Vacancies at Mars

Job Purpose

• The job holder owns product development program projects to drive successful execution of innovation and renovation activities in line with performance, cost, nutrition, and timing targets.

Context and Scope

• Accountable for R&D leadership of projects
• During R&D leadership of projects responsible to supporting other R&D sub functions to deliver business objectives
• Close collaboration with commercial, marketing, activity management and supply to ensure projects meet all business objectives and are delivered successfully

What are we looking for?

• Education & Professional Qualification
• Minimum: Degree in Science, preferably Food Science, Food Engineering, Food Chemistry or Biochemistry
• Preference: Master’s degree in Food Science, Food Engineering, Food Chemistry or Biochemistry
• Knowledge/Experience
• Minimum 2 years experience in Research and Development
• Proven track record of building collaborative, cross-functional business relationships
• Project management skills and ability to work in a deadline driven environment
• Beneficial to have proven expertise in either dry blending and/or wet sauce processing and ingredient knowledge

What will be your key responsibilities?

• R&D leadership of development and renovation projects (planning & technical lead)
• Translate product development briefs into final product propositions
• Provide viable and feasible product solutions that meet business targets with respect to product performance and cost that can be implemented in factories with excellence
• Quantification and description of KQA’s through iterative prototyping, sensory evaluation and consumer research (in collaboration with sensory and consumer scientists)
• Develop and maintain Ingredient and product specifications
• Owns product performance (especially taste), recipe costs and nutritional profile
• Application of state of the art product development tools (e.g. Design of Experiments, Zero based costing) and leveraging of latest flavour and ingredient technologies
• Adapt propositions to local market requirements where needed
• Develops in-depth expertise and leadership on critical projects
• Supports the benchmarking program on key products in specific markets
• Develops and maintains product declarations and labelling in partnership with Scientific & Regulatory Affairs
• Responsible for WIL (Work Integrated Learning) Student Program which includes recruiting and training the successful candidate.

What can you expect from Mars?

• Work with over 130,000 diverse and talented Associates, all guided by The Five Principles.
• Join a purpose driven company, where we’re striving to build the world we want tomorrow, today.
• Best-in-class learning and development support from day one, including access to our in-house Mars University.
• An industry competitive salary and benefits package, including company bonus.

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• Regulatory Affairs maximizes opportunity & minimize risk by guiding business decisions based on regulatory insight and provide appropriate governance structure.
• The Regulatory Affairs Manager promote best practice sharing, establishing and auditing processes, systems, and the consistent application of Mars Petcare and Royal Canin policies that ensure regulatory compliance of ingredients, products, packaging and claims.
• The Regulatory Affairs Manager is responsible for building relationships and help shape the environment in a) Regulation making, b) interpreting or applying such compliance to guarantee freedom and agility in supplying quality and safe health nutrition products for cats and dogs.

What are we looking for?

• Lead RSA Royal Canin Regulatory team.
• Monitor & Influence regulatory environment.
• Ensure compliance with product-related regulations, including but not limited to: Ingredients, labelling, claims, product registration, packaging & import/export challenges.
• Represents Royal Canin interests in the most relevant Trade Associations technical working groups.
• Actively facilitate excellent relations with the Department of Agriculture (Fertilizers, Farm Feeds, Agricultural Remedies & Stock Remedies Act 36 of 1947 and Animal Diseases Act 35 of 1984) and relevant authorities (Legal Metrology Act 9 of 2014) and consultants

What will be your key responsibilities?

REGULATORY COMPLIANCE

• Provide an interpretation at a detailed level of new and proposed regulations, the implications on the use of our raw materials and formulas.
• Provide regulatory guidance to manufacturing, commercial & supply chain operations on any upcoming regulatory changes.
• Ensure Royal Canin products are in compliance with requirements for exports and imports.
• Manage inventory of registration certificates for finished goods, raw materials and licensing documents for the facility.
• Manage and co-ordinate internal (SANS 1841 (local e mark), regulatory compliance audit) and external (veterinary establishment re-approval, NRCS imports e mark & local e mark) audits and communicate their findings.
• Participate in the LRQA audits and the production of such process documents as required for the function.
• Liaise with Fertilizers, Farm Feeds, Agricultural Remedies & Stock Remedies Act 36 of 1947, Animal Diseases Act 35 of 1984 and Legal Metrology Act 9 of 2014 authorities to ensure compliance.
• Provide insight and strategic direction to Global SRA and R&D on claims that can be made on our products.
• Review, amend & approve packaging of Eukanuba products. The review process occurs in multiple stages i.e. validation of legal texts and claims on Weshare, validation of legal text on Mot-tiff and review of HD layout (without text) on Easypack

REGULATORY CHALLENGE MANAGEMENT

• Manage regulatory challenges.
• Provide the technical information to respond to either legal, regulatory or competitor challenges to our products, labelling or advertising.
• Provide technical expertise, management & support to resolve regulatory affairs and related incidents.

EXTERNAL AFFAIRS / LOBBYING

• Influence and participate in any future or current regulations and interpretations of regulations with the help of Trade Associations, RC Central Regulatory Affairs, RC Corporate Affairs and Mars teams when appropriate
• Develop and share technical expertise in the Trade Association

REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT AND SUPPORT OF PRODUCTS AND CONTINUED BUSINESS IN SOUTH AFRICA

• Surveillance: SABINET and relevant sites consistently and regularly (at least weekly) as relative to our business and products and the communication thereof to the necessary internal parties
• Protection: RC intellectual property, formulations, raw materials and manufacturing know-how in respect of the required level of transparency for the regulatory process
• Interface: be the active interface of RC Central and local teams (esp QFS and factory) where necessary including Raise the Bar (RTB) quarterly meetings, Mars petcare regulatory meetings, etc,P

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Job Overview

• Strategic Business Leader driving change and transformation within Royal Canin in South Africa for Emerging & Seeds Region.
• Partners with Global, Regional and Functional Royal Canin leaders to define the South Africa Digital Strategy and portfolio of high business value change initiatives.
• Helps to drive speed and focus through building mutual partnerships across Digital Technology towers and influencing key stakeholders across Royal Canin and Petcare.
• Is accountable for all Digital Technologies deliveries within Royal Canin in South Africa for Emerging & Seeds Region.

Context and Scope

• The role looks after Royal Canin in South Africa for Emerging & Seeds region, the market is key for the region because the organization has just changed.
• The roles defines & delivers a digital transformation that create business values as part of South Africa Transformation.
• The main counterparts in South Africa are Market GM & his leadership team.
• The main counterparts in Digital Technologies are leaders of the various functional/technology towers.

What will be your key responsibilities?

Strategic Leadership

• Segment Alignment: Defines & owns the Digital Technologies strategy within the context of Royal Canin in South Africa for Emerging & Seeds Region strategy.
• Disrupt with Digital: Brings to life within the region business value delivery through digital capabilities.
• Digital Mindset: Drives the usage of the Mars Digital Flywheel and underlying methodologies including usage of test & learn approach, user centricity, data & analytics, and automation.
• External Perspective: Brings the "outside-In" by maintaining an external network of digital professionals to deliver value faster. Contributes to build Mars Digital branding externally.

Delivering Change

• Strategy Delivery: Accountable and acts as escalation point for South Africa and Emerging & Seeds region Digital Technologies strategy delivery (on time, in scope, on budget).
• Business Transformation: Organize and Deliver multi-years, large scale programs to deliver efficiency, growth and people engagement.
• Capability Adoption: Drives the continuous adoption of Digital & Technologies capabilities within South Africa.

Operational Excellence

• Rationalization: Continuously challenge the status quo to drive opportunities to standardize and rationalize IT Landscape.
• Budget: co-accountable with Mars Digital Technologies S&F for Total DT Costs for geography and ensure to achieve Business Targets.

What are we looking for?

• Bachelor Degree or Equivalent (DT Degree preferred)
• 4 to 5 years working in a Digital Tech related role
• Must be customer focused with demonstrated ability to form productive relationship including business leaders, DT personnel and project leaders
• Story Telling skills
• Understanding of business drivers / processes and ability to relate segment priorities to associated technology
• Ability to educate non-digitally savvy leadership & staff
• Learning agility and desire to learn new technology and business
• Excellent written and verbal skills as well as high interpersonal skills
• Experience working across multiple levels of an organization
• Strong problem analysis, negotiating and influencing skills.
• Should have a proven track record of delivering results in some of the following three areas: Project delivery, Program Management, Senior Management exposure
• Proven track record to get things done in a matrixed organization and influencing without authority

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To promote, develop the general business and sell the South African Royal Canin range of products to identified clientele within the specialized pet food market and VET segment.

What are we looking for?

• BSC or Bachelor of Veterinary Science ( BVSc) / Diploma Veterinary Nursing (DipVetNurs)
• Minimum 5+ years Field Sales experience in a technical environment (Veterinary industry / Experience in developing and maintaining a client base / Pharmaceutical industry)
• Computer Literacy - Excel, Word, E-Mail, PowerPoint (Intermediate) – a must
• Valid South African driver’s licence
• Merchandising
• Training Experience
• Organizing of promotions and events.
• Client Liaison experience
• Fully Bilingual
• Willing to travel
• Willing to work overtime and weekends when necessary for promotions or events.
• Punctual
• Flexible

What will be your key responsibilities?

• Achieve Sales Targets
• Client management in VET channel
• Growth Rewards Program management and drive
• Promote the Royal Canin product range
• Merchandising of product and marketing tools
• Product knowledge and training

To provide excellent client support, product knowledge and training in the following areas

• Veterinary practice staff including vets, nurses and receptionists
• Consumers
• Key opinion leaders and specialists
• Call on vets throughout Gauteng and surrounds
• Attend to consumer queries as directed by management
• Attend in store promos, commercial events, breeder events and shows, or activities as necessary, promoting the products and supplying information
• Maintain and update client records as necessary
• Assistance and involvement in marketing, advertising and promotion of Royal Canin South Africa’s products
• Produce the necessary reports as stipulated by manager
• To train front staff and vets on our range of products
• General nutritional knowledge and pet health
• Prompt and efficient response to client (internal and external) questions and queries
• Maintain working relationship with Independent distributor
• Source and evaluate potential new clients
• Adjusts content of sales presentations by studying the type of sales outlet or trade factor.
• Focuses sales efforts by studying existing and potential volume of clients business.
• Keeps management informed by submitting activity and results reports, such as daily call reports, weekly work plans, and monthly and annual territory analyses.
• Monitors competition by gathering current marketplace information on pricing, products, new products, delivery schedules, merchandising techniques, etc.
• Recommends changes in products, service, and policy by evaluating results and competitive developments.
• Resolves customer complaints by investigating problems; developing solutions; preparing reports; making recommendations to management.
• Maintains professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops; reviewing professional publications; establishing personal networks; participating in professional societies.
• Provides historical records by maintaining records on area and customer sales.
• On a continuous basis updating and improving nutritional knowledge and pet health.
• Contributes to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed.