Executive Director of Veterinary Service, University Laboratory Animal Resources (ULAR)

Job Summary

The Executive Director of Veterinary Service provides strategic leadership and comprehensive oversight of all veterinary care and animal welfare programs within University Laboratory Animal Resources (ULAR) at Drexel University. As the Attending Veterinarian, this role ensures compliance with all relevant laws, regulations, and policies governing the humane use of animals in research and education. The Executive Director manages daily veterinary operations, including surgery, post-operative care, health monitoring, and medical record maintenance. They oversee animal health programs, rodent quarantine, and the evaluation of research animal sources while advising researchers on animal models, surgical procedures, and pain management.

This position is responsible for hiring, training, and supervising veterinary staff, ensuring accreditation through AAALAC International, and actively participating in Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) activities, such as protocol reviews, inspections, and compliance monitoring. Additionally, the Executive Director collaborates with researchers on projects and surgeries, develops and implements Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for animal husbandry, and teaches in the Master of Laboratory Animal Science and Certificate of Veterinary Medicine programs. They work to maintain a safe work environment, support an Occupational Health Program for animal users, and contribute to a culturally competent and inclusive workplace that encourages professional growth. This role requires a strong commitment to excellence in veterinary care, research collaboration, and ethical standards in laboratory animal science.

Essential Functions

• Veterinary Services
  
  
  
  • Provide veterinary medical care and surgical services to research animals (primarily rodents with some swine and rabbit studies). Duties include but are not limited to - Diagnosing and treating naturally occurring and experimental induced diseases in laboratory animals; performing routine veterinary rounds with an emphasis on monitoring transgenic, SCID, knockout, and athymic mouse colonies; and performing euthanasia, routine gross necropsy, sample collections, and microscopic evaluations and coordinate pathological evaluation of sentinels.
  • Ensures animal colonies are maintained free of excluded pathogens
  • Clinical duty including the provision of holiday, weekend, and night emergency on-call duty coverage.
  • Actively participate in training and hands on research related training for labs
  • May be requested to perform certain research related activities
  
  
  
  
• Inventory Management:
  
  
  
  • Oversees receipt and distribution of veterinary supplies including DEA regulated drugs used by the ULAR veterinary staff
  • Oversees import and export of Quarantine animals
  • Manages and reviews health reports and health surveillance programs of approved animal vendors and relays pertinent information to animal procurement specialist
  • Ensure examination of USDA animals upon delivery
  
  
  
  
• Professional Development:
  
  
  
  • Maintains and enhances professional growth through collaboration in various research studies
  • Keeps abreast of current activities in animal care by reviewing appropriate literature and attending regional and national meetings
  • Attends local and non local meetings and lectures on Veterinary care and related topics
  • Participates and volunteers with laboratory animal organizations and biomedical research societies
  
  
  
  
• Fiscal Responsibility:
  
  
  
  • Work in conjunction with Director of Operations to prepare annual budget
  • Provide required oversight of purchasing for veterinary supplies, health surveillance program and quarantine
  • Participates in the process of capital purchases including surgical equipment, euthanasia equipment
  • Coordinate all payroll and human resource requests for veterinary staff at each site
  • Evaluate veterinary staffs on an annual basis for merit raises
  
  
  
  
• Employee Interaction/Supervision:
  
  
  
  • Directly supervise veterinary care staff including managing performance review process and setting priorities
  • Interact daily with the ULAR management and staff on animal health and husbandry issues
  • Interact with research investigators and their staff on matters of animal care and use
  • Interact with the Executive Vice Provost for Research & Innovation and other members of the Office of Research and Innovation for matters related to personnel, budgets, compliance, etc.
  • Interaction with IACUC chair and coordinator for protocol review and approval
  • Work in conjunction with Biosafety and Radiation officials to approve protocols
  • Work with veterinary staff to ensure annual maintenance of surgical and anesthesia equipment
  • Interaction with members of the Office or Research and Innovation
  
  
  
  
• Policy and Procedure Interpretation:
  
  
  
  • Establishing, reviewing, updating and implementing ULAR's Standard Operating Procedures
  • Assists in preparation of AAALAC Program descriptions
  • Participates in the development of University wide IACUC Policies
  • Participates and advises in post approval monitoring related to protocols in a supporting capacity
  • Is fully conversant, instructs and regulates others on applicable laws, regulations and policies such as the Animal Welfare Act, and the University policies concerning the care and use of laboratory animals
  • Familiar with live animal transportation, importation, and policies and health reports
  
  
  
  
• Other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) or equivalent from an American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) accredited school
• Minimum of 10 years of veterinary experience in laboratory animal medicine
• Veterinary medical experience in a research setting including knowledge of species housed at Drexel
• Knowledgeable in the operations of a large animal resource facility and program, including facility operations, equipment function, specialized husbandry procedures, and staffing needs
• Previous supervisory experience is preferred
• Ability to function as a member of a team is essential
• Adequate computer skills (word processing, database generation, etc.) are essential
• Strong oral and written communication skills are required
• Adequate analytical skills required for activities related to site budget preparation and management, generation and/or verification of annual reports, etc.
• Strong administrative skills with ability to multi-task is preferred
• Strong collaborative, interpersonal, and communication skills are necessary. Ability to work effectively with individuals at various levels and in disparate organizations is preferred.
• Experience and knowledge of facility operations, including regulations, standards, and guidelines for care and use of animals in teaching, research, and service is required.
• Familiarity with (AAALAC, Internationalaccreditation standards.
• A commitment to high-quality and humane care of teaching and research animals
• Ability to provide quality laboratory animal medicine veterinary service in an academic setting, including Biological Safety Level (BSL)-2 and BSL-3 environments.

Preferred Qualifications

• USDA accreditation in order to ship animals domestically and internationally
• ACLAM Board certification preferred
• Must obtain DEA license for ordering controlled substances at ULAR facililties

Physical Requirements

• Typically standing, walking
• Lifting demands 50lbs

Location

• Philadelphia, PA

Additional Information

This position is classified as exempt, grade Q. Compensation for this grade ranges from $162,030 - $243,040. Please note that the offered rate for this position typically aligns with the minimum to midrange of this grade, but it can vary based on the successful candidate's qualifications and experience, department budget, and an internal equity review.

We encourage you to explore Drexel's Professional Staff salary structure and Compensation Guidelines & Policies for more details on our compensation framework.

You can also find valuable information about our benefits in the Benefits Brochure.

Special Instructions to the Applicant

Please make sure you upload your CV/resume and cover letter when submitting your application.

A review of applicants will begin once a suitable candidate pool is identified.