Full-Time

Operational Risk Manager

Engineering

Deadline 9/21/26
Mars

Mars

10,001+ employees

Global confectionery, food, and petcare company

Compensation Overview

$86.7k - $119.2k/yr

+ Company bonus

McLean, VA, USA + 1 more

More locations: Chicago, IL, USA

Hybrid

Hybrid work is indicated for the listed locations; travel is approximately 20% domestically and internationally.

Bachelor's

Category
Risk & Compliance
Required Skills
Microsoft Office
Supply Chain Management
Risk Management
Excel/Numbers/Sheets
PowerPoint/Keynote/Slides

Get referred to Mars

See people who can refer or advise you

Requirements
  • A Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Risk Management & Insurance, Health and Safety, or a similar field.
  • At least 5 years of experience in property loss prevention, risk engineering, operational risk management, insurance risk consulting, business continuity, or a related discipline.
  • Experience with compliance, auditing, governance, and reporting processes.
  • Experience managing external vendors, consultants, and service providers.
  • Knowledge of property loss prevention principles, fire protection systems, business continuity planning, and risk management practices.
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to interpret risk data and identify trends.
  • Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects and priorities in a complex global environment.
  • Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, including the ability to influence and collaborate across functions and organizational levels.
  • Ability to work effectively in a global, cross-functional environment and manage relationships with diverse stakeholders.
  • Experience working within manufacturing, supply chain, warehousing, or industrial environments.
  • Effective interpersonal skills and the ability to build internal and external relationships and collaborations.
  • Proven ability to coordinate and integrate successful teams.
  • Willingness and ability to travel domestically and internationally as required, estimated at approximately 20% of the time.
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, particularly Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint.
  • Ability to work independently while maintaining a team-oriented mindset.
Responsibilities
  • Support the ACM and BRM program deployment and administration, including managing the daily execution and delivery of operational risk programs.
  • Identify opportunities to enhance and align current operational risk programs, including property loss prevention, resilience, and integrated audits, for future consolidation and improved efficiency, effectiveness, sustainability, and business benefit.
  • Support global stakeholder groups and work with Associates across all Mars locations to manage critical program objectives and site compliance.
  • Maintain awareness of, and track the development and enhancement of, program technology and digital initiatives to improve operational risk program delivery and engagement.
  • Track program budgets, vendor spend, and service utilization.
  • Coordinate with service providers and third-party business partners to ensure contractual compliance and alignment with operational risk objectives and guidelines; support global resource management and delivery, including collaboration and quality control across product and activity development and deployment.
  • Participate in key meetings and discussions and capture and manage program-related data and records.
  • Support onboarding and integration of acquisitions into Mars Operational Risk programs, ensuring alignment with global standards and governance expectations.
  • Develop and maintain a structured Operational Risk framework for external manufacturing, co-manufacturing, and co-packing partners supporting Mars operations globally.
  • Support the delivery and management of Mars operational risk programs, including Risk Engineering, Business Resilience, and other loss prevention programs.
  • Support the development and implementation of the Operational Risk Management strategy and long-term roadmap.
  • Drive governance, compliance, continuous improvement, and program effectiveness across operational risk programs.
Desired Qualifications
  • Experience with risk management, audit, or data analytics platforms.

Mars, Incorporated makes and sells a wide range of food, confectionery, and petcare products worldwide, with brands like M&M’s, Snickers, Milky Way, Dove, Orbit, Skittles, Pedigree, and Royal Canin, and it also operates pet health services through networks such as AniCura, Banfield, BluePearl, and VCA. Its products come from integrated manufacturing and distribution systems, delivering everyday treats and meals as well as veterinary care through a global network of partners. Mars differentiates itself through its diversified portfolio, long family ownership, and the Mars Five Principles—Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency, and Freedom—that guide decisions and actions. The company aims to help communities prosper and improve social and environmental outcomes while growing its business and scale.

Company Size

10,001+

Company Stage

Debt Financing

Total Funding

$27B

Headquarters

McLean, Virginia

Founded

1911

Get referred to Mars

See people who can refer or advise you

Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Mars Impact Fund granted over $13 million in 2026 to resilience and animal wellbeing.
  • Mars Snacking added 600 Chicago jobs and committed $100 million to headquarters expansion.
  • Mars completed CA$180 million Ontario upgrades in 2026, lifting pet nutrition and snack capacity.

What critics are saying

  • Nature's Bakery closes Hazelwood by September 2027, signaling integration waste and demand misreads.
  • Mars Wrigley cut 307 Newark jobs and relocated headquarters, exposing ongoing restructuring pressure.
  • A failed Kellanova integration would erase expected scale benefits and hand rivals PepsiCo share.

What makes Mars unique

  • Mars runs pet care, snacking, and food with 2026 Google Cloud Gemini Enterprise rollout.
  • Mars controls nine billion-dollar snacking brands after Kellanova approval on 2026-09-09.
  • Mars owns VCA, Banfield, Royal Canin, and global pet distribution across 145 markets.

Help us improve and share your feedback! Did you find this helpful?

Benefits

Professional Development Budget

Conference Attendance Budget

Performance Bonus

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

20%

1 year growth

20%

2 year growth

20%
PR Newswire
Sep 1st, 2026
Mars Impact Fund awards over $13M in grants for community resilience, science pipelines and animal wellbeing

Mars Incorporated has awarded more than $13 million in grants through its Mars Impact Fund to six organisations across Côte d'Ivoire, India, the United States and Thailand. The multi-year partnerships with Elucid, Tanager, Pratham Education Foundation, People's Action for National Integration, National 4-H Council and Worldwide Veterinary Service focus on three priorities: strengthening resilience in Mars sourcing communities, developing future scientists and improving companion animal wellbeing. Key investments include $2.07 million to Elucid for healthcare access for cocoa-farming households in Côte d'Ivoire, $5.6 million for mint-farming communities in India and $3 million to National 4-H Council to engage 200,000 young people in food and agriculture careers. The fund also committed $3 million to Worldwide Veterinary Service for rabies elimination efforts in Thailand.

PR Newswire
Jul 21st, 2026
Mars appoints Christina Ruggiero as North America president for pet nutrition division

Mars has appointed Christina Ruggiero as Regional President of its Pet Nutrition Division for North America, effective 1 July. She will oversee brands including Pedigree, Iams, Sheba, Cesar, Greenies, Temptations and Nutro across the United States and Canada. Ruggiero joins from Coca-Cola, where she served as President of the Global Nutrition Category, leading a $9 billion portfolio that included Minute Maid, Simply and Fairlife. She previously spent nearly four years in India as CEO of Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages, where she doubled the company's net worth. In her new role, Ruggiero will focus on science-backed innovation, omnichannel growth and digital acceleration. Mars operates a $65 billion business with approximately 170,000 associates worldwide.

Fox Business
Jul 20th, 2026
Mars Wrigley to lay off 307 workers, relocate US headquarters from New Jersey to Chicago

Mars Wrigley will lay off 307 workers and relocate its US headquarters from Newark, New Jersey, to Chicago by mid-October. The candymaker, which produces M&M's, Snickers, Twix and Skittles, filed a WARN notice with New Jersey signalling the job cuts will end the company's presence in Newark. The move follows a $100 million investment to expand Mars Wrigley's Chicago facilities, where its global headquarters is now based. The company will continue operating its manufacturing facility in Hackettstown, New Jersey. The New Jersey Business & Industry Association warned the departure signals the state needs to improve its business climate. New Jersey has lost over 9,700 jobs through WARN notices this year, with Samsung and ExxonMobil also announcing recent departures.

Yahoo Finance
Jul 8th, 2026
Mars to close Nature's Bakery plant in Missouri, 345 jobs at risk

Mars-owned snacks brand Nature's Bakery is permanently closing its manufacturing plant in Hazelwood, Missouri. Production will shift to other facilities, with the site expected to remain operational until a full shutdown in September 2027. According to a local government filing, 130 employees will leave on 11 September, followed by 215 more in February 2027. All affected staff have been notified and can seek alternative positions within Nature's Bakery or Mars. In January 2024, Mars announced a $237m investment in a new Nature's Bakery factory in Salt Lake City, Utah. Mars acquired Nature's Bakery in 2020 through its Kind snacking business and recently completed a $35.9bn acquisition of Kellanova in December.

International Confectionery
Jul 2nd, 2026
Mars awards $1.7M to support young scientists at Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings

Mars, Incorporated is renewing its partnership with the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings through a three-year, €1.5 million grant from the Mars Impact Fund. The funding will support fellowships for 30 young scientists annually to attend the meetings, which bring together Nobel Laureates and emerging researchers. Mars has partnered with the Meetings since 2007, but this marks the first collaboration through its Impact Fund, launched in early 2026. The grant aims to strengthen access for scientists who otherwise couldn't participate and support programming that fosters dialogue and learning. The partnership was celebrated at the 75th annual Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings in Germany, where Mars hosted events focused on interdisciplinary science. Michelle Grogg, Executive Director of the Mars Impact Fund, said the collaboration reflects the Fund's commitment to diversifying the global scientific pipeline.