Dental Laboratory Manager

Job overview

The Laboratory Manager will provide professional, strategic and operational leadership for the Production Laboratory at Liverpool University Dental Hospital. As a senior technical authority, the post holder will be responsible for transforming and professionalising laboratory services to ensure the delivery of safe, high‑quality, and regulation‑compliant technical outputs that support complex restorative, prosthodontic and orthodontic care, undergraduate and postgraduate education, and multidisciplinary research.

The Laboratory Manager will lead the development of structured competency frameworks, training pathways and an apprenticeship programme to ensure long‑term workforce sustainability.

Working with a high level of autonomy within established governance frameworks, the post holder will provide expert advice to clinical teams and senior leaders, represent laboratory services at strategic and operational forums, and play a key leadership role during a period of significant service transformation aligned to the strategic ambitions of Liverpool University Dental Hospital.

Main duties of the job

Job Purpose

The Laboratory Manager is responsible for providing professional, strategic and operational leadership for the Production Laboratory at Liverpool University Dental Hospital. Liverpool Dental Hospital is a major specialist dental teaching hospital delivering complex restorative, prosthodontic and orthodontic care, undergraduate and postgraduate education, and multidisciplinary clinical research.

The post holder will lead the transformation and professionalisation of laboratory services, ensuring that all technical outputs consistently meet regulatory, clinical, educational and organisational standards. This includes accountability for quality management, digital innovation, workforce development, service standardisation and the delivery of a safe, efficient, and high‑performing laboratory service aligned to clinical pathways and teaching requirements.

As the senior technical authority for dental technology within the Trust, the Laboratory Manager will work autonomously within agreed governance frameworks, provide expert advice to clinicians and senior leaders, represent laboratory services at strategic and operational forums, and play a pivotal role in shaping modern, innovative and sustainable laboratory services during a period of significant transformation.

Working for our organisation

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust comprises Aintree University Hospital, Broadgreen Hospital & Royal Liverpool University Hospital.

We are part of NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group, formed on 1 Nov 2024 from the coming together of LUHFT and Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust. The Group was born from a shared aim to improve the care we provide our patients.

UHLG is one of the largest employers in the region, with over 16,800 colleagues dedicated to caring for our communities - from birth and beyond.

For the 630,000 people across Merseyside, we are their local NHS. We provide general and emergency hospital care, alongside highly specialised regional services for more than two million people in the North West.

Liverpool Women’s Hospital specialises in the health of women and babies, delivering over 7,200 babies in the UK’s largest single site maternity hospital each year. The Royal Liverpool University Hospital is the largest hospital in the country to provide inpatients with 100% single bedrooms and focuses on complex planned care and specialist services.

For roles at Liverpool Women’s, visit their careers page.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Main Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide visible, inclusive and professional leadership to all laboratory staff, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation and continuous improvement.
• Act as the senior professional lead for dental technology within the Trust, setting standards for practice, conduct and performance.
• Establish, implement and lead an apprenticeship programme in collaboration with education providers, awarding bodies and national stakeholders.
• Develop and maintain structured competency frameworks and training pathways for all staff levels, from trainees to senior technical roles.
• Promote a learning culture that supports professional development, innovation and adoption of best practice.
• Lead workforce planning, succession planning, talent management and performance management processes to ensure service resilience and long‑term sustainability.
• Support staff wellbeing, engagement and retention, addressing capability and conduct issues in line with Trust policies.

• Hold full responsibility for quality management systems within the laboratory, ensuring compliance with all relevant regulatory, professional and Trust standards.
• Develop, implement and monitor standard operating procedures (SOPs) to ensure consistency, safety and traceability of laboratory outputs.
• Ensure laboratory services meet clinical, educational and research requirements, maintaining high standards of accuracy, timeliness and patient safety.
• Lead internal audits, contribute to external inspections, and implement corrective and preventative action plans as required.
• Ensure compliance with Health & Safety, infection prevention and control, COSHH, and other statutory requirements.
• Contribute to Trust governance processes, including risk management, incident investigation and service improvement planning.

• Lead the digital transformation of laboratory services, including the integration and optimisation of CAD/CAM systems, 3D printing and digital design workflows.
• Oversee the implementation and management of laboratory tracking and workflow management systems to improve efficiency, traceability and performance monitoring.
• Support the adoption of digital workflows aligned to clinical services, including intraoral scanning and digital case planning.
• Use data analytics and performance metrics to inform decision‑making, capacity planning and service improvement.
• Horizon‑scan emerging technologies and innovations in dental technology, evaluating potential benefits and risks.
• Develop and present business cases for new equipment, systems or service developments where appropriate.

• Oversee the day‑to‑day operational management of the Production Laboratory, ensuring the timely, safe and high‑quality delivery of services.
• Manage laboratory budgets, staffing establishments, procurement processes and equipment lifecycle planning.
• Ensure effective utilisation of resources, balancing service demand with available capacity and workforce skills.
• Lead process improvement initiatives using Lean, Six Sigma or similar methodologies to enhance flow, reduce delays and improve efficiency.
• Maintain effective communication with clinical teams to ensure laboratory services are responsive to changing clinical needs and priorities.
• Ensure appropriate contingency arrangements are in place to maintain service continuity.

• Act as an expert professional advisor on dental laboratory matters to clinical teams, senior leaders and service managers.
• Represent laboratory services at Trust‑wide, regional and national meetings, contributing to strategic discussions and service development initiatives.
• Contribute to the strategic direction of Liverpool University Dental Hospital through the development of modern, professional and innovative laboratory services.
• Support undergraduate and postgraduate education through the provision of high‑quality technical services and professional input.
• Engage with research teams to support multidisciplinary clinical and academic research activity.

Person specification

Qualification

• GDC Registered Dental Technician
• Masters degree level of knowledge/equivalent by experience of the relevant area

• Quality improvement certification (Lean Six Sigma, IQA, CQI

Experience

• Significant dental laboratory experience at senior technician level (minimum 5 years)
• Experience implementing significant change in complex organisation
• Quality management system development and implementation
• Experience with digital workflows (CAD/CAM, intraoral scanning, 3D printing)

• Experience implementing laboratory management software/tracking systems
• Audit, incident investigation and RCA experience

Knowledge

• ISO 13485, MHRA and MDR regulatory knowledge
• Clinical governance, risk management and quality assurance
• Digital dental technologies (CAD/CAM, 3D printing, IOS)

• Workforce planning, competency frameworks and talent development

Skills

• Leadership skills to inspire and motivate teams
• Ability to design/optimise workflows and processes
• Analytical skills incl. RCA
• Highly effective communication and influencing skills
• Budget management, procurement and resource planning

• Advanced digital skills incl. CAD/CAM, 3D printing, analytics
• Stakeholder partnership building

Please ensure you check the email account (including junk/spam boxes) from which you apply regularly as we will use this to contact you regarding your application.

Posts advertised to ‘internal staff’ are open to employees of hospitals within University Hospitals of Liverpool Group and you should confirm your employment within your application form.

Note: Under current Home Office Immigration Rules we are currently unable to offer right to work visa sponsorship for Band 2 and 3 roles with a salary of less than £25,000 pa as they do not meet the UK Visas & Immigration criteria.

Only those applicants who demonstrate clearly how they meet our person specification will be shortlisted for interview.

We reserve the right to close any vacancies from further applications when we have received a minimum number of applications from which to make a shortlist. Please ensure you apply without delay if you wish to be considered for this role.

Candidates applying for the role of Healthcare Assistant on the staff bank should note that due to the nature of the role, workers must be aged 18 or above when commencing in post. Applicants are therefore welcome from those aged over 18 or within 3 months’ of their 18^th birthday.

Not all roles are suitable for every flexible working opportunity all of the time. Flexible working options may include reduced hours, compressed hours, fixed shifts, time back in lieu and home working.

The Trust is committed to promoting equality and diversity; we value the contribution of individual talent, skills, knowledge and experience and aim for a workforce demography representative of the local community. We encourage applicants from the following groups that are currently under-represented in our workforce black, Asian and minority ethnic, lesbian, gay, bisexual and Transgender (LGBTQ+), disabled, male and age 16-24.

Bank posts require upfront payment.

From April 2017, Skilled visa applicants and their adult dependant(s) will be required to provide a criminal record certificate from each country they have lived in consecutively for 12 months or more in the past ten years.

Applicants requiring sponsorship may wish to determine the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship for this position by assessing themselves against the criteria on the gov.uk website - https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa.

This organisation has a zero-tolerance approach to the abuse of children, young people and vulnerable adults. All staff must ensure they adhere to the organisations safeguarding children and adults’ policy and comply with the Local Safeguarding Children and Adult Board procedures.

Staff should be mindful of their responsibility to safeguard children and adults in any activity performed on behalf of the organisation in line with the requirements of statutory guidance and legislation.

All employees (and volunteers)are expected maintain their safeguarding knowledge and skills by completing mandatory safeguarding training which includes understanding and recognising the signs of abuse and neglect and taking appropriate action.

As an organisation, we have adopted the Merseyside Domestic abuse workplace scheme which supports our staff who are experiencing Domestic Abuse /any forms of sexual violence.

If you have any personal requirements that will enable you to participate in our recruitment process please contact a member of the Recruitment Services by phone on 0151 706 4666 at the earliest opportunity to ensure that measures can be put in place to enable your application for this post.

Please note: new entrants to the NHS will commence on the first pay point of the relevant band.