What does a Natural Sciences Manager do?

Plan, direct, or coordinate activities in such fields as life sciences, physical sciences, mathematics, statistics, and research and development in these fields. Day to day that includes work like hire, supervise, or evaluate engineers, technicians, researchers, or other staff and Design or coordinate successive phases of problem analysis, solution proposals, or testing.

What skills should a Natural Sciences Manager put on a resume?

O*NET rates Science, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Monitoring, and Reading Comprehension among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Natural Sciences Manager list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Photoshop, Clinical trial management software, ESRI ArcGIS software, and Graphics software. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Natural Sciences Manager work?

O*NET records 37 titles for this occupation, including Chemical Process Exploration Manager, Environmental Program Manager, Research and Development Director, and R and D Director. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Natural Sciences Manager need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 35% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Natural Sciences Manager role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Natural Sciences Manager resume example

A resume for a Natural Sciences Manager needs to show the work itself: plan, direct, or coordinate activities in such fields as life sciences, physical sciences, mathematics, statistics, and research and development in these fields. Day to day that means work like this: hire, supervise, or evaluate engineers, technicians, researchers, or other staff; design or coordinate successive phases of problem analysis, solution proposals, or testing. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Chemical Process Exploration Manager
Environmental Program Manager
Research and Development Director
R and D Director
Analytical Services Manager
Chemical Engineer Supervisor
Lab Manager
Laboratory Manager
Research Administrator
Research Manager
Water Team Leader
Lab Director
Lab Operations Director
Lab Services Administrative Director
R & D Manager
Agricultural Research Director
Agriculture Research Director
Chemical Plant Technical Director

O*NET records 37 titles for this occupation in total.

What people in this job call themselves

Titles reported by people actually doing this work, which is often not the title on the job posting.

Lab Manager (Laboratory Manager)
Natural Sciences Manager
Research and Development Director (R and D Director)

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Hire, supervise, or evaluate engineers, technicians, researchers, or other staff.
Design or coordinate successive phases of problem analysis, solution proposals, or testing.
Plan or direct research, development, or production activities.
Review project activities and prepare and review research, testing, or operational reports.
Confer with scientists, engineers, regulators, or others to plan or review projects or to provide technical assistance.
Develop client relationships and communicate with clients to explain proposals, present research findings, establish specifications, or discuss project status.
Determine scientific or technical goals within broad outlines provided by top management and make detailed plans to accomplish these goals.
Prepare project proposals.
Develop or implement policies, standards, or procedures for the architectural, scientific, or technical work performed to ensure regulatory compliance or operations enhancement.
Recruit personnel or oversee the development or maintenance of staff competence.
Prepare and administer budgets, approve and review expenditures, and prepare financial reports.
Conduct own research in field of expertise.

16 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Hire, supervise, or evaluate engineers, technicians, researchers, or other staff, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Design or coordinate successive phases of problem analysis, solution proposals, or testing, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Plan or direct research, development, or production activities, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Review project activities and prepare and review research, testing, or operational reports, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Photoshop
Clinical trial management software
ESRI ArcGIS software
Graphics software
IBM Lotus 1-2-3
IBM SPSS Statistics
Integrated development environment IDE software
Laboratory information management system LIMS
Microsoft Access
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft PowerPoint

29 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Color plotters
Desktop computers
Laptop computers
Liquid crystal display LCD video projectors
Personal computers
Universal serial bus USB flash drives

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

R
supervise employees
hire personnel

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Science
02Active Listening
03Critical Thinking
04Monitoring
05Reading Comprehension
06Complex Problem Solving
07Speaking
08Writing
09Judgment and Decision Making
10Management of Personnel Resources

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Biology
English Language
Administration and Management
Computers and Electronics
Administrative
Chemistry
Mathematics
Personnel and Human Resources

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

35%Bachelor's Degree
27%Post-Doctoral Training
15%Master's Degree

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Extensive Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

Common questions

What does a Natural Sciences Manager do?: Plan, direct, or coordinate activities in such fields as life sciences, physical sciences, mathematics, statistics, and research and development in these fields. Day to day that includes work like hire, supervise, or evaluate engineers, technicians, researchers, or other staff and Design or coordinate successive phases of problem analysis, solution proposals, or testing.
What skills should a Natural Sciences Manager put on a resume?: O*NET rates Science, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Monitoring, and Reading Comprehension among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Natural Sciences Manager list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Photoshop, Clinical trial management software, ESRI ArcGIS software, and Graphics software. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Natural Sciences Manager work?: O*NET records 37 titles for this occupation, including Chemical Process Exploration Manager, Environmental Program Manager, Research and Development Director, and R and D Director. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Natural Sciences Manager need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 35% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Natural Sciences Manager role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.