Group Leader - Talent Pooling

Are you interested in future career opportunities with Biovac?

We are continuously looking for talented professionals to join our talent pool. By submitting your application, your profile will be considered for future vacancies that match your skills, qualifications, and experience.

Job Purpose

The four key focus areas of the Science and Innovation Group Leader are

Strategic

• Product and project pipeline: Visionary leadership with a forward thinking approach towards innovative solutions and technologies, giving Biovac the competitive edge.
• National and International partnering and networking: Establishing multidisciplinary synergies to deliver strategic value to Biovac with respect to vaccine and biological development and manufacturing.

Team Leadership

The leadership of high performance teams, stimulating:

• Innovative problem solving
• Independent thinking
• A lead from where you are approach
• Customer centric approach
• High quality results
• Global recognition.

Technical

• Build globally competitive technical capability to support Biovac’s strategic focus, with respect to know-how, facilities, equipment and skills

Commercial

• Commercial and business mind-set
• Entrepreneurial attitude.

In addition, the Group Leader is:

• Responsible for the management of all product and process development activities
• Accountable for inter- and intra-departmental as well as extra-institutional delivery
• Responsible for supervising, planning and implementing the development optimisation and technology transfer of process protocols and methods of various candidate vaccines/ biologicals
• Assist with the generation of applicable documentation in accordance with current GMP and GDP guidelines
• Striving to develop processes in full compliance with the current regulations and guidelines – both local (Medicines and Related Substances Act 101 of 1965, Pharmacy Act 53 of 1974) and international.
• Continuously build and support a sound quality assurance culture aligned to cGMP within Biovac

Requirements

Required

Degree or diploma in Microbiology/ Science/ Engineering or equivalent.

Preferred

PhD or MSc

Experience & industry knowledge

Required

• At least 6 years’ experience in pharmaceutical/ biotech manufacturing industry
• At least 2 years’ experience at junior to middle management level
• Experience in quality management systems within a cGMP facility.

Preferred

• Experience in aseptic (sterile) manufacturing
• Experience in having faced successful local and/ or international quality audits
• Experience in general business management within a commercial environment
• Knowledge of Pharmaceutical Manufacturing related legislation
• GDP and IP managemen

Responsibilities

People Management

• Align section focus areas and outputs to the business’s objectives
• Conduct section planning and execute activities within own scope of accountability
• Adequate capacity planning and performance delivery in line with strategic, tactical and operational plans
• Role profiling, goal setting and performance management of supervisors and staff within the group
• Implement a knowledge management infrastructure within the section to ensure intellectual property is effectively maintained
• Growth, succession & retention of talent pools within the section
• Accountability for own and team's personal and professional learning & development to ensure technical and leadership bench strength within the section
• Ensure accurate and documented delegation of ongoing operational activities in the event of key staff members’ absence in line with the related policies and SOP’s
• Conduct effective employee relations in accordance with labour legislation, company policies and procedures and address any performance and conduct concerns and risks timeously
• Ensure that Occupational and other risks related to roles within the group are defined and mitigated.

Business Management

• Shared accountability for achieving the site’s tactical plans and mitigation of any risk to the site operation including workflow, ethics, quality, finances, regulatory compliance and other material company requirements
• Identify and continuously present key opportunities and synergies that will improve and/ or expand the operation within own and/ or other sections
• Lead or participate in section and/ or site wide projects
• Monitoring & reporting on key operations, critical numbers and key performance indicators that impacts the section’s short, medium and long term objectives
• Participate with the department manager and other senior and middle managers in proactively mitigating risks and find solutions where possible
• Conduct effective and comprehensive costing, budgeting and expense management for own section, taking all overlapping site activities into consideration
• Lead own section’s transition into commercial operations and mind-set as well as managing efficiencies, reducing wastage and contributing to overall profitability
• Develop and maintain 18 month rolling plan for own section.

Core Technical Delivery

• Supervising and coordinating the development, optimisation and technology transfer of process protocols and methods of various candidate vaccines/ biologicals
• Ensure that resources are appropriately assigned and managed to meet agreed operational deliverables
• Provide expert consultancy, assistance, guidance, problem solving or input to Operations
• Generation of applicable documentation from the group/ unit in accordance with current scientific, GMP and GDP guidelines
• Responsible for the management and technical delivery of relevant group/ unit to Stakeholders
• Responsible for compilation of project proposals and associated documentation
• Management of technology transfers from development to manufacturing (including manufacture of material to be used in clinical trials)
• Management of training required externally or internally from group/ unit staff to ensure successful technology transfers to and from stakeholders
• Responsible for the generation of applicable documentation from the group/ unit in accordance with current scientific, GMP and GDP guidelines.

Quality Management

• Building own and team’s cGMP Knowledge and Compliance
• Assist in driving Quality Culture, Quality Objectives and Quality Risk Management
• Establishing and maintaining a state of control within section
• Driving Innovation and Continuous Improvement within the section
• Ensuring that Group is audit ready; closing audit findings
• Ensure effective management of Deviations, Change Controls, CAPAs within the section
• Establish escalation processes to raise quality issues to the appropriate levels of management
• Advocate continual improvement within the section
• Ensure a state of accuracy across all documentation within own span of control in support of achieving optimal quality across Biovac
• Ensure that the 4 eye principle is maintained when reviewing documentation.

Closing Date: 01 April 2027

This is a talent pooling requisition and not an active vacancy. Applications received will be considered for future opportunities that align with candidates' skills, qualifications, and experience. Only candidates selected for future opportunities will be contacted.