SQA Raws & Ingredients Manager

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.

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:

• 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
• MQM adherence.

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

Critical Functional Competencies

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

Key Functional Skills/Knowledge

Minimum 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.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced experience in problem solving

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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.