Manager R&D Product Safety
Research & Development
The R&D teams at Mary Kay are passionate about science. They continuously research products that allow our consultants to offer their end-users an experience of unsurpassed quality and unrivaled benefit. The products we develop must make people feel confident about themselves and their choice of Mary Kay. Our research teams travel internationally, finding new ideas and presenting Mary Kay science on a worldwide stage. Our innovative teams include roles in product safety, product formulation, skin and clinical research, nutritionals, regulatory affairs, quality and other disciplines.
Job Summary:
Manages and leads staff within the Product Safety Department. Demonstrates technical expertise and an advanced understanding of the core principles of Product Safety, Toxicology and Product Stewardship. Provides technical guidance and oversight to the department. Effectively manages performance of department and seeks to continually improve processes and capabilities of the department. Accountable for the team delivering a range of activities, such as study design and execution, clinical testing, technical writing, and general project management. Collaborates with other functions within R&D to accomplish organizational goals. Collaborates cross-functionally across New Product Development to accomplish project deliverables. Communicates effectively with peers, management, direct reports, external laboratories, and consulting partners. Communicates effectively with coworkers in international markets.
About the Role:
• Product Development Responsibilities - Acts as the technical/ functional expert in product safety and toxicology. Consistently uses critical thinking skills to coach/train staff on the design, execution, and results analysis for testing required during the development of new products or qualification of new ingredients. Coaches/trains staff on how to share key project information broadly with cross-functional teams. Models behavior for Product Safety department. Provides technical/ functional guidance and oversight to the department. Shares professional expertise & technical knowledge within the department. Collaborates multifunctionally to build strong, productive partnerships and listens to understand partners. Consistently influences broader organization on projects & initiatives and seeks alignment through utilization of numerous techniques and stakeholder support. Consistently adapts communication methods to appeal to the interest of others. Manages conflict resolution among project teams and demonstrates peer accountability, seeking coaching from supervisor, as needed. Responsible for resource utilization. This includes assignment of Scientists to upstream innovation, NPD projects and scientific credentialing efforts, the budgeting and use of external consultants and laboratories, and assignment of resources to achieve department continuous improvement goals. Responsible for the supporting Scientific Credentialing efforts for R&D. Effectively solicits input and explains difficult technical concepts and persuades others to adopt a point of view; effectively shares own point of view. Collaborates with other functions within R&D to accomplish organizational and project objects.
• Staff, Self and Department Development- Develops talent base and anticipates development needs within the Product Safety department. Provides technical/ functional guidance and oversight to the department. Selects, trains, and develops staff to ensure sound methodologies and best practices are followed. Evaluates technical skills and competency of staff and creates training development plans accordingly. Utilizes personal expertise and knowledge to train and develop staff to remain abreast of technology advancements in safety assessment, research, industry standards, etc. Develops succession planning and conducts performance reviews. Works closely with leadership to identify departmental short and long-term goals that align to the R&D strategic business plan. Demonstrates personal leadership development through participation in activities such as trainings, professional associations, mentoring, etc. Actively seeking to understand external marketplace and customer requirements.
• Product Stewardship - Provides cross-functional leadership within Product Stewardship to proactively identify and problem solve safety-related emerging issues. Actively shares knowledge with others within the department through existing knowledge sharing processes/systems. Effectively communicates and collaborates with peers on issue management.
• Resource and Budget Responsibility - Within scope of work, responsible for cost center operating budget including rolling forecasts and variance reporting. Responsible for NPD research budget including rolling forecasts, variance reporting and routine evaluation of external research firms to remain competitive in accordance with the Indirect Purchasing policy and procedure.
• This job requires on-site work at a Mary Kay facility.
Skills & Experience:
Education: Bachelor/University Degree or MS in Biological Science, Chemistry, or Toxicology (PhD preferred)
Experience: 7+ years supervisory experience and 7+ years with product development experience with emphasis in Product Safety with a Consumer Goods Company or other applicable experience. Experience in a leadership role, with particular focus on cross-functional partnership and management of individuals.
• Demonstrates ability to lead others as well as technically complex research projects.
• Must have excellent proficiency in technical writing and communication, including oral presentations and reports to interact with various levels of personnel within and outside the Company.
• Must have an advanced understanding of the core principles of toxicology, product safety, and product stewardship.
• Must have the ability to demonstrate critical thinking skills, apply standard scientific principles, problem solve, assess risks, and coordinate research plans across multiple cross-functional teams.
• Demonstrates ability to communicate complex concepts with various levels of leadership and employees. Ability to engage and solicit feedback from cross functional business partners.
• Demonstrates ability to collaborate with other departments, ability to prioritize, resolve conflicts and influence the organization toward established goals.
• Must be well organized, capable of managing a team and high levels of detail on highly complex projects and handling multiple activities under pressure.
• Must be proficient in software applications such as MS Excel (development of spreadsheets, import/export and linking); MS Word; MS PowerPoint; MS Project, MS Teams and MS Outlook.