Do you want to bring innovation and lead the pack with the leading plant based cheese company?

Location: Brantford, ON

Hybrid

About Upfield

At Upfield our purpose is clear: we make people healthier and happier with nutritious and delicious, natural, plant-based products that are good for you, our planet; and with packaging that’s free from plastic.  We’ve got iconic brands like Violife, Rama, Country Crock, Blue Band and Flora that people all over the world know and love. We’ve been a trusted category leader since 1871 and yet we feel like we’re only just getting started.

Performance, Passion and Care define who we are as a company, how we work every day, and the responsibility we feel toward our Associates, our consumers, our business partners and our world.

We have big ambitions to grow this business and we want to attract the right people – those that love what they do, thrive on responsibility and are looking for career defining opportunities.

About the Role!

Job Purpose

You will be a part of a vibrant R&D team that brings innovation to life for the world’s largest plant-based cheese company.  As a plant-based cheese processing expert, you will own the end to end process of innovation, renovation and value creation for Upfield’s North American cheese operation.  You will work closely with the global cheese R&D and Marketing, and Supply Chain to execute the project pipeline as well as producing new product innovations.  Your work will involve optimizing existing technologies as well as testing out new technologies developed by Upfield’s Global R&D team and our technology development partners.

Main Responsibilities

• Deliver best in class, pilot and factory-scale products while working in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment.
• Lead global cross functional teams in project meetings
• Leading a small team of technologists and build technical capability for the US Cheese business
• Stakeholder management and partner with the marketing and sales teams
• Execute the innovation agenda and roadmap
• Deliver and execute cost saving measures
• Gain foundational technical knowledge of plant-base cheese processing, ingredient functionality, and sensory attributes to be able to provide feedback on organoleptic properties for product evaluations.
• Lead pilot and factory-scale testing initiatives and trials, while issuing summaries and/or reports with comprehensive results capturing technical conclusions and challenges
• Lead and/or participate in factory trials, commissioning and product start-ups for innovations, renovations, and business continuity support, including design of experiments, while fostering cross functional alignment between R&D and supply chain functions
• Work with the global technical team on planning and implementation of full-scale manufacturing trials, incorporating new technologies – including new ingredients and or new/modified processes.
• Provide critical manufacturing POV during trialing and implementation of product/process improvements or innovations
• Contribute towards technical deliverables to project goals, while providing status updates as appropriate to complement the project timeline
• Operates according to procedures and ways of working in line with Upfield frameworks, standards, and policies, relevant regulations (i.e. FDA), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), versed in HCCAP as well as Good Laboratory Practices (GLPs).

About you!

You are an engaged, driven, self-starter with a passion for food, a passion to design, create and build products and process in the food industry.  The ideal candidate has 5-10 years required experience in product and process engineering/development within the fast-moving Consumer Package Goods (CPG) industry, preferably in the dairy or plant based cheese categories.  You have earned a bachelor’s/master’s degree in engineering (Chemical/Mechanical/Industrial) or Food Science, with experience working in a manufacturing environment.   

You have ability to be a fast learner who is comfortable working in cross-functional teams with technical peers, management, marketing and factory personnel.  You travel in this role (possibly internationally) about 0-10% of the time, on average, while adjusting such support to business demands or needs.  Other positives you might bring include:

• Excellent written and oral communication skills; Use of software including Word, Excel and Power Point
• Ability to work autonomously, able to multitask and prioritize with a solution focused attitude 
• Ability to influence others (from line operators to upper management) and get results through working with a diverse team
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, to prioritize and manage complexity including managing multiple project activities and to lead small teams
• Executional excellence, time management and problem-solving competencies
• Strong demonstration of living the values in leading by example.

You’ll have to enjoy working in a fast-paced environment and it will take hard work and determination; we will give you the ownership you need to make an impact. 

You’ll have to deliver on the commitments you make. And we’ll give you the freedom and flexibility to do your job and build your own career. 

At Upfield we want you to bring your ideas, your motivation and desire to succeed! This part of the role is up to you to complete.

We Offer!

• Opportunity for immediate hands-on experience and training with a world-class R&D organization
• Exposure to all aspects of a fast-growing, multi-national start-up including Marketing, Finance, Sales and Supply Chain.
• A chance to see your ideas and work show up on the shelves of your local grocery store

We are the largest plant-based company in the world, and we believe in doing what’s right for our people, our customers and the planet.

We are a highly entrepreneurial fast-paced team running a multi-billion Euro business across 60+ countries with the mind-set of a start-up! We are agile, creative, fast-to-market and obsessed with customers and consumers.

If you want to make an impact where it matters apply now!

What’s next

If this position sounds interesting, please hit the apply button now! 

We understand your resume might not be up to date and recommend that you apply with what you have or your LinkedIn Profile. Upfield is dedicated to building an inclusive and diverse workplace, we understand that you might not meet all the requirements stated in the description, but we encourage you to apply anyway. You might be the right candidate for this role or other roles. 

Upfield is an employer committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace and equal opportunities for all. We recruit based only on values, qualifications, performance, skills, behaviours, experience, and knowledge. We ensure job advertisements are free from unintentional bias. 

No personal characteristics should be a barrier to joining Upfield. We prohibit discrimination and harassment based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or other personal characteristics.

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