Job Description:

The Operations team within Corporate Science & Technology (CS&T) provides the structure and support required to ensure efficient and effective functioning of the CS&T team and the Chief Science Officer.

The CS&T Program and Knowledge Manager is responsible for driving effective project and portfolio management for CS&T through the development and deployment of appropriate standardized processes, ways of working, governance, metrics, milestone tracking, dashboards and reporting aligned with Technology Readiness Level (TRL) process standard and Quality Management System (QMS). Additionally, the CS&T Program and Knowledge Manager is responsible for managing, maintaining and continuously improving the CS&T knowledge management processes and systems, developing and deploying standardized best practices for capturing and storing knowledge and maintaining repositories to ensure easy access and retrieval of information.

The CS&T research portfolio is structured around strategic platforms managed by the Corporate S&T research team across the Mars Advanced Research Institute (MARI) and the Global Food Safety Centre (GFSC). The role holder will work closely with the GFSC Operations Lead and Program Manager to ensure harmonized processes, visualisation, reporting and ways of working across the research portfolio.

Context and Scope

The roleholder leads effective and rigorous project and portfolio management for Corporate S&T requiring the role holder to collaborate effectively across all S&T Platform Leads, CS&T Leadership Team and the CS&T Operations Team. The role holder is the key contact for the QMS team and TRL Pillar Community, and key to ensuring Corp S&T is fully compliant with the respective processes and standards. The role holder will drive continuous improvement in the way project and portfolio management is done, bringing in best practice learning from within and beyond Mars.

The role holder owns, maintains and evolves the Knowledge Management Systems for CS&T requiring the role holder to partner aross the CS&T team to drive continuous improvement opportunities, and be an active member of the Mars Knowledge Management community, partnering in the development and deployment of Knowledge Management best practices.

Additionally, the role holder will partner with the VP CS&T Research, GFSC Leader and GFSC Operations Leads to ensure harmonization of MARI and GFSC project management, governance processes, portfolio reporting and Knowledge Management systems and processes.

What would be your key responsibilities?

• Corporate S&T Project Management Processes: responsible for effective governance processes for managing and tracking progress of the CS&T research portfolio against agreed milestones, CSFs and Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) to ensure delivery of CS&T strategic objectives. Role holder is also responsible for organizing and facilitating project and program review meetings to track and measure project performance against agreed plans.
• Corporate S&T Portfolio Management and Reporting: owns, maintains and evolves the CS&T research portfolio dashboard to support effective tracking against KPIs and stakeholder reporting on research portfolio status. Responsible for ensuring data supporting dashboard is accurate and up to date, proactively highlighting risks and areas of concern.
• QMS Standard and TRL Standard Compliance: responsible for ensuring the Corporate S&T research processes are compliant with the Quality Management System (QMS) and the TRL standard. As a member of the TRL Community of Practice works with segment PMOs to drive QMS/TRL standard continuous improvement initiatives for S&T across all segments.
• Corporate S&T Knowledge Management: responsible for the development and ongoing optimization of Knowledge Management processes and systems for Corporate Science and Technology. Responsible for developing and deploying standardized best practice processes and ways of working for managing knowledge, including document storage formalisms and access permissions.
• Systems and Capability: role holder is CS&T expert user of key systems and tools to support effective Project Management and Stakeholder Reporting, including PPM, Power BI/Dashboards and Knowledge Management Repositories. Role holder is responsible for identifying opportunities to leverage digital and AI enabled tools to drive e.g. continuous improvement, efficiencies in governance processes, portfolio reporting and tracking & reporting of performance metrics. Role holder is also responsible for identifying capability gaps and training opportunities
• Cross CS&T Governance Process Harmonization: the role holder leads harmonization of project management and governance processes across MARI and the GFSC in partnership with the GFSC Operations Lead, GFSC Program Manager and CS&T Operations Lead.

What are we looking for?

Education & Professional Qualifications

• Degree in relevant science field such as health sciences, food sciences, plant sciences.

Knowledge / Experience

• Practical experience of using program management tools such as PPM, experience of Mars Knowledge Management systems such as Teams and Sharepoint and preferably holding Project Management Certification(s) E.g. PRINCE2, Project Management Professional (PMP), Association of Project Management (APM) and/or Managing Successful Programs (MSP) or equivalent.
• Knowledge of project governance principles and best practices for ensuring compliance.
• Ability to drive effective governance through standards and processes for project documentation, reporting and change management.
• Practical experience in creation and maintenance of reporting dashboards with experience in using tools such as Power BI. Digitally savvy with proven ability to quickly understand, adopt and apply new digital tools.
• Proven track record of managing complex projects and programs with cross functional teams across multiple geographies.
• High level of organization and attention to details.
• Strong leadership, communication and stakeholder management skills.

Key MLCs

• Plans and Aligns
• Communicates Effectively and Organizational Savvy
• Decision Quality
• Optimizes Work Processes
• Manages Ambiguity
• Customer Focus
• Tech Savvy

Key Functional Competencies and Technical Skills

• Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to convey complex information clearly to diverse audiences.
• Attention to Detail: Meticulous and detail-oriented approach to ensure accuracy and completeness in all deliverables.
• Organisation: Ability to manage multiple tasks, prioritise effectively, and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Technical Proficiency: Proficient in project management tools (e.g. PPM) and data analytics/reporting tools (e.g. Power BI, Excel). Digitally savvy.

What can you expect from Mars?

• Work with diverse and talented Associates, all guided by the Five Principles.
• Join a purpose-driven company, where we're striving to build the world we want tomorrow, today.
• Best-in-class learning and development support from day one, including access to our in-house Mars University.
• An industry-competitive salary and benefits package, including a company bonus.