Sr Specialist, Quality Programs

Mars•Chicago, IL

10d•$108,160 - $148,720•Onsite

About The Position

Accelerator, a global Division of Mars Snacking, is focused on unlocking growth across high-potential categories and brands. It houses brands like KIND, TRÜ FRÜ, NATURE’S BAKERY, RXBAR, EGGO, POP-TARTS, and RICE KRISPIE TREATS. The division combines Mars' scale with start-up agility to accelerate the future of snacking. This role is responsible for implementing the Quality Pillar within MARS Supply Excellence (MSE) Working Systems, ensuring sites produce high-quality, safe, and compliant products. The Sr. Specialist, Quality Programs, leads the Quality Supply Chain for the Accelerator business, supporting brands such as KIND, Tru Fru, and Nature's Bakery, as well as newly acquired Kellanova brands.

Requirements

3 years of food manufacturing experience in a responsible position related to food safety or quality and food safety management system and/or a combination of education and 5+ years demonstrated success in relevant field
Working knowledge of TPM, MSE, Lean, Continuous Improvement, or a comparable manufacturing excellence system, with experience applying foundational CI principles in a manufacturing environment
Change leadership — ability to influence and engage site teams, build ownership, and drive adoption without relying solely on positional authority
Implementation - Demonstrated ability to drive implementation through coaching, clear expectations, accountability, and sustained follow-through
Development - Proven ability to coach site leaders and Quality teams so that MSE/TPM practices become embedded and sustained rather than centrally managed
Solid project management skills to manage capability building & deployment of MSE Work Stream
Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite

Nice To Haves

Direct experience deploying MSE/TPM pillars, conducting maturity or gap assessments, and supporting site-level implementation
Change management - Demonstrated ability to lead and sustain change within a manufacturing environment
Data & performance management — ability to establish and use KPIs, maturity measures, and performance trends to identify gaps and demonstrate progress
Problem-solving expertise — experience with structured root-cause analysis, corrective action, loss elimination, and continuous improvement methodologies
Cross-site standardization — ability to identify best practices, establish common approaches, and drive consistency while recognizing legitimate differences among sites
Ability to interact with a range of levels from regional manufacturing leadership to plant associates
Power BI experience

Responsibilities

Lead essential elements of MSE quality pillars across Accelerator internal manufacturing sites; including but not limited to loss intelligence, loss elimination, and loss prevention
Measure existing waste data to analyze current state and improve future state
Develop & implement methodology for reducing waste through quality systems, process improvements, training, cross-functional collaboration, and advanced problem solving
Co-develop capability building plans & targets for site associates with pillar leads