SQA Lead - Essentials

Mars•Guelph, ON

9d•Hybrid

About The Position

As a Supplier Quality Assurance Lead at Mars you will assure “fit for purpose” raw materials that meet/exceed the needs of the regional manufacturing sites and end-users. Ongoing responsibilities of the role include ensuring continuous supplier process improvement, identifying and executing cost improvement initiatives, assuring food/pet/product safety, continuous quality improvement, and performing supplier site visits and audits. The role requires functional experience in auditing, food materials, and food production activities. The Supplier Quality Assurance Lead interacts extensively with the Commercial buying and sourcing teams, manufacturing, product, packaging and commodity development functions with a special emphasis on a select set of commodity categories from High to Low risk levels to ensure we provide nothing but the best quality products to our consumers.

Requirements

2 or more years of experience working food manufacturing quality, with sound understanding of food safety, HAACP, and auditing.
Training and experience in continuous improvement and problem solving.
Competencies in planning/project management, managing and measuring work, managing data through internal systems
Ability to travel minimum 50% of the time
Strong understanding of supply chain with the physical capability of working in a manufacturing environment when necessary.
Minimum of a BS degree (Preferably in Chemistry, Food Science, Engineering, or a related field).
Proficiency in Microsoft Office.

Nice To Haves

Skills: Compliance Management, Creative Problem Solving, Data Collection and Analysis, Data Control, Planning and Organizing, Policy and Procedures, Policy and Regulation, Review and Reporting, Supplier Management, Verbal Communication
Competencies: Collaborates, Communicates Effectively, Financial Acumen, Instills Trust, Manages Complexity, Optimizes Work Processes, Plans and Aligns

Responsibilities

Assures quality and consistency of raw materials, primarily within the Palatant and Essentials category.
Provides inputs to material risk assessments and creates/drives supplier improvement plans.
Works in partnership with Commercial Buying/Operations Teams and Site-based Quality Services to support supplier non-conformance investigations.
Manages all inbound supply risks including material security, quality, food/product safety and regulatory compliance.
Performs supplier site audits and ensures completion of identified corrective actions.
Communicates effectively with multiple internal stakeholders in Commercial, R&D and Supply.
Performs supplier performance reviews and manages supplier performance metrics.
Drives a culture that is rooted heavily in continuous improvement principles and applying problem solving methodology across the manufacturing network.
Ensures product conformance to specifications and requirements.