Position Summary:
The Laboratory Manager provides leadership and oversight for the District’s analytical testing programs, ensuring the generation of accurate, reliable, and regulatory-compliant data to support operational decisions, permit requirements, and biosolids management. This role directs daily laboratory activities, advances quality assurance and quality control standards, and supports the operations department. The Laboratory Manager works in close collaboration with the Operations Department, Senior Management, and external stakeholders to safeguard public health and the environment while advancing the District’s mission through scientific integrity and operational excellence.
Supervisory Responsibilities:
This role ensures that laboratory staff effectively carry out daily testing, analysis, and reporting activities while promoting a culture of accuracy, safety, and professional growth. The Laboratory Manager carries out supervisory responsibilities in alignment with District policies and applicable laws, including but not limited to interviewing, hiring, and training employees; setting performance expectations; assigning and reviewing work; conducting evaluations; recognizing and rewarding performance; and addressing performance issues through coaching and corrective action when necessary. The Laboratory Manager also serves as a resource for resolving complex analytical challenges and employee concerns, ensuring fair and consistent application of District standards.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Provide direction and oversight for daily laboratory operations, including scheduling, workflow management, and staff supervision.
- Ensure sampling, preservation, and analytical methods comply with Illinois EPA, U.S. EPA, and other regulatory standards, including adherence to required hold times.
- Implement and manage the District’s quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) program in accordance with IEPA standards; administer the Districts participation in the annual DMRQA program, coordinate with Operations to verify the accuracy of field and process control testing.
- Maintain laboratory instrumentation, probes, meters, pipettors, and titrators, as well as field instruments utilized for compliance testing, in proper working condition through preventative maintenance and calibration programs.
- Monitor and evaluate proposed and existing regulatory changes; provide recommendations on laboratory and operational impacts.
- Oversee procurement of laboratory supplies and chemicals, ensuring fiscal responsibility and uninterrupted laboratory function.
- Manage compliance monitoring and reporting of biosolids and solids processing, including verification of volatile solids and pathogen reductions, and completion of required sludge compliance reports.
- Work collaboratively with the Operations Department in support of their responsibility to maintain regulatory compliance for FRWRD by assisting with compliance requirements, process control, and continuous improvement efforts.
- Promptly notify the Operations management team and supervisors of atypical analytical results, whether related to liquid streams or solids data.
- Prepare, submit, and actively monitor the annual laboratory operating budget.
- Provide technical support to the Assistant Executive Director, Operations management, and supervisors during emergency situations.
- Organize and execute specialized sampling events and projects, including local limits evaluations, biomonitoring, and other special studies.
- Manage the asset management program for laboratory assets, overseeing their full lifecycle to ensure operational reliability, fiscal accountability, and long-term sustainability.
- Represent the District at professional conferences and training events to remain current with laboratory methods, technologies, and regulatory expectations.
- Periodically review laboratory Standard Operating Procedures and workflows, and identify opportunities for increased efficiency, improved data quality, and cost savings.
- Lead and coordinate required special monitoring efforts, such as annual priority pollutants, biomonitoring programs, or radionuclide sampling.
- Support District capital projects and new initiatives by providing technical expertise in sampling design, data interpretation, and compliance planning.
- Serve as the District’s subject matter expert for the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), ensuring its proper functionality, data integrity, and efficient integration with laboratory workflows.
- Perform other duties as assigned in alignment with the District’s mission and strategic objectives.
Education and/or Experience:
Bachelor's degree (B.S.) from four-year college or university in Microbiology, Chemistry, Biology, or other science related field; minimum of eight to ten years related experience and/or training in microbiology and chemistry in a water or food laboratory; or equivalent combination of education and experience. Minimum 1 to 3 years of previous supervisory experience is preferred.
Certificates, Licenses, Registrations:
Must possess a valid Illinois Driver's License and be insurable under District's standards. Must obtain CPR/First Aid Certification within the first twelve (12) months of employment.
Qualifications/Requirements/Skills:
The Laboratory Manager must demonstrate strong technical, analytical, and communication skills to ensure the effective operation of the District’s laboratory. Success in this role requires the ability to read and interpret safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals, as well as complex technical materials such as USEPA regulations, guidelines, and scientific papers on water quality and river modeling. The Manager must also be able to prepare accurate reports and correspondence, and communicate effectively in both written and verbal formats, including presenting information to groups of employees, customers, or stakeholders.
The position requires proficiency in applying advanced mathematical concepts, including probability, statistical inference, fractions, percentages, ratios, and proportions, to real-world laboratory and process applications. The Laboratory Manager is expected to ensure that the laboratory consistently produces defensible results by adhering to approved QA/QC procedures and by maintaining rigorous quality standards.
The role calls for strong problem-solving abilities, including the capacity to define issues, collect and analyze data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. The Manager must be able to interpret technical instructions in mathematical or diagram form and address both abstract and practical challenges. Building and maintaining collaborative relationships with District personnel, local, state, and federal agencies, and the public is also essential.
This position requires excellent customer service skills, a demonstrated ability to work productively with minimal direct supervision, and strong interpersonal communication abilities. Technical expertise with laboratory equipment—including ICPMS, Ion Chromatographs, UVNis Spectrophotometers, and preferably ICP-OES and Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption (GFAA) Spectrophotometers—is highly valued. Proficiency with Windows-based applications, including Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook, is required.
Physical Requirements:
Frequently required to stand; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; speak and/or hear. The employee is occasionally required to walk, sit, and taste or smell. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.
Work Environment:
The employee primarily works in a laboratory environment, with occasional field sampling responsibilities. The employee is required to handle wastewater and sludge samples and may be exposed to odorous conditions for extended periods. The employee is occasionally exposed to toxic, acidic, and caustic chemicals with potential for direct contact. The noise level in the work environment is generally moderate. Employee must utilize training, proper precautions, safety equipment, and personal protective equipment (PPE) while working with or around these possible hazards.
Salary/Benefits
This is a full-time, exempt position with full benefits and participation in the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF), a defined benefit retirement plan. Our comprehensive benefits package includes health, dental, vision, life, flexible spending, a 457 deferred compensation plan, paid time off, and tuition reimbursement.
The salary range for this position is $103,008.65 to $149, 259 - (Grade 8). The salary may be determined based on qualifications, experience, and professional certifications.
Employment with the Fox River Water Reclamation District is at-will, meaning that your employment relationship is for no definite or determinable period of time, either the employee or the employer may terminate the employment relationship at any time, with or without cause or notice. This job description does not constitute an employment agreement or contract, and the duties and responsibilities outlined may be subject to change at the discretion of the employer.
Fox River Water Reclamation District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Pay: $103,000.00 - $149,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Dental insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Flexible spending account
- Health insurance
- Health savings account
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Retirement plan
- Tuition reimbursement
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
