"Environmental Research Lab Manager"

Environmental Research Lab Manager

Company: East Carolina University

Job Location:

Category: Biology

Type: Full-Time

Position Number: 500602

Full Time or Part Time: Full Time

Anticipated Recruitment Range: $54,249 - $68,643

Position Type: Non-Faculty

Job Category: Non-Faculty Instructional & Research

Organizational Unit Overview:

The Department of Biology (https://biology.ecu.edu) at ECU is one of 16 academic departments in the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences (https://thcas.ecu.edu). Both the department and the college seek to create an environment that fosters the recruitment and retention of our student body, faculty, staff, and administration and works to increase access to higher education by building a culture of care, belonging, and opportunity. Departmental personnel conduct work in four buildings on campus but the administrative home of the department is the new Life Sciences and Biotechnology Building.

The Department of Biology at ECU is heavily engaged in supporting ECUs teaching, research and service missions. The department is home to more than 1,300 undergraduate majors (BS and BA in Biology and BS in Biochemistry) and biology personnel instruct more than 17,000 students each academic year. Faculty in the department are committed to providing high-impact training in research to undergraduate, Masters (https://biology.ecu.edu/graduate-studies/) and Doctoral-level (https://idpbbc.ecu.edu/) students. Faculty are actively engaged in research. On an annual basis faculty generate approximately $2-3 million in new grant awards and expend approximately $1.5 million in direct research costs. Recently, ECU was classified as an R1 institution.

Much research effort at ECU, both inside and outside of the Department of Biology, focuses on water resources. In addition to having Genomics and Imaging Core Facilities, the Department of Biology also has an Environmental Research Lab (ERL) that is a research service center. The ERL supports research efforts that require the analysis of water quality. The ERL is located in Howell Science Complex and will begin occupying newly renovated space in Howell Science Complex beginning Spring 2026.

Job Duties:

This position serves as the manager of our Environmental Research Lab (ERL). The ERL provides analytical services and training to ECU individuals that need to complete chemical analyses of water and soil samples. Management of the ERL constitutes 50% of the managers duties which includes oversight and training of personnel (including students) conducting work in the ERL, managing the ERL budget and service center costs, maintaining equipment, completing purchases for materials and supplies, lab safety, advising on experimental methodologies and updating/creating new SOPs, quality assurance, invoicing, and performance of analyses and delivering results of analyses.

Additional duties include serving as an investigator (35% of effort) on two long-term external contracts (with CZR and Nutrien) that pertain to water quality analysis in eastern NC and management of an instructional lab for a course in ecology (15% of effort). Involvement on the long-term contracts includes training of personnel; oversight of day-to-day operations for the projects; reviews data quality; and collaborates with principal investigator on overall project management, writing of reports and presentations and proposals for new contracts to Nutrien and CZR. Management of the instructional lab (~3 sections/year) includes preparing materials and setting up the lab spaces, managing the course budgets, ordering materials/supplies, keeping the lab manual up to date and submitting to the bookstore, and training/supporting/supervising lab teaching assistants.

50% - Lab manager for the environmental research lab:

• Oversight and training of personnel (including students) conducting work in the ERL
• Managing the ERL budget and service center costs
• Maintaining equipment
• Completing purchases for materials and supplies
• Advising on experimental methodologies
• Updating/creating new SOPs, quality assurance, invoicing, and performance of analyses and delivering results of analyses

35% - Investigator on two long-term contracts with CZR and Nutrien:

• Training of personnel in use of all protocols (for both field and lab tasks) that are relevant to the contract work
• Oversight of day-to-day operations for the projects;
• Reviews data quality;
• Collaborates with principal investigator on 1) overall project management (e.g., discuss priorities and changes to any methodology, contribute to data analysis and production of graphs, and interpretation of results), 2) co-authoring the writing of reports, presentations and proposals for new contracts to Nutrien and CZR.

15% - Prepares and manages BIOL 2251 (Ecology) instructional labs:

• Purchasing lab materials and managing course budget
• Ensuring lab is setup so that TA and students have access to all materials and supplies needed for class
• Manages Canvas site for course (has all files that TA will need to instruct lab).
• Updates lab manual and submits to bookstore for copying and printing. Collaborates with faculty to ensure that material covered in lab is consistent with faculty expectations for course objectives.
• Ensures lab safety and helps to keep the lab and its support spaces in order
• Ensures TA has adequate training to lead course instruction
• Helps to drive students to field sites for some labs

Minimum Education/Experience:

• PhD in Biology or related degree if the degree required the individual to complete water quality analyses.
• At least two years of experience processing samples to complete water quality assessment.
• Position requires a valid drivers license. A valid drivers license must be maintained as a condition of employment.

License or Certification Required by Statute or Regulation: Valid drivers license

Preferred Experience, Skills, Training/Education:

Special Instructions to Applicant:

Application materials should be submitted online at www.jobs.ecu.edu using the position number 500602. Applicants must complete a candidate profile, submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, and contact information for two-three current references.

Official transcripts and 2-3 official letters of reference are required upon employment. Letters of reference will be requested upon selection as a finalist. References will receive an automated email from PeopleAdmin to submit letter. Inquiries regarding this position may be directed to David Chalcraft at chalcraftd@ecu.edu.

Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis.

Additional Instructions to Applicant:

In order to be considered for this position, applicants must complete a candidate profile online via the PeopleAdmin system and submit any requested documents. Additionally, applicants that possess the preferred education and experience must also possess the minimum education/experience, if applicable.

Job Close Date:

Open Until Filled: Yes

Initial Screening Begins: 09/27/2025