Innovation Program Lead - Pet Nutrition:  

2 Roles available (Dog/Cat)

Relocation available

This role owns the leadership of our Super Premium Health Brands Innovation Program by playing a critical role in driving the innovation design vision and direction for the Dry & Wet portfolio of Mars pet care products. The Super Premium Health Brands portfolio is an extensive and well-established part of the funnel of our growth portfolio with a significant business impact.  Products within the portfolio must grow and deepen the relationships of pets with pet parents while focusing on the delivery of innovation and ensuring on-shelf competitiveness.  Innovation will be centered around providing for strong consumer friendly nutritional technologies bearing science-based claims support providing consumer reason to believe. This role will lead a team (2 or 3 associates) and the project portfolio for dry/wet product innovation - developing products, recipes and apply technologies to provide for scientific health benefits.   This role will work collaborativley across R&D to ensure delivery and deployment.

What are we looking for?

• Degree in Animal Nutrition, Food Science, Food Technology or equivalent.  Advance degree preferred.
• Minimum 10 years of experience in research and development; 12+ years preferred.

• Track record in leadership & delivery of complex technical projects/programs

• Extensive experience in a technical function within R&D (or similar business unit) preferably within nutritional innovation, functionality of raw materials and/or the emerging food industry.

• Experience in operating in R&D leadership teams
• Experience in consumer insight, testing, validation and consumer centric innovation
• Actively builds collaborative and effective relationships with partners across the business and externally.

What would your key responsibilities be?

• Strategic thought leader who can lead and implement nutritional innovation to provide for positive customer-centric experiences that intersect health, science and feeding experiences
• Lead new creative design and science-based thinking across diverse product releases and product platforms
• Lead a technical team to supports the business growth agenda by providing the vison of future product innovation opportunities
• Drive product design by providing recipe framework for the portfolio to ensure excellent execution of projects from inception through completion. The framework will deliver on product performance requirements, nutritional requirements of the pet, consumer product desires, process capabilities and competitive landscape.
• Provide for critical thinking solving technical problem solve at high level, deliver on solutions that may include internal and external options and present these back to senior leaders.
• Assess situations and determine the right approach to problem solving. Decide on the appropriate tools and processes to be used to engage and influence stakeholders’ decision-making to overcome challenges and meet project goals and objectives. Proactive in decisions to escalate issues to key stakeholders.
• Develop the product and portfolio strategy to support growth agenda
• Ensure product performance and product claim competitiveness
• Translation consumer insights into holistic design product concepts
• Lead and facilitate concept, claim and product prototype evaluation
• Contribute product design expertise to unit, regional, and global communities for the pet food segment
• Mentor and coach R&D Scientists & technologists.

What can you expect from Mars?

• Work with over 130,000 like-minded 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.

#LI-BM1

About Mars:
Mars is a family-owned business with more than $35 billion in global sales. We produce some of the world’s best-loved brands: M&M’s®, SNICKERS®, TWIX®, MILKY WAY®, DOVE®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, WHISKAS®, EXTRA®, ORBIT®, 5â„¢, SKITTLES®, BEN’S ORIGINAL® and COCOAVIA®. Alongside our consumer brands, we proudly take care of half of the world’s pets through our nutrition, health and services businesses such as Banfield Pet Hospitalsâ„¢, BluePearl®, Linnaeus, AniCura, VCAâ„¢ and Pet Partnersâ„¢. Headquartered in McLean, VA, Mars operates in more than 80 countries. The Mars Five Principles – Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom – inspire our 130,000 Associates into taking action every day towards creating the world we want tomorrow.

Disclaimer:
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.​​​​​​​

Note to Search Firms/Agencies:
Mars, Incorporated and its subsidiaries and affiliates (Mars) do not compensate search firms for unsolicited assistance unless they have a written search agreement with Mars and the requisition is position-specific.  Any resumes, curriculum vitae, and other unsolicited assistance from search firms that do not have a written search agreement or position-specific requisition submitted to any Associate of Mars will be deemed the sole property of Mars and no fee will be paid in the event the candidate is hired by Mars.