Lead Laboratory Accessioner

VPG | Part of Zoetis
Location: Bristol, UK

About Zoetis

Zoetis is the world’s leading animal health company, dedicated to supporting veterinarians, livestock producers, and pet owners through innovative products, services, and solutions that improve the health and wellbeing of animals worldwide.

For more than 70 years, Zoetis has been at the forefront of animal health innovation, developing medicines, vaccines, diagnostics, technologies, and services that help improve care for animals across the globe. Our colleagues are united by a shared purpose: to nurture our world and advance care for animals.

Veterinary Pathology Group (VPG) is part of Zoetis’ global diagnostics portfolio, delivering high-quality veterinary diagnostic services that support veterinary professionals with accurate, timely, and clinically meaningful results. Through advanced laboratory capabilities, specialist expertise, and a commitment to innovation, VPG plays a vital role in improving animal health outcomes.

The Opportunity

We are looking for a Lead Laboratory Accessioner to join our VPG team based in Bristol, UK.

As the Lead Laboratory Accessioner, you will act as the subject matter expert and day-to-day operational lead for the accessioning function, ensuring specimens are processed accurately, efficiently, and within required turnaround times.

You will oversee workflow management, task allocation, quality assurance, training, inventory management, and cross-functional troubleshooting, working closely with Laboratory Operations, Pathology, Customer Service, and other internal teams to support a seamless diagnostic service.

This role requires strong organisational skills, attention to detail, and the ability to lead and support colleagues in a fast-paced laboratory environment.

Site-specific responsibilities may apply depending on operational requirements.

Key Responsibilities

·       Act as the subject matter expert and operational lead for laboratory accessioning activities.

·       Monitor workflow, throughput, and workload distribution, assigning tasks to ensure efficient processing and service delivery.

·       Maintain accurate records, tier boards, operational communications, and workflow updates.

·       Work collaboratively with peers and Pathology Operations Leads to ensure pathology rotas are accurate, up to date, and workload allocation is balanced.

·       Manage site pathology rotas across all laboratory working days and respond effectively to unplanned absences to maintain operational continuity.

·       Support specimen receipt, staging, tracking, storage, and overall accessioning workflow.

·       Manage slide storage, slide recovery, and allocation of slides for further testing, including molecular testing, immunocytochemistry, and immunohistochemistry.

·       Coordinate purchasing activities to maintain appropriate stock levels and manage accessioning supplies.

·       Monitor inventory usage and ensure availability of essential laboratory materials.

·       Coordinate scanner workflow, including allocation, throughput monitoring, first-line troubleshooting, and escalation where required.

·       Lead oversight of exception and rejection processes, ensuring problematic samples are investigated and resolved promptly.

·       Support quality assurance activities, including accession-to-billing code accuracy audits and feedback loops with Customer Relations teams.

·       Provide support to Customer Service teams by monitoring communications, assisting with enquiries, and resolving operational queries.

·       Support data collection, KPI reporting, continuous improvement initiatives, and quality improvement activities.

·       Promote a culture of accuracy, collaboration, safety, and continuous improvement within the laboratory environment.

Additional Site Responsibilities

·       Support client account setup and data quality activities, including HubSpot to Pathport/MediLIMS validation, address verification, and GDPR-compliant data corrections.

·       Coordinate courier bookings, missed collection queries, and liaison with Logistics teams to ensure samples and results are tracked through to completion.

·       Monitor service quality metrics and operational exceptions, escalating potential risks to turnaround times.

·       Support reporting activities and operational reviews to improve service delivery.

·       Work collaboratively across laboratory and customer-facing teams to maintain high standards of client experience.

Key Candidate Attributes

• Previous admin experience/slide scanning experience/medical administrator experience

• Task prioritisation and ability to re-assign tasks with continually updated information

• Excellent organisation

• Independent time management

• Ability to manage requests from multiple parties requiring good judgement skills (lab/pathologists/clients– ability to manage potentially conflicting requests as all will say are urgent)  

• QC understanding and experience

• Quick thinker and uses initiative

• Follows good H&S when in the lab

• Long term – there is the potential that this will become based in the lab (1-2 years down the line)

Qualifications and Experience

·       GCSEs or equivalent qualification required; Associate Degree or equivalent laboratory qualification preferred.

·       Minimum of 2 years’ experience in accessioning, laboratory operations, data entry, or a supervisory role.

·       Experience working with Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS).

·       Strong understanding of laboratory workflows, specimen handling, and quality processes.

·       Demonstrated ability to lead, coach, and support colleagues in a busy operational environment.

·       Excellent communication, organisation, prioritisation, and problem-solving skills.

·       Strong attention to detail with the ability to maintain accuracy under pressure.

Physical Requirements

·       Ability to lift up to 50 pounds where required.

·       Ability to stand and walk for extended periods during laboratory operations.

·       Ability to wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) as required.

·       Ability to work in a laboratory environment while following health, safety, and quality standards.

Why Join Zoetis?

At Zoetis, you will be part of a global organisation committed to improving animal health through innovation, science, and collaboration.

Joining VPG means contributing to work that directly supports veterinary professionals and helps deliver accurate diagnostic insights that make a difference for animals every day. You will work alongside talented colleagues in a culture that values inclusion, development, teamwork, and continuous improvement.

Any unsolicited resumes sent to Zoetis from a third party, such as an Agency recruiter, including unsolicited resumes sent to a Zoetis mailing address, fax machine or email address, directly to Zoetis employees, or to Zoetis resume database will be considered Zoetis property. Zoetis will NOT pay a fee for any placement resulting from the receipt of an unsolicited resume.

Zoetis will consider any candidate for whom an Agency has submitted an unsolicited resume to have been referred by the Agency free of any charges or fees. This includes any Agency that is an approved/engaged vendor but does not have the appropriate approvals to be engaged on a search.

Notice: Zoetis Recruiters will contact candidates via email from an address ending in @zoetis.com and may also initially connect with candidates through LinkedIn, including LinkedIn InMail. Zoetis does not use Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, or other web-based/generic email domains to communicate about job opportunities, interviews, or offers of employment. If you receive a recruitment-related email message claiming to be from Zoetis that does not come from @zoetis.com, please treat it as suspicious. For your security, do not reply, click links, open attachments, share personal or financial information, or send money in response to unexpected or questionable recruitment communications.