SQA Raws & Ingredients

Job description

About Mars, Incorporated

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.

Purpose of Role

The primary role of the SQA Raws and Ingredients Manager is to execute continuous improvement activities for Raw and Packaging Materials sourced by Mars Petcare NA Business. This role will have accountability for conducting supplier audits and providing subject matter expertise in the ingredient or material assigned such as Essentials, Proteins, Fats, Packaging materials, Vegetables and Grains. This role will have direct accountability for delivering Global metrics related to supplier Audits and Assessments, provide input to the Ingredient/Packaging Risk Assesments, qualify new suppliers and drive supplier compliance to Mars Quality and Food Safety requirements. This individual will drive a lean culture through problem solving and Continuous Improvement for ~$1.2B spend in ingredients and packs for the North America Petcare business. The objective is to improve material quality, food safety and reliability. This will enable the sourcing strategy, mitigate recall risk, and drive projects with in the manufacturing network/strategic suppliers and most importantly ensure that we are providing the best Quality of products to our consumers. The SQA Raws and Ingredients Manager is responsible for delivering exceptional business results in the following key areas:

The role operates in a pet friendly, open office environment supporting natural pet nutrition and making the world a better place for Pets.

Principal Accountabilities

·  Drive robust problem solving that will lead to sustainable improvements in the supply chain materials.
·  Become Subject Matter Expert of assigned ingredient category.
·  Execute strategies that improve the reliability and consistency of the quality in the raw and packaging material for Mars Petcare.
·  Work with strategic suppliers to ensure the delivery of continuous improvement ideas and technology which ultimately leads to a competitive advantage.
·  Measure and drive improvements to supplier Total Conformance Index (TCI) through data analysis, and root cause corrective actions.
·  Work with the supplier to investigate & resolve material non-conformances to prevent reoccurrence and drive TCI improvements.
·  Undertake Supplier Development activities to build technical & operational capability to meet the future requirements of the supply strategy.

Critical Functional Competencies

·  Drive a lean culture based on root cause analysis and problem solving
·  Supplier Development and Quality Improvement through coaching
·  Improvement projects through the supplier and manufacturing network
·  Reduction of non-conforming product
·  Improvement of specification quality
·  Material Quality Management adherence

Key Functional Skills/Knowledge

·  Supply Chain Management.
·  Expertise in Lean.
·  Six Sigma Green Belt or higher.
·  Demonstrates a logical approach to analytical challenges. Applies appropriate analytical tools and techniques to problem solving.
·  Demonstrated ability to identify “root cause” of issues and determine course of action to meet short and long term business needs.
·  Verbal and written skills - including the ability to communicate effectively with all levels of the organization.
·  Ability to influence sourcing managers, supply team and suppliers.
·  Excellent team working and interpersonal skills.
·  Analytical skills for capability assessments and issue identification.
·  Understanding of food processing, equipment and controls.
·  Statistics for sampling and process control.
·  Familiarity with food laws and regulatory guidelines.

Minimum Qualifications

·  Lean Problem Solving
·  Food Manufacturing
·  Quality and Food Safety/HACCP

Preferred Qualifications

·  Bachelor degree in Supply Chain Management, Food Science, Engineering or related field is required.
·  Advance training in lean and problem solving.
·  3+ years of experience in Quality and/or manufacturing in the Food Industry.
·  The physical capability of working in a manufacturing environment is essential.
·  Advanced computer skills to use data input and retrieval systems, spreadsheets, word processors and formulation applications are required.
·  Advanced experience in problem solving
·  *LI-LM1

Mars is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you need assistance or an accommodation during the application process because of a disability, it is available upon request. The company is pleased to provide such assistance, and no applicant will be penalized as a result of such a request.

Nearest Major Market: Nashville
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