Project Manager IV

For 75 years, Charles River employees have worked together to assist in the discovery, development and safe manufacture of new drug therapies. When you join our family, you will have a significant impact on the health and well-being of people across the globe. Whether your background is in life sciences, finance, IT, sales or another area, your skills will play an important role in the work we perform. In return, we’ll help you build a career that you can feel passionate about.

Job Summary

We are looking for a Cagewash Manager to join our Insourcing Solutions team, located in Bethesda, MD.

We are seeking an experienced Project Manager IV to lead laboratory animal care operations supporting NIH contract facilities. This role is responsible for planning, organizing, and directing animal husbandry, technical support, facility operations, and staff management across rodent research environments. The Project Manager IV partners closely with veterinarians, investigators, project officers, and facility leadership to ensure exceptional animal care, regulatory compliance, operational excellence, and customer satisfaction.

Key Responsibilities include:

• Lead animal husbandry and technical support operations within laboratory animal facilities.
• Manage supervisors, veterinary technicians, animal care technicians, cagewash personnel, and support staff.
• Ensure all services are performed in accordance with contract requirements, SOPs, and customer expectations.
• Develop action plans and allocate resources to support multiple projects and operational priorities.
• Review operational needs and implement process improvements that enhance efficiency and productivity.
• Participate in on-call rotations and provide occasional weekend or holiday coverage as needed

• Ensure compliance with USDA regulations, NIH policies, Animal Welfare Act requirements, and the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.
• Ensures that detailed, accurate records and files are maintained on species as required by animal welfare regulations and guidelines, as well as facility SOPs and policies.
• Maintain adherence to company safety programs, facility SOPs, and environmental health and safety requirements.
• Oversee quality assurance activities, including animal health surveillance, sanitation monitoring, environmental monitoring, and facility inspections.
• Develop and implement SOPs related to animal care, enrichment, facility operations, and emergency preparedness.

• Direct and support supervisory staff to ensure successful execution of daily operations.
• Conducts periodic meetings with subordinate staff to keep them informed of current and future projects, policies and procedures.
• Interview, onboard, mentor, and develop animal care personnel.
• Conduct performance evaluations and address employee performance concerns in accordance with company policies.
• Support staff training and continuing education initiatives, including programs that support AALAS certification achievement.
• Foster a professional, collaborative, and customer-focused work environment.

• Coordinate facility maintenance activities and ensure proper operation of equipment and infrastructure.
• Monitor environmental conditions and facility performance metrics.
• Collaborate with veterinarians, investigators, and client representatives to resolve operational issues and support research needs.
• Oversee animal movement and biosecurity practices within the facility.
• Assist with equipment evaluation, procurement recommendations, and resource planning.

• Maintain accurate operational, animal care, and regulatory records.
• Generate reports and support computerized facility monitoring systems.
• Prepare and submit required documentation, inventories, logs, and performance reports.

Job Qualifications

Candidate must possess at least one of the following combinations of education/experience:

• Bachelors degree or higher in Animal Science or related field plus, 6 years of rodent experience with 3 year of supervisory experience in multiple labor category rodent facility

• Associate degree in Animal Science or related field plus, 8 years of rodent experience with 3 year of supervisory experience in multiple labor category rodent facility

• Highschool Diploma, 10 years of rodent experience with 4 years of supervisory experience in multiple labor category rodent facility

Additional requirements include:

• LATG certification

• CMAR certification

• Strong communication skills both verbal and written

Preferred:

• ILAM graduate

• Customer service experience

• Process Improvement experience

The pay range for this position $131,000 to $138,000 USD annually. Please note that salaries vary within the range based on factors including, but not limited to, experience, skills, education, certifications, and location.

About Insourcing Solutions

Charles River Insourcing Solutions℠ can streamline research by delivering operational and cost efficiencies through the strategic insourcing of GMP, GLP and non-GLP research services from discovery through safety assessment. Insourcing Solutions℠ provides you with the ability to maintain control of your facility and expertise while leveraging available space.

About Charles River

Charles River is an early-stage contract research organization (CRO). We have built upon our foundation of laboratory animal medicine and science to develop a diverse portfolio of discovery and safety assessment services, both Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) and non-GLP, to support clients from target identification through preclinical development. Charles River also provides a suite of products and services to support our clients’ clinical laboratory testing needs and manufacturing activities. Utilizing this broad portfolio of products and services enables our clients to create a more flexible drug development model, which reduces their costs, enhances their productivity and effectiveness to increase speed to market.

With over 20,000 employees within 110 facilities in over 20 countries around the globe, we are strategically positioned to coordinate worldwide resources and apply multidisciplinary perspectives in resolving our client’s unique challenges. Our client base includes global pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, government agencies and hospitals and academic institutions around the world.

At Charles River, we are passionate about our role in improving the quality of people’s lives. Our mission, our excellent science and our strong sense of purpose guide us in all that we do, and we approach each day with the knowledge that our work helps to improve the health and well-being of many across the globe. We have proudly worked on 80% of the drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the past five years.

We’re committed to providing benefits that elevate your quality of life. Based on your position these may include: bonus/incentives based on performance, 401K, paid time off, stock purchase program, Health and wellness coverage, employee and family wellbeing support programs, and work life balance flexibility.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Charles River is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all qualified applicants and employees without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, mental or physical disability, family status, pregnancy, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

It is unlawful in some states (including Massachusetts) to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

If you are interested in applying to Charles River Laboratories and need special assistance or an accommodation due to a disability to complete any forms or to otherwise participate in the resume submission process, please contact a member of our Human Resources team by sending an e-mail message to crrecruitment_US@crl.com. This contact is for accommodation requests for individuals with disabilities only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.

For more information, please visit www.criver.com.