Merchandising Supplier Quality Assurance Technologist - REMOTE POSITION

Job Description

THIS IS A REMOTE POSITION

Job Purpose:

This role will support the M&M’s Retail SQA program by executing licensee and vendor audits and assessments in North America against Mars PrQM Validation and Approval standards.

The primary focus of this position is to audit design & distribution companies that produce non-food merchandise using pre-set metrics and questions. This role will assess a licensee’s general capability to meet Mars standards of supply, validate a supplier’s capabilities, investigate & resolve non-conformances, develop the suppliers’ capabilities, and align the supplier with the Mars QMP.

A significant function of this role is training and developing licensees and vendors on Quality Management Systems and improving their Supplier Management Programs. This will involve developing training content for both the licensee and their factories.

Key Responsibilities:

• Conduct audits in person and remotely

• Report audit findings to internal and external stakeholders

• Develop and maintain compliance metrics

• Develop timelines and roadmaps to close gaps

• Develop supplier’s capabilities

• Manage non-conformance & follow-up

• 50-70% travel required

• Communicate effectively with sourcing, buying, and marketing teams

Context and Scope:

This role will work with the SQA manager to make audit plans then execute audits independently and work directly with licensees, manufacturers, and vendors to make capital and process improvements at audited sites and firms. The audit data will be entered into the brand manager platform as well as monitoring and tracking the CAPA's of the licensee and vendors factories. This role will report any critical quality management and supplier management issues and proactively recommend feasible solutions to internal R&D, merchandiser, and licensing manager roles through the product update meeting (twice monthly) and via the SQA manager. This role will be responsible for training external auditors (from 3rd party firms and vendor auditors), they will host training events and produce effective training materials for internal and external auditors.

Functional Competencies:

Functional Competencies:

• Auditing & systems

• Process Capability & statistical evaluation

• Material sciences & process technologies

Technical Skills

• English required (verbal & written)

• Spanish or Mandarin (preferred)

• Microsoft Excel

Job Specifications/Qualifications:

• College degree strongly preferred

• Lead Auditor Training (ISO 9001 or equivalent)

Knowledge

• Understanding of M&M’S World merchandise
• Understanding the supply chain of merchandise licensing from factory to distribution
• Understanding of manufacturing processes (plastics, ceramics, textiles, metals, paper, etc).
• Ability to read and edit technical drawings and documents
• Demonstrated ability to work independently with minimal supervision
• Superior inter-personal skills
• Capacity to build relationships internally & externally
• Ability to adapt and manage effectively in a changing environment
• Ability to efficiently manage multiple initiatives and timelines
• Ability to act as a bridge for business and technical requirements

Experience

• 5+ year experience in quality or auditing roles
• 2+ year experience interacting with licensing partners or merchandise sourcing vendors
• 2+ year experience with consumer product testing standards (US, EU, and China requirements)

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