Sr. Scientist, Non-Poultry (3793)

Kentucky Fried Chicken • Plano, TX

304d

About The Position

You will ensure suppliers meet KFC's industry-leading food safety and quality standards for the non-poultry category, enabling exceptional experiences to our guests on every visit. Your mission will be to support the launches of exciting new products and promotions of non-poultry products by ensuring compliance across KFC US, playing a key role in offering our customers a crave-worthy menu.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited 4-year university, preferably in a science-related field.
• 8+ years of relevant experience with Bachelor's, 6+ years with Master's.
• Experience in a Restaurant Support or a Supplier Quality Assurance position for a quick service restaurant company ($500M+ in size) preferred.

Nice To Haves

• Excellent oral and written communication skills to engage and align cross-functional stakeholders; ability to present effectively to senior leaders.
• Strong analytical skills to interpret data and form actionable recommendations.
• Exceptional project management capabilities, including driving great outcomes in a fast-paced environment.
• Relentless in the pursuit of excellence and maintaining high standards.
• Resourceful and adaptive in ambiguous situations with a proven ability to operate 'in the grey.'
• Resilient in the face of obstacles and persistent in driving towards results.
• Thrive in a collaborative environment.

Responsibilities

• Supporting our ground-breaking product innovation
• Bring exciting new food concepts to life by serving as a key player in product development and launches: partner with Product Development, Commercialization, and Operations teams to collect and validate nutritional information, develop and maintain specifications/QAPs, and ensure seamless rollouts of promotions.
• Achieving excellence across our supplier network
• Protect KFC US' reputation with its customers by achieving and maintaining 100% adherence to Yum! Global / KFC Food Safety and Quality standards for all assigned suppliers, including Buffet and SET suppliers.
• Establish a quality-focused culture throughout our supplier network by facilitating summits, workshops, industry meetings, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Deliver superb quality throughout the buffet program by managing approved products and suppliers and collaborating with Operations to ensure compliance with program objectives.
• Help manage the supplier approval process for assigned product categories and collaborate with RSCS / suppliers on initiatives to improve restaurant margins.
• Maintain accurate supplier and product records by updating approved supplier and product lists and ensuring top-notch compliance with required menu items.
• Drive tight coordination with suppliers by traveling up to 25% of the time to field locations.
• Ensuring adherence to our compliance standards
• Safeguard customer satisfaction through expedient resolution of product concerns, promptly investigating and addressing food safety or quality issues raised through QA hotline, operations, or customer feedback.
• Spearhead crucial nutrition testing programs by coordinating testing frequencies, validating data accuracy, and partnering with third-party vendors to maintain up-to-date consumer nutrition information on the website.
• Ensure alignment with regulatory requirements and internal nutrition goals by serving as a KFC nutrition compliance expert on Yum! cross-brand and industry committees.

What This Job Offers

• Career Level: Senior
• Industry: Food Services and Drinking Places
• Education Level: Bachelor's degree