Birgit Gamst Jensen

I’m a Senior Technician in Microbiological Control.

Birgit at work
In fact, I’ve spent my 20 years at LEO Pharma working in Microbiological Control: three years in product control, 10 years with environmental monitoring, and for the last six years I’ve been responsible for equipment compliance and running projects.
Most of my work is to do with compliance and handling projects. But to be honest, every day’s different. I do a lot of reviewing and reporting, and sometimes I pop upstairs to the labs and help them out if they have any minor IT issues.

Working with people across the organisation
I really enjoy working with my colleagues in Microbiological Control. But I also enjoy the contact I have with people throughout our organisation.
At the moment, I’m working with colleagues from Ireland and France on a project to make it easier to deal with our data from environmental monitoring. We generate a lot of data – and I mean a lot. Much of it is to do with recording the growth of bacteria and fungi from our production area. Now we introduce a bar code scanning system, which will entail the paperless laboratory and make the handling much easier – and faster.

A feeling of community
There's a good spirit at LEO, and I think that's because we have lots of social clubs. It’s easy to socialise with colleagues from other departments.
And it’s not such a big company. You quickly get to know everyone by sight. I think it’s important. The job’s more interesting if you know what everyone else is up to. I feel like I belong to a community, even though there’s a great diversity of people here.

Starting out
I started out as a pharmaconomist in a chemist's. I stayed there for two years, but I never really felt comfortable in the sales part of my role. I decided to apply for something in pharmaceutical production, and that’s when I found out about LEO Pharma – about 20 years ago now!
I didn’t get a job in production at LEO Pharma, but I did get a position in Microbiological Control. I knew absolutely nothing about microbiology. But I learnt fast.

Where the action is
I’d call LEO Pharma ‘steady’. I’m proud to belong to an independent company that can compete with the big players on the global markets. After all, that's where all the action is. And because we're privately owned, we don't keep changing direction to try and accommodate the whims of shareholders.
The management are very good at communicating new goals. So when changes are made, I always feel ready for them. And change is good. I’ve had to adapt. And as a result, I feel I've developed a lot, both professionally and personally.

Build a career at LEO
There’s always plenty of support if you need help with your career. Some years ago, I felt stuck in a rut. I spoke to my manager and straight away I got the feeling that she wanted me to stay. She put me in touch with managers from other departments, and I had some good discussions with people in all corners of the company.
In the end, a colleague in Microbiological Control left for Australia, so I took that position – and that’s where I am today. I had to develop some new skills, and I took a very useful course in project management; a lot of my work here is project-based.
When I look back on my 20 years with LEO, it seems clear to me, how important our focus on innovation has been. Today, we’re on full speed ahead. Yet we're still proud of our products and we’re passionate about helping the people who need them.

Birgit at leisure
I love travelling. Recently, I’ve been to New Zealand and the USA. And I’ve been to Iceland several times. I'm attracted to wide, open landscapes where there are few, if any, people. That’s why I've been to Iceland so many times. And, most recently, I was really impressed with Death Valley. Calm. Peaceful. And breathtakingly beautiful.