MENASA Network Sr Scientist- MGS Labs

Job description

A mutually rewarding experience. Work. Realize your ambitions. And realize there’s more to being in business than just making a profit. That’s the Mars philosophy. And the opportunity we offer every one of our Associates. An opportunity to take what you do and make it mean more for you, for those around you and for the planet. What you get here is challenging, interesting work. You get the tools you need to do a great job and you get to have the best possible people on your side to help you do it. And at the same time as getting to find ways to do business better today than we did it yesterday and driving a great career, you also get to build a more enlightened business and drive sustainability.

Because it’s never just about a single person, a single project or a single brand. It’s about how you can grab everything that’s within your reach here and use it to pursue mutual, long-term gain. It’s about having ideas. And ideals. Being prepared to risk failure because the promise of success means we’ll all be a little better off. It’s that mix of integrity and ambition that makes Mars such a special place to work. And why working here is always about more than just a job.

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.

Job Title MENASA Network Development Senior Scientist- MGS Laboratories

Segment MGS

Function R&D

Job Level T2

Location Pune

Reporting Manager MGS Labs Senior Director

Job Purpose

Everyday Mars Incorporated takes thousands of decisions that are informed by laboratory data. It is essential that Mars Associates have access to laboratory data that is accurate, reliable and timely to ensure consumer and brand protection, provide competitive advantage and enable operational excellence.

The MGS Laboratories MENASA Network Development Senior Scientist is responsible to conduct technical projects to develop and maintain a capable laboratory network within the MENASA region, ensuring compliance to Mars standards for quality and service and ensure an effective testing service for incident response.

Key Responsibilities

·  Develop strong relationships with laboratory users in all segments to understand local testing needs
·  Support the Laboratory Incident Management Process and support business incidents to ensure timely testing support to our customers
·  Identifies and develops external laboratory partners within the region to ensure rapid access to essential methods within the region.
·  Executes audits at laboratories to ensure compliance, identify risks and ensure their mitigation through effective corrective action management
·  Ensures the timely reporting of MGS Laboratories global metrics across the laboratory network
·  Identifies and acts on opportunities for service improvement with stakeholders and develops action plans to address these
·  Provides consultancy support to regional stakeholders (e.g., Factories, Product Development, Global Innovation Centers, SQA) on analytical questions
·  Act as the conduit to the wider MGS Laboratories expertise network
·  Act as Regional Approver for requests for new Tests/Methods in the Nexus Method &Test Application.
·  Maintain and provide knowledge of regionally required/preferred analysis methods.
·  Provides technical advice on test methods for Material Risk Assessment (MRA)
·  Provides technical mentorship and knowledge transfer in relevant field (Microbiology or Chemistry)
·  Support the development of export routes for samples for testing that cannot be sourced within the local country/region.
·  Executes technical training at site laboratories to ensure competency of site laboratory Associates.
·  Participates in the regional site laboratory community to drive the standardization, share best practices and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.

Context and Scope

The Mars Leadership Team have approved a 5 year strategic investment to strengthen Mars internal and external capability through the creation of a Mars Quality & Food Safety Laboratory Network, to establish critical operational capability for Mars Incorporated.

Reporting to the MGS Laboratories Director, the MGS Laboratories MENASA Network Development Senior Scientist will be responsible for driving projects that support the development of the MGS Laboratory services into the region. The job holder will support the MGS Regional Laboratory Lead in business partnership for units and sites within the region. Using their strong technical skills, they will develop the external laboratory network to ensure testing capability through Mars approved methodology and ensure the technical competency of site laboratories within the region. The role will provide local incident management co-ordination for testing and verify compliance of the laboratory network (internal and contract partner labs) to client quality and service performance requirements.

The role achieves results primarily through project management and hence the job holder must have a demonstrable record of project delivery and strong planning skills. The job holder will need to be able to build relationships internally and externally and must be able to leverage their technical background to share knowledge and drive capability within the region. Customer focus and influencing skills are essential for influencing the development of the external network. The job holder must be a self-starter and have a proven track record of working independently to deliver projects.

Flexibility to travel overseas and at short notice to support incidents is essential. The Job holder may travel up to 50% of their time.

Other Leading the lab governance program across

- 3 business Segments (Petcare, MW, and Food)

- Regional Coverage

Job Specifications/Qualifications

1. Education & Professional Qualification

Essential: Master’s Degree level qualification in Microbiology or Chemistry

Desired: Lead Auditor trained

2. Knowledge/Experience

Essential: A minimum of 3-5 years’ experience working in a food testing laboratory

Experience in operating quality management systems, including standards, audits, metrics and associated risk management

A proven track record of project management delivery

Desired: Broad experience in food testing matrices across multiple sectors of the industry

Key Supporting Competencies

• Customer Focus

• Action Orientation

• Negotiating

• Priority Setting

• Planning

• Functional and Technical Skills

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.

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