“I thrive outside of my comfort zone” – Meet Marina, whose curiosity and drive took her from pharmaceutical sciences in Spain to heading her own department at NIRAS in Denmark
In the span of approx. 10 years, Marina Blanco Leon has obtained two Master’s degrees, moved from Spain to Denmark, worked as an au pair, got a job as a consultant and progressed to head of department. But as she puts it “I have always been open and clear about what I wanted to do, and I thrive outside of my comfort zone; and I think that’s what has made it possible, along with a bit of good timing”.
Feeling right at home
It wasn’t in the cards that Marina would end up moving to Denmark – and even less so that she would settle there permanently. But when she had completed her MSc in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the university of Sevilla, she was looking to travel and decided to do a stint as an au pair in Denmark. From there, she went on to take a Master’s in Biology from the University of Copenhagen, significantly prolonging her stay, but as she puts it:
“When I came to Denmark, I just instantly liked it. I liked the culture and people which is a bit strange because I’m Spanish and there tends to be a culture gap in terms of how we are as people (and not to mention the weather situation), but I just connect very well with the Danish culture and way of interacting and have since I first came here”.
Two Master’s degrees, a pandemic, and a new career path
With two Master’s degrees in hand, Marina contemplated her next move and started looking for jobs. And then the pandemic happened. Lockdowns were enforced across the line and companies halted hiring.
“Everything just shut down at that time, and it prompted me to rethink my strategy in terms of finding work. A friend recommended talking to a coach to get some guidance and find out what would be the right next step, also because my profile was now quite versatile and could be taken in different directions”.
The coach recommended that Marina apply for consultant positions instead of ‘traditional’ job positions, which she hadn’t considered before:
“Once I started looking into it, the consultant job descriptions seemed tailormade for my profile and personality. I respond well to change and new challenges and I have goals I want to achieve, so being a consultant seemed like the right way to go because it allows for a different kind of work life in terms of tasks and structure”.
Getting a job was challenging because of Covid still putting a damper on recruitment, but via the job center, Marina got in contact with Jesper Wagner, a Medical Device expertise director in NIRAS’s Life Science department, and he offered her a two-week validation assignment to test her skills. Marina completed the task in three days, after which Jesper hired her for a permanent position.
“For me, it was an unusual way of being hired, there was no formal interview, just a coffee talk about my profile and the job at hand, but I guess he saw potential and decided to put me to the test and see if I could handle the assignment I was given”.
Marina quickly got into the world of pharmaceutical validation, primarily working with medical device, but also within software and equipment validation. It sparked her interest and she started taking courses specialising in quality, including a course in ISO 13485 (quality management system for medical devices).
“Once I started looking into it, the consultant job descriptions seemed tailormade for my profile and personality. I respond well to change and new challenges and I have goals I want to achieve, so being a consultant seemed like the right way to go because it allows for a different kind of work life in terms of tasks and structure”.
Moving up
After this, Marina’s career started taking off. She got involved in audits, with Jesper Wagner as her mentor, and that formed the basis for her to become a lead auditor. After a year, she got promoted to senior consultant, still working on projects within medical device:
“Over time, I’ve thought about the management path and whether that would be relevant for me, and when I was presented the opportunity to become team manager of the validation department, I accepted, even though it happened much faster than I had imagined. But it was a great challenge, and I’m really thankful for the opportunity. My role was then split between personnel responsibility for a team of 10 and then 3 days a week working at projects”.
She was made head of department in May 2024. Her main tasks are now focused around management, finding new tasks and clients, and building a strategy for validation in NIRAS Life Science, but she keeps one day as week reserved for working on projects.
Even though it’s been a big change, Marina is thriving in her new role:
“I love it. I thrive outside my comfort zone, so this journey has been great for me personally and professionally – and I really like that I’m still able to work on different projects alongside my manager role. I can see myself be more ‘still’ in this position for the next years and focus on growing my team, its competencies, and the client base.
For the future, I see exciting prospects. In NIRAS Life Science, we have departments covering the whole pharmaceutical and medical device production, and we are growing to offer everything from factory design to documentation – the entire process.”
“I love it. I thrive outside my comfort zone, so this journey has been great for me personally and professionally – and I really like that I’m still able to work on different projects alongside my manager role. I can see myself be more ‘still’ in this position for the next years and focus on growing my team, its competencies, and the client base.
The art of putting the intention out there
It’s safe to say that Marina has been on quite the professional journey since she stepped foot on Danish soil, but as she explains it, having the desire to progress is one thing, but it’s equally important to express that desire and make sure the people around you are aware of your aspirations, and while some might be reluctant to say that they’re looking at a career path as e.g. a manager, to Marina, it’s imperative that you make your wishes known:
“I was clear and upfront about my goals, including my desire to move into management, though I framed it as a long-term objective. Fortunately, the timing worked out perfectly, and I joined NIRAS at just the right moment. I always encourage others to be open about their aspirations and to express their personal and professional development goals, which is something I actively promote within my team. I encourage people to be open about their aspirations and express their wishes in terms of personal and professional development, that’s what I try to encourage my team to do.”
"I always encourage others to be open about their aspirations and to express their personal and professional development goals, which is something I actively promote within my team."
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