Procurement Manager - Continuous Improvement

A mutually rewarding experience.

Work. Realize your ambitions. And realize there's more to being in business than just making a profit. That's the Mars philosophy. And the opportunity we offer every one of our Associates. An opportunity to take what you do and make it mean more for you, for those around you and for the planet. What you get here is challenging, interesting work. You get the tools you need to do a great job and you get to have the best possible people on your side to help you do it. And at the same time as getting to find ways to do business better today than we did it yesterday and driving a great career, you also get to build a more enlightened business and drive sustainability.

Because it's never just about a single person, a single project or a single brand. It's about how you can grab everything that's within your reach here and use it to pursue mutual, long-term gain. It's about having ideas. And ideals. Being prepared to risk failure because the promise of success means we'll all be a little better off. It's that mix of integrity and ambition that makes Mars such a special place to work. And why working here is always about more than just a job.

Mars has net sales of more than $33 billion, operates six business segments including Petcare, Chocolate, Wrigley, Food, Drinks, Symbioscience, and more than 75,000 Associates worldwide that are putting its Principles into action to make a difference for people and the planet through its performance.

Mars brands include: Petcare - PEDIGREE® , ROYAL CANIN® , WHISKAS® , BANFIELD® Pet Hospital, CESAR® , SHEBA® , DREAMIES® and NUTRO® ; Chocolate - M&M'S® , SNICKERS® , DOVE® , GALAXY® , MARS® , MILKY WAY® and TWIX® ; Wrigley - DOUBLEMINT® , EXTRA® , ORBIT® and 5® chewing gums, SKITTLES® and STARBURST® candies, and ALTOIDS® AND LIFESAVERS® mints. Food - UNCLE BEN'S® , DOLMIO® , EBLY® , MASTERFOODS® , SEEDS OF CHANGE® and ROYCO® ; Drinks - ALTERRA COFFEE ROASTERS® , THE BRIGHT TEA COMPANY® , KLIX® and FLAVIA® ; Symbioscience - COCOAVIA® and WISDOM PANEL® .

Position Title:?? ???????? Commercial Manager ? Value & Profit Optimization

Reports To:?? ?? ???????? Sr. Commercial Manager ? Value & Profit Optimization

Segment:?????????????????? Mars Petcare

Family:?????????????????????? DIB

Function:?????????????????? Commercial

Location: ?????? ??????????? Franklin, TN (BRN)

Job Level:????????????????? T3??????????

Level of Role

Individual Contributor

Number of Reports

0

Purpose of Role

The role's primary focus is to lead Lean 6 Sigma projects aimed at incremental and breakthrough improvements in core process performance. This individual will drive data-focused thinking, install measurements, identify and eliminate waste and variation, and lead process improvements. This role interacts with Commercial, Supply, R&D and Manufacturing resources to complete cross-functional and end-to-end projects.

This role supports the development of Mars Petcare's Lean Six Sigma (L6S) initiative through the enhancement of Petcare's long-range strategic plan in order to drive top tier performance. This role creates a culture of ongoing improvement that challenges the status quo and behaviors in order to improve quality, cost, delivery, safety, sustainability and morale. This position is also expected to build strong positive business relationships, practice effective interpersonal and influence skills, and help Mars Petcare to win at a higher, more consistent level.

This role will provide the technical and business expertise to drive Lean 6 Sigma results in all business focus areas. People who excel as Lean 6 Sigma Black Belts have exceptional learning agility, are motivated by helping others succeed, like solving puzzles / problems, have strong interpersonal skills, like both team and individual work, enjoy fixing things, are coachable, data-driven and self-motivated.

Principal Accountabilities

• Manage projects and implement sustainable solutions through delivering successful Lean 6 Sigma initiatives that typically cross functional areas, and utilize specific tools and techniques with a an overall Total Cost of Ownership focus. Support the Green Belts within the team to ensure timely project execution and implementation of pragmatic, sustainable solutions.
• Accountable for supporting Mars Petcare annual cost savings targets
• Lead and develop a team of highly engaged and collaborative individuals by driving engagement, high performance collaboration and stretch developing initiatives
• Works with business leadership to identify, define and scope Lean 6 Sigma improvement opportunities
• Lead, coach and develop Green Belts and project team members based upon Mars Petcare's CI/L6S standards. Give and support Green Belt training and certification.
• Develops and applies necessary technical skills to deliver improvement results (such as Lean, 6 Sigma, VSM, etc.)
• Engages process/department personnel in all phases of Lean 6 Sigma improvement efforts (including Value Stream Mapping, DMAIC projects, creating Standard Work, and 6 Sigma ways of working).
• Develops strong technical network with cross functional leadership
• Serves as a technical resource to support other Lean 6 Sigma analyses, as requested
• Maintains appropriate project documentation including project charter, progress updates and final reports to ensure sustainable savings
• Captures and communicates significant learnings to enable best practice-sharing and replication

Critical Mars Leadership Capabilities

• Problem Solving
• Strategic Agility
• Customer Focus
• Decision Making
• Change Management
• Motivating Others

Key Functional Skills/Knowledge

• Deep Supply Chain process knowledge
• Proven ability to lead teams and projects
• Self-motivated with excellent organization skills
• Strong attention to detail and excellent problem solving skills
• Ability to handle multiple tasks as well as prioritize work
• Strong verbal and written skills
• Strong customer focus and service orientation
• Knowledge of MS Office products used for analysis and presentation of data, specifically MS Excel and MS PowerPoint
• Demonstrated ability to be consistent, dependable and accurate in carrying out responsibilities to a successful conclusion
• Demonstrated ability to excel in a fast paced environment with changing priorities, while maintaining a constant commitment to highest level of quality
• Previous PRMS, SAP experience is a plus

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's' Degree in Engineering, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Business Administration or the Equivalent
• 6 Sigma Black Belt Certification
• Minimum 5 years Project Management experience
• Minimum 5 years Change Management experience
• Minimum 5 years Training/Coaching and Mentoring Experience
• Experience with Statistical Tools / Value Stream Mapping software (Minitab, eVSM, etc.)
• Functional skills in Microsoft Word, Excel, Visio and PowerPoint
• Successful completion of a drug and background test

  Preferred Qualifications

• 5-7 years Supply Chain Management experience / Lean 6 Sigma experience
• 5-7 years Project Management experience leading cross-functional teams
• Previous Supervisory experience

Mars is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, 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.