Business Unit Overview 8th Avenue Food & Provisions is a growing organization made up of businesses that produce and sell quality products including pasta, peanut butter, granola, and fruit and nut trail mixes to retail, foodservice and ingredient customers. The company was formed in October 2018 through a combination of Post Holdings' private brands businesses and is owned by Post Holdings and funds affiliated with Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. ("THL"), a private equity firm.
Responsibilities The R&D Manager directs and oversees all aspects of the Nut Butter R&D department. This includes all product development, specification creation and leadership of R&D team. This role includes new recipe development, benchtop sample creation and scale up activities that ensure products can be successfully commercialized. This position works closely with plant operations and quality assurance to ensure formulas meet capabilities and can achieve consistent quality targets. This position works with project teams to execute against timelines, ensuring samples, analysis and customer needs are met. Strong data analysis skills are required, with the ability to interpret and take action on key findings.
Duties and Responsibilities: Develop new nut butter products (emulations, innovation, customer requests, etc.).Maintain/update existing formulas.Lead plant trials and assist first production runs as needed.Create and implement R&D policies and procedures, maintain all project/formulation records and write recipes.Oversee R&D lab, evaluate/maintain equipment and ensure calibration schedules are followed; assist in training quality teams on new equipment as needed.Manage team of R&D support staff, providing training, coaching, balancing of workloads and general administrative duties such as time sheet approvals and performance evaluations.Collaborate cross-functionally to provide technical expertise for potential new projects, problem solving efforts, quality concerns, etc.Collaborate with customers to understand product development needs, address formulation concerns and share benchtop recipes.Work with suppliers and procurement to approve new ingredients to aid in the development process, cost savings initiatives and/or backup supply situations.Assist in the RFP process with formula and sample development.Create, update and approve all specifications (raw material, formula, finished product and/or process & packaging), including creation of nutritional facts panel.Oversee Nut Butter sensory program. This includes providing panelist training and development/execution of questionnaires for new and/or commercialized products.Participate in quality and process improvement opportunities.Keep current with changes in technologies and regulation for the countries we do business.Oversee shelf-life study program utilizing 3rd party to conduct and monitor.Participate in customer meetings or trade shows as required.Perform other related duties as assigned by management.Competencies / Skills/ Abilities: Knowledge of Food Safety – FSMA, HACCP, GMPs, etc.Knowledge of FDA/CFIA regulatory compliance for nutritional labeling, food allergens, non-GMO, Kosher, Halal, gluten free, organic, etc.Experience with Genesis or other nutritional labeling software.Experience with Product Vision a plus.Experience with EyeQuestion or Sensory software is a plus.Knowledge on Fats and Oils Chemistry is a plus.Strong time management, planning, experimental design, and data analysis skills with ability to problem solve independently.Intermediate proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams).Strong written and verbal communication skills, with ability to communicate at all levels within the organization and externally (customers, suppliers).Ability to lead a team and enjoy working in a fast-paced environment.Organized and detail oriented.Good general understanding of business and financial principles.Demonstrated work ethic, integrity, and professional conduct.Education and Experience Required: Bachelors' Degree (BA/BS) from a four (4) year college or university in Food Science, Biology or related scientific field, along with 5 years of R&D experience in the food industry or equivalent combination of education and experience.2+ years of people management experience.Certification / Licenses: Must possess a valid U.S. Driver's License.Physical Requirements: This position is regularly required to communicate with others, both oral and written.This position is occasionally required to stand, walk, use hands handle or feel, reach with hands and arms, climb or balance, and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.Use lab equipment – scales, colorimeter, texture analyzer, and others as needed.Safely work in a variety of environments including office, laboratory, and/or nut butter manufacturing plant settings where occupational noise and other hazards may exist.Specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, color vision, and the ability to adjust focus.Travel: This position may travel between 25-50% of the time (U.S. & Canada).
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