Global Head of Lab Systems & Automation

This role will be based in Cambridge, MA and requires 3 days minimum on-site presence.

The Global Head of Lab Systems & Automation is accountable for the strategy and global end-to-end lifecycle management of Vaccines R&D laboratory computerized systems, including robotics and automation solutions. This role provides strong leadership, strategic direction, and focus to implement and maintain automated and/or computerized systems & applications in an ever-changing environment in terms of GSK Vaccines’ growth profile, laboratory science innovation, regulatory requirements, and quality/EHS standards.

The Global Head of Lab Systems & Automation plays a pivotal role in supporting the organization in generating high quality structured data to drive our R&D projects forward. This role is focused on strong collaboration between Tech, Digital & Data, and Quality – applying business acumen, deep technical experience in laboratory instrumentation & automation, and process knowledge to drive innovative, pragmatic solutions for Vaccines R&D Scientists.

The Global Head of Lab Systems & Automation will act as the Operational Technology (OT) Officer for Vaccines R&D ensuring that OT risk is appropriately assessed, prioritized, and mitigated across Vaccines R&D. This role will ensure that centrally defined OT security standards and controls are appropriately considered and adopted / adapted in the labs and is accountable for OT cybersecurity controls and compliance.

Key Responsibilities:

This role will provide YOU the opportunity to lead key activities to progress YOUR career, these responsibilities include some of the following.

Leadership

• With strategic vision, guides the Lab Systems & Automation organization, partners, and customers to deliver innovative solutions for Vaccines R&D’s Scientists. Promote advancement of automation systems through a focus on automation innovation to drive scientific/business process improvement and the generation of high-quality structured data.

• Leads country-based Lab Systems and Automation teams ensuring business-as-usual lifecycle management support for Vaccines R&D lab systems; appropriate planning, resourcing, and successful execution of multiple operational/innovation projects conducted in parallel with business-as-usual operations.

• Drive employee engagement within the global Lab Systems & Automation team with emphasis on people development, enriching roles, effective recognition, and open & honest conversations.

• Play a leadership role to ensure standards, policies, and procedures are fit-for-purpose (e.g. Computer System Validation, Data Integrity, OT design / cybersecurity risk assessments & mitigations).

Stakeholder Management

• Work in partnership with a broad range of stakeholder groups including the R&D scientific functions as well as Tech, Computer System Validation, and Quality to define and implement fit-for-purpose system solutions to optimize the value of lab equipment and the productivity of Scientists.

• Proactively define lab automation technology standards, identify process improvement/cost saving opportunities, and accelerate generation of scientific results.

• Application of agile methodology to quickly respond and deliver in a fast pace changing environment.

• Manage, coordinate, supervise external partners throughput the entire systems lifecycle.

• Maximizing investment value for GSK while negotiating with external partners.

• Liaise with other GSK sites / orgs as well as external companies on benchmarks and best practices.

• Liaises with stakeholders across the Vaccines R&D sites (Belgium, Italy, US) and with Pharma R&D to promote leveraging of technology, systems/applications, and automated solutions between functions and sites.

OT Officer responsibilities

• Vaccines R&D representative at the R&D OT Operations Forum and Data Governance Risk Council

• OT Cybersecurity Risk Assessment and Compensation Process: 

• Responsible for carrying out risk assessments with respect to OT cybersecurity across the business area and managing the risk compensation process.

• Understand new threats, the potential for business impact and how GSK will respond via our cybersecurity standards and controls.

• Appropriate risk escalation of any issues and exceptions in accordance with the R&D OT Cybersecurity escalation process

• Risk Mitigation:

• Feed critical deliverables into VxRD Digital and Data Strategy to drive investment

• Collaborate with R&D Digital & Tech and Central Tech, including the Cybersecurity Office (CSO), and Global Products & Technology (GP&T) stakeholders to ensure the controls proposed to mitigate risks are appropriate for the business area, correctly implemented and adopted consistently.

• Review and approval of Firewall (FW) rules, reference architecture, VLAN strategy and high-level strategy for local deployment.

• Understand and action on OT vulnerabilities and crisis management, OT alerts, OT responses and recovery processes

• Cybersecurity Technical expertise and Business Analysis:

• Actively participate in and provide business input into the design, documentation, implementation and continued support of OT cybersecurity standards and associated tools (e.g., access management tool) and controls, including maintenance of the controls and their associated documentation post deployment.

• In collaboration with GSK Tech, input into the design and documentation for Network Segmentation for the business area.  

• Application of GSK’s cybersecurity standards is maintained across the laboratory environment (e.g. robust system inventory maintenance) and critical risks are escalated for remediation to the Risk Management Board and the Capital Allocation process.

• Liaise with business line leaders, science, and engineering SMEs within the business area, in making cybersecurity decisions.

• The role holder will play an active role in the OT Change Advisory Board (CAB) ensuring the business area’s requirements and deliverables are adequately represented. This includes responsibility for review and approval of firewall (FW) rules, OT architecture, VLAN strategy and local deployment strategy.

Why you?

Basic Qualifications: 

We are looking for professionals with these required skills to achieve our goals:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business or Science, Engineering, Information Technology or related discipline

• 7+ years operational experience managing lab systems in validated and non-validated environments

• 3+ years line manager experience leading large multi-site and global teams

• Experience with Stakeholder management – applying technical knowledge and lab systems

• Experience partnering with the Tech organization to drive fit-for-purpose system solutions and reliable provision of service to Vaccines R&D

Preferred Qualifications:

If you have the following characteristics, it would be a plus:

• Masters, PhD or MBA, or post-graduate professional qualification in Business or Science, Engineering, Information Technology related discipline

• Ability to think strategically and act with a high level of integrity to establish effective plans of action to deal with conflicting issues in a manner consistent with GSK’s global requirements

• Ability to work with an agile methodology to quickly respond and deliver in a dynamic environment.

• Change management strategies and implementation

• Large technical program implementation experience

• Demonstrated ability, when working under pressure, to decisively adjust a course of action in a rapidly changing and highly uncertain environment

• Excellent verbal and written communication with strong presentation skills

• Problem solving abilities suitable for handling the highly complex issues associated with cross organizational boundaries

• Decision making and application of risk management principles

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