Sr Associate Principal Scientist-Microbiology & Food Safety in Madison, Wisconsin For Sale

Title: Sr Associate Principal Scientist-Microbiology & Food Safety Location: NAM-WI-Madison Develop and implement programs, manage and appropriately communicate scientific & technically based microbiological and food safety information to the R & D and Sr. Management. Provide focused microbiological expertise for Kraft's microbiologically sensitive product category to ensure appropriate risk management. Support management in brand maintenance activities and in avoiding business derailers by actionable scientific and technical microbiological know-how for the BU. Identify & communicate proactively new emerging microbiological and food safety risks, make recommendations and give guidance on protecting company brands. Provide leadership to New Product Development initiatives in the area of microbiological food safety. Support decision process and establish company scientific case on micro issues. Leverage the company position with advisory, regulatory, governmental and scientific bodies worldwide. Responsibilities include: * Work closely with the BU to develop key microbiological and food safety related strategic initiatives that both, ensure brand protection & contribute to business growth. Develop action plans to support these strategies to deliver business objectives * Provide scientific and technical microbiological and food safety support to the BU to ensure product quality and safety. Proactively identify and communicate micro food safety risks to senior management, giving actionable scientific advice on risk management and risk communication. Ensure HACCP and PEM programs are current and validated * Partner with R&D to ensure appropriate product design for safety and quality. Continuously improve and adapt the relevant HACCP models & policies to reflect current knowledge. Develop new models as appropriate. * In co-operation with SR, CA, CQ and Ops, leverage the company position with advisory, regulatory, governmental and scientific bodies by building and maintaining comprehensive communication networks and scientific contact points for retrieving and verifying significant micro and food safety information with business impact. * Explore new technologies in the areas of formulation, methodology, preservation and processing to enable the business to achieve targets. Leverage Open Innovation, Universities and internal and external business partners to identify new opportunities. * Proactively implement globally (e.g. in company standards) lessons learned in microbiology and food safety to improve business performance * Continuously improve own micro & food safety related knowledge, skills and understanding of food microbiology, epidemiology and food hygiene matters. Continuously improve own performance by upgrading skills and identifying/using skill-enhancing assignments, courses and training opportunities, as well as networking opportunities to ensure up-to-date knowledge. * Develop appropriate training for functions in the area of microbiology and food safety. * MS or PhD in Microbiology or closely related field and minimum 5 years experience in applied microbiology or product development. * In-depth product micro & product safety /food technology knowledge, product/BU experience beneficial. * Profound knowledge of quality systems/processes. * Good internal/external network of experts. * Product development and innovation skills for development of new technologies. * Demonstrated organizational and project management skills. * Ability to provide knowledge leadership, company representation and sound technical expertise in the management of micro issues * Mature interpersonal and communication skills which facilitate the ability to negotiate and convince others while supporting the decision process on complex matters * Ability to handle complex scientific issues and condense to scientifically sound recommendations to senior management * Strong business acumen and change management skills to identify business opportunities and derailers * Excellent communication and IT skills. * Excellent knowledge of microbiological methods.