Scientific & Regulatory Affairs Manager

Job Purpose:

In alignment with the CEA business strategy, the role of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs (SRA) is to manage the external and internal scientific and regulatory environments for Mars in a way that allows the business to flourish. The SRA Manager plays a critical role in ensuring the freedom to operate for the business, as well as leading the identification of business growth opportunities by influencing and navigating regulations and advising on scientific and regulatory risk for product, pack and food safety. He/she identifies and interprets developing scientific and regulatory issues and translates opportunities to contribute to business strategy.

The Manager is also responsible for the performance, development, and engagement of the SRA team for CEA cluster. This role will lead an active external scientific and regulatory affairs engagement and influence strategy in Scale Activation and Activation markets to maximize Mars’ freedom to operate and drive new opportunities for Mars.

Job responsibilities:

· Accountable for the development and maintenance of an effective SRA organization covering Regulatory Compliance, Regulatory Affairs and Scientific Affairs for Central Eurasia. Ensure effective team development through line management excellence behaviors and create opportunities for development of team and the wider SRA community. Accountable for recruitment, succession planning and managing performance.

· Provide leadership and influence in external trade and scientific organizations in CEA consistent with the Company’s scientific and regulatory agendas and in line with the regional business strategy.

· Represent the company externally in various trade, regulatory bodies and scientific organization for CEA scientific and regulatory matters requiring senior leadership.

· Lead technical strategy to effectively influence the external policy environment in CEA to provide maximum freedom to operate and new opportunities for the segment, and provide effective SRA guidance to ensure sound internal policy development.

· Monitor and evaluate developing scientific and regulatory issues and opportunities that could influence internal and external policy development and/or business strategy. Maintains a broad knowledge of scientific, regulatory and policy environment in the region.

· Participate in cross-functional project teams and partner with R&D, Supply, Marketing, Commercial and other functions (e.g. Legal, CA) as well as external partners as appropriate to ensure that businesses are guided on a sound scientific and regulatory basis, to define the appropriate SRA strategy and resource to support compliance as well as opportunity driven activities for CEA.

· Leads complex and strategically important SRA projects, some with global scope and impact;

· Manages and measures the functional workload of agreed business priority projects and the SRA driven functional work in their areas of accountability and escalates challenges where necessary;

· Ensure effective cross-segment SRA community communication to align and create a ‘one-voice’ approach within ECE region; align globally on key topics to ensure alignment and consistency.

· Sit on relevant regional and global forums (to be determined by operating model).

Requirements:

Education & Professional Qualification:

A science based higher degree in a technical subject ideally related to food science, nutrition and health; proven experience of working in the field of food legislation, food science, health and nutrition will also be considered.

Knowledge/Experience

· Wide experience (5+ years) in a relevant scientific or regulatory discipline and experience in at least one of the following areas: food legislation, food science, nutrition and health.

· People leadership experience and team development/performance experience.

· Ability to deal with ambiguity & manage conflict.

· Ability to collaborate with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders, global working groups and a broad cross-functional network.

Critical Leadership Competences required for the role:

· Stakeholders’ management

· Business insights

· Develops talent

· Drive vision and purpose

· Ensures accountability

· Strategic mindset

· Communicates effectively