SRA Manager - Francophone Africa at Coca-Cola Company

The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands. Led by Coca-Cola, the world's most valuable brand, our Company's portfolio features 15 billion dollar brands including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Georgia and Del Valle. Globally, we are the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, and juices and juice drinks. Through the world's largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy our beverages at a rate of 1.7 billion servings a day. Together with our bottling partners, we rank among the world's top 10 private employers with more than 700,000 system employees.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: SRA Manager - Francophone Africa

Location: Lagos State

Job Summary

• Build strategic relationship with a diverse group of external stakeholders, such as regulators, academics and industry associations to help advocate and advance company positions and to create a favourable regulatory landscape
• Ensure compliance of all formulations, ingredients, products, packages, labels, claims, communication with local regulations and Company policy
• Support innovation and compliance process by providing scientific and regulatory expertise on new product concept and new ingredients
• Proactively work cross-functionally with Corporate, Group, BU PAC, Marketing, Legal, Governmental Affairs, Formula Governance and others, as appropriate, to improve KO credibility and reputation.
• Provide expert support on issues related to Promoting Trust and Crisis Management (IMCR) teams need to address

Key/Duties Responsibilities

• Coordinate and implement SRA initiatives within the region, working cross-functionally with Corporate, Group and BU functions, e.g., SRA, PAC, Legal, Formula Governance, R&D and others as appropriate. - 10%
• Manage ingredient, formula, product, package, label, claims and communication approvals using various compliance related tools - Picasso, eLAF, CRS el. Systems. - 20%
• Ensure that all ingredients, products, packaging, labels, claims and communications are complaint to local regulations and company policies. - 15%
• Cascade Group and BU initiatives to mitigate regional regulatory and scientific risks developing region specific initiatives where appropriate. - 15%
• Maintain, enhance and develop relationships/networks with external experts, government agencies, NGOs and other stakeholders on issues relating to nutrition and health, food safety and food regulatory matters to advance company positions. - 20%
• Lead and/or participate in trade and professional associations to drive company agenda. - 10%
• Participate in SRA related Incident Management Crisis Resolution - 5%
• Keeps business informed on emerging regulatory issues and develops strategies to mitigate regulatory risks. - 5%

Communication Complexities:

• Provides leadership on regional and local industry and scientific organizations to help advance the Company's Scientific and regulatory agenda.
• Works with regional and local regulatory and scientific organisations and opinion leaders.
• Closely interacts with Corporate SRA, Formula Governance, BU PAC, Legal, and Marketing functions and other Business Unit Function Leaders, R&D, Bottlers, key suppliers and customers
• Proactively informs regional business about scientific and regulatory emerging issues to increase their understanding of issues and influence business strategies and formulates plan of action to mitigate risks.

Analysis:

• Facilitates innovation based on length of time required to approve additives and amend legislation, emerging consumer issues, etc
• Regulatory stakeholder mapping, relationship building and advocacy
• SRA compliance and approvals, product launch and productivity project support
• Operates within region/country legislation and Company policies
• Advises on product composition requirements for new categories
• Approves New Product Development through CIF and Picasso
• Submits claims and communication for approval via CRS
• Works with cross-functional teams to meet SRA and TCCC short and long-term business objectives.
• Analyses and interprets scientific information needed as it relates to nutrition, food safety and regulatory topics to provide governance and stewardship; and to identify new approaches to address scientific and regulatory barriers.

Judgement and Decision Making:

• Implements initiatives to address safety of ingredients, packages and products that will positively impact the reputation of TCCC.
• Recommends and/ or make decisions on crisis management approaches that will mitigate risks to TCCS.

Innovation:

• Works with the Business Unit SRA, Technical team, Marketing, PAC, Product Development to provide KO policy guidelines and SRA expertise during new product development to ensure new product conformance to KO and local regulations.
• Provides, reviews and approves declarations, product and ingredient related communications.

Related Experience Requirements/ Qualifications

• Leadership Behaviors: Leader of Others
• Drive Innovation - Generate new or unique solutions and embrace new ideas that help sustain our business (encompassing everything from continuous improvement to new product and package innovation)
• Collaborate with the System, Customers and Key Stakeholders - Develop and leverage relationships with stakeholders to appropriately stretch and impact the System (Company and Bottler)
• Act Like an Owner - Deliver results, creating value for our brands, our System, our customers and key stakeholders
• Inspire Others - Inspire people to deliver our mission and 2020 Vision, demonstrate passion for the business and give people a reason to believe anything is possible
• Develop Self and Other - Develop self and support others’ development to achieve full potential

Technical Competencies

• Regulatory Landscape: Knowledge of the regulatory and political landscape (e.g., regulations, issues) affecting food and beverages in the Business Unit. It also includes the ability to manage complex regulatory issues affecting products, ingredients, packages or claims.
• Food Safety/Toxicology: Basic understanding of the nature, properties, effects, and detection of toxic substances in food, and their disease manifestation particularly chemicals of food interest such as food additives and pesticides, and how they are tested and regulated.
• Nutrition Science: Understanding of nutrition science including how dietary patterns influence health and well-being, biological mechanisms through which nutrients affect metabolism, dietary patterns, activity levels and related medical conditions particularly obesity and NCDs.
• Regulatory Affairs: Ability to interact with government officials to represent the Company or beverage industry while explaining complex scientific data, reports or issues. This includes the ability to anticipate issues or concerns of interest to public health officials in order to respond to those concerns and the ability to advocate a position in a non-adversarial manner (e.g., during dispute resolution).
• Policy Advocacy: Ability to engage, strategize, collaborate, and lead (both internally and externally) food and beverage policy initiatives that have the potential to negatively or positively impact the Company.
• Compliance: Advanced knowledge of SRA related compliance type process related to ingredients, products, packaging, claims and communication.

Skills:

• Building Value Based Relationships: Ability to generate alliances internally and externally by continuously identifying and acting on those things that will create success for the Company and its customers, bottlers, suppliers, communities and governments.
• Drives cross-discipline collaboration and teamwork: Applies understanding of scientific & regulatory processes, including internal and external relationships to advance to advance achievement of company's and technical organization's priorities. Demonstrated ability to establish and nurture productive cross-functional and internal and external stakeholder collaborations.

Educational Requirement

• Postgraduate/Master's degree.

Preferred Qualification

• PhD an asset; 8+ years in Food Science, Nutrition or related field and relevant experience.
• Leadership roles in related external organizations/committees/boards.
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills
• Ability to perform in a challenging, dynamic and changing environment
• Service minded, team player, high commitment

Cultural Diversity:

• Must be fluent in English.
• Fluency in other languages spoken in the Region is a plus.

Working Conditions: Office environment

Travel Requirements: Up to 25%

Application Closing Date
9th March, 2015.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online