Our “Meet Me in 5” series covers 5 people, topics or questions to illustrate how our business nurtures exceptional people, provides an energizing purpose and enables extraordinary potential in its employees’ careers.
In this article, we spoke to Ilse Mathieu, Site Lead European Operations Center – Associate Director, EMEA Distribution, based in Mechelen, Belgium. She discussed how the Covance Mechelen site is ramping up to become a major kit production facility to supply clinical trial kits across Europe, the Middle East and Africa – and what this high-profile project means for career growth opportunities in Mechelen.
1. Finding a life sciences career without a scientific or medical background
People may think that Covance and Labcorp, our parent company, only hire people with a scientific or medical background, but Ilse and her team represent the logistical expertise required to support global clinical trials.
“I am not a ‘lab person’ and I don’t have a medical or scientific background,” said Ilse. “My experience is in logistics, fulfillment and printing-on-demand. Ten years ago, when I saw an opportunity to work at Labcorp’s Clinical Trials Division in Mechelen, I was excited that I could play a fundamental role with my background. Today that division is part of our Covance drug development site in Geneva, and our logistics teams in Mechelen support dry ice production and shipping along with kit supply distribution. They ensure on a daily basis that doctors and patients have all the supplies needed, to allow them to quickly route their samples for testing at Covance laboratories.”
2. Building a career at Mechelen
在管理Mechelen的临床试验后管理物流后，ILSE被指派了角色，以越来越责任确保物流和样品管理部门之间的合作。今天，她正在Mechelen的Covance Central Laboratory Services（Cls）网站周围领先活动，同时还为扩大活动的新建筑准备了该网站的新建筑。
“我们目前在项目管理，数据管理，调查员服务，榆树和流式细胞术中工作的员工。我为我们努力确保所有部门的员工都有赋权拥有自己的职业生涯。这可能意味着跨部门迁移更广泛的经历，或花一些时间在作用中发展具体的专业知识。我们希望他们能够找到个人平衡并增加职业道路和机遇的可见性。“
3. Expanding and hiring for key roles
除了干冰生产和套件供应分配的主要活动之外，Mechelen网站正在进行一项重大举措，扩展到套件生产现场。他们的亲密合唱团队正在迅速增长，并希望在几个部门雇用特殊的人。一些角色不需要任何经验或中学教育。
“By 2023, we will need 90+ additional people on-site to support our expansion,” explained Ilse. “We will hire kit assemblers, shipping operators and supervisors for the kit production, multiple functions to support the warehouse activities and technical profiles for the automated production line. These functions will be opened throughout 2020. Additionally, we will continue to attract new talent for project management roles, includingregional study coordinators, and investigator support staff, among others. With our relatively small team and major plans for expansion, there are many open positions and opportunities to quickly grow your career here.”
4. A balanced workplace
Ilse highlights the benefits of having a flexible work arrangement with partially remote positions at Covance Mechelen.
“我们的许多职位可以远程执行，并没有与单个位置相关联，”她解释说。“我们已经在Mechelen网站上实施了一个程序，允许从家工作的某些功能50％的时间，您可以选择在家中工作的日子。人们欣赏在这里的工作生活平衡。同时，我们还激励人们来到该网站建立与同龄人的关系，并支持跨部门的内部通信。“
对于那些人住在或接近梅赫伦,Belgium, Ilse is quick to point out the highlights of the city.
“Mechelen is ideally located between Brussels and Antwerp. Our Covance site is very near the highway and close to the airport, which makes it great for travel time. It is known as a historic medieval city with lots of green spaces and terraces in the city center. I think it’s also a great place to enjoy Belgian food and our locally brewed beer, along with some of our famous chocolate shops.”
5. An Energizing Purpose to fulfill one’s Extraordinary Potential
Over the next two years, the Mechelen, Belgium site will be the main European hub to support Covance kit production.
“To me, a kit is not just a box with clinical trial supplies,” said Ilse. “In that box, we are really providing people the hope that they might benefit from their clinical trial. We have the potential to make their life more comfortable in one way or another. Without the support of our exceptional people, trials would not be possible, so I appreciate the difference we make for patients every day.”
She adds, “If you want to join us to help work on these innovative projects, there are many possibilities here. That’s the exciting thing about working with Covance and Labcorp – we have many new opportunities for expanding your skillset in a global company while growing in your career.”
If you are interested in learning more about our expanding roles in Mechelen,please join our talent network and upload your resume.
