Jelte Jan Reitsma
Interim operations manager, team lead and project manager.
Lab, production and scale-up in food and biotech.
What I do
I step in where daily work gets stuck on the process around it: unclear responsibilities, planning that doesn't hold, teams working past each other. I map what actually happens, put the choices on the table and set up a way of working the team can carry on its own once I've left.
Operations management
Keeping laboratories and production environments running and improving: planning, procurement, facilities and equipment.
Building labs and facilities
New builds, expansions or relocations of labs, from design through to commissioning.
Processes and accountability
Workflows, meeting cadence and visual management set up so it is clear who owns what.
Interim team leadership
Leading a team through growth, change or an open vacancy.
Background
Over 18 years in food and biotech, most of it in and around the lab. Started as a researcher in cell culture and antibody production, then lab manager, operations manager, and interim since 2024.
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2024 – present
Interim, JJR Consulting
Assignments in operations management, lab management and project management. Almost two years at Schothorst Feed Research: first operational, then sharpening processes, planning and responsibilities, finally running the laboratory. Also a short operational assignment at VBI Schuilenburg.
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2019 – 2024
Operations Manager, Meatable
Responsible for lab operations, reporting to the COO. Supported growth from 8 to 90 people, designed and commissioned new laboratories and offices, led the move to a new building.
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2015 – 2018
Laboratory Manager, uniQure
Lab supervision, capacity and resource planning, training and CapEx. Developed four modular BSL-2 laboratories for viral vector production.
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2007 – 2014
Research Associate / Laboratory Manager, Genmab
Cell culture, cell line development and bioreactor processes, combined with lab management and laboratory redesign. Co-author of a publication on transient expression systems (Methods, 2013).
Education BSc Biotechnology, Van Hall Larenstein (Bioprocess Engineering)
How I work
Look first, then act. I start with conversations and time on the floor, not with a project plan. What I put in place has to keep working without me, so from day one I work alongside the people who will take it over. Being clear about what isn't working is part of that, with respect for the people doing the work.
Based in Dokkum (Friesland, the Netherlands), working on-site or hybrid across the Netherlands.
Contact
Want to discuss an assignment, or just get acquainted? Send a message through the form or email me directly.