to provide information to explain procedures, policies, etc.
• Skilled in writing grammatically correct, concise and accurate communication for the purpose of training, inspection, gathering and dissemination of information relevant to biosafety.
• Demonstrated experience in coordinating and delegating tasks with various groups to meet common goals.
• In-depth knowledge of NIH Guidelines, Cal/OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standard, Cal/OSHA Aerosol Transmissible Disease Standard, and federal select agent regulations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree Microbiology, biology, industrial hygiene or related biological science or safety disciplines or equivalent experience / training.
• Or Master's Degree Advanced degree (Master’s or PhD) is preferred but not required in biological sciences, microbiology, or related field or equivalent experience / training.
• Current professional biosafety registration or certification (RBP or CBSP, respectively) or eligibility for certification is strongly preferred.