Vice President, Laboratory Operations

Executive leader

Career Explorer · Clinical, Laboratory & Scientific Operations · Laboratory Operations Management

M6 · Vice PresidentIndividual contributorVice President

Standard where organizational scale supports the level

What the role involves

Autonomy: Global function / business segment
Scope: Global function / business segment
Time horizon: 3-5 years
Expertise and judgement: Sets enterprise-level strategy, capital and organization design
Expected impact: Material company-level business outcomes

Expected skills (23)

Grouped as human, professional and technical. Target proficiency uses the P1–P5 scale, and each row says what that level means for that particular skill.

Human (11)

Skill	Importance	Target	What that level looks like
Coaching Collaboration & Leadership	Core	P5	Defines enterprise or industry practice, develops other experts and shapes strategy through the skill.
Decision making Thinking & Judgment	Core	P5	Defines enterprise or industry practice, develops other experts and shapes strategy through the skill.
Delegation Collaboration & Leadership	Core	P5	Defines enterprise or industry practice, develops other experts and shapes strategy through the skill.
Executive communication Communication & Influence	Core	P5	Defines enterprise or industry practice, develops other experts and shapes strategy through the skill.
Feedback delivery Collaboration & Leadership	Core	P5	Defines enterprise or industry practice, develops other experts and shapes strategy through the skill.
Risk judgment Thinking & Judgment	Core	P5	Defines enterprise or industry practice, develops other experts and shapes strategy through the skill.
Stakeholder management Communication & Influence	Core	P5	Defines enterprise or industry practice, develops other experts and shapes strategy through the skill.
Strategic thinking Thinking & Judgment	Core	P5	Defines enterprise or industry practice, develops other experts and shapes strategy through the skill.
Talent development Collaboration & Leadership	Core	P5	Defines enterprise or industry practice, develops other experts and shapes strategy through the skill.
Conflict resolution Communication & Influence	Supporting	P5	Defines enterprise or industry practice, develops other experts and shapes strategy through the skill.
Inclusive leadership Collaboration & Leadership	Supporting	P5	Defines enterprise or industry practice, develops other experts and shapes strategy through the skill.

Professional (5)

Skill	Importance	Target	What that level looks like
Business acumen Business & Strategy	Core	P5	Defines enterprise or industry practice, develops other experts and shapes strategy through the skill.
Financial acumen Business & Strategy	Core	P5	Defines enterprise or industry practice, develops other experts and shapes strategy through the skill.
Performance management Business & Strategy	Core	P5	Defines enterprise or industry practice, develops other experts and shapes strategy through the skill.
Quality documentation Quality & Regulatory	Supporting	P5	Defines enterprise strategy or external practice for Quality documentation and develops other experts.
Resource management Program, Risk & Sustainability	Supporting	P5	Defines enterprise or industry practice, develops other experts and shapes strategy through the skill.

Technical (7)

Skill	Importance	Target	What that level looks like
Good Clinical Practice (GCP) Clinical & Laboratory	Supporting	P5	Defines enterprise or industry practice for Good Clinical Practice (GCP), resolves novel problems and shapes long-term capability.
Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) Clinical & Laboratory	Supporting	P5	Defines enterprise or industry practice for Good Laboratory Practice (GLP), resolves novel problems and shapes long-term capability.
Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) Clinical & Laboratory	Supporting	P5	Defines enterprise or industry practice for Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS), resolves novel problems and shapes long-term capability.
Laboratory quality control Clinical & Laboratory	Supporting	P5	Defines enterprise or industry practice for Laboratory quality control, resolves novel problems and shapes long-term capability.
Research protocols Clinical & Laboratory	Supporting	P5	Defines enterprise or industry practice for Research protocols, resolves novel problems and shapes long-term capability.
Sample management Clinical & Laboratory	Supporting	P5	Defines enterprise or industry practice for Sample management, resolves novel problems and shapes long-term capability.
Scientific writing Clinical & Laboratory	Supporting	P5	Defines enterprise or industry practice for Scientific writing, resolves novel problems and shapes long-term capability.

Career ladder

Reached from

AVP / Head of Laboratory OperationsM5

Next steps

Senior Vice President, Laboratory OperationsM7Management promotion
Move from VP to senior executive scope across multiple global functions or a large business; make enterprise tradeoffs and develop executive talent.

People management requires sustained evidence of coaching, performance management, staffing judgment and organizational leadership - not simply greater individual expertise.

What changes to advance

Move from VP to senior executive scope across multiple global functions or a large business; make enterprise tradeoffs and develop executive talent.

Source: PROCOMER FTZ benchmark; SFIA; PMI · MF292-M6