Pet Food Product Developer

Job description

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Role: Pet Food Product Developer – T2

Salary & Benefits: 31,600- 48,000 plus other benefits

Location: Mars Care & Treats UK, Oakwell Way, Birstall, Batley WF17 9LU

Open date: 15/08/2019

Close date: 13/09/2019

Mars is a family-owned business with more than a century of history making diverse products and offering services for people and the pets people love. With almost $35 billion in sales, the company is a global business that produces some of the world’s best-loved brands: M&M’s®, SNICKERS®, TWIX®, MILKY WAY®, DOVE®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, WHISKAS®, EXTRA®, ORBIT®, 5™, SKITTLES®, UNCLE BEN’S®, MARS DRINKS and COCOAVIA®. Mars also provides veterinary health services that include BANFIELD® Pet Hospitals, Blue Pearl®, VCA® and Pet Partners™. Headquartered in McLean, VA, Mars operates in more than 80 countries. The Mars Five Principles – Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom – inspire its more than 100,000 Associates to create value for all its partners and deliver growth they are proud of every day.

Background

Deliver new product design and development projects, from concept through to implementation in our factory network, while also completing projects aimed at improving the design, cost and performance of our existing product portfolio.

Key Responsibilities

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Responsible for a portfolio of pet food products.

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Responsible for the technical product design and development for a variety of projects.

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Responsible for the optimisation of existing recipes and products to improve cost, quality and performance.

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Responsible for developing new product concepts, and their testing methods.

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Responsible for the successful product industrialisation across factories/co-manufacturers, including ownership of the relevant documentation and presentation of results.

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Responsible for ensuring our product systems are fit for purpose.

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Responsible for understanding and applying pet nutritional needs, legal legislation, Intellectual Property and food & people safety considerations to development activities.

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Responsible for the creation and custodianship of all relevant product specifications.

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Responsible for delivering projects on time and within cost.

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Responsible to effectively manage project risks and to inform and influence the project team.

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Act as the key point of contact for all technical questions & queries relating to the applicable brand, and ensure all requirements & claims are substantiated, documented & approved.

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Lead the technical product development of multiple innovation projects, working closely with Marketing to determine concept & scope, as well as with S&RA for the development & substantiation of claims.

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Responsible for the total product performance of the brand, including, but not limited to palatability, digestibility, faeces quality & nutrition, and ensure corrective actions are in place to close any gaps that may arise.

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Ensure all relevant product knowledge & insights are cascaded & deployed across the brand whenever possible, and where applicable, to deliver the best value to the consumer, while driving business growth & profitability.

What we want from you:

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Bachelor degree in Food Engineering

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Several years of experience within R&D for pet food manufacturing, with professional experience in product development

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Experience in leading technical project teams

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Professional experience working in the area of Quality & Food Safety for food manufacturing, including standards deployment in factories

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Knowledge & experience working on product performance & acceptance of pet food

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Fluency in English required, and a second language preferred

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Experience working across multiple regions & languages preferred

What we offer:

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Great career progression

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Range of in-house training

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Competitive salary, bonus and range of large company benefits

If this role describes you and you would like to fly within a culture that promotes autonomy and will listen to your ideas, then click the APPLY button below.

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