Archived listing. The details below describe a past opening.
Job Description:
The Activity Manager leads integrated planning and execution of Pet Center activities - including sourcing/homing, warehouse management, sample management, research protocols, global methodologies, pet panels, facility projects, and Ecosystem initiatives - to maximize resource planning, diet logistics, data quality, and business value. The role connects internal customers and cross-functional teams, balances competing priorities and constraints, and provides clear visibility of schedules, capacity, risks, costs, and performance from request through delivery.
What are we looking for?
Bachelor’s degree in a scientific, operations, business, or related discipline, or equivalent relevant experience. Formal project-management, Lean, or continuous-improvement training is preferred. People management experience preferred.
- Experience coordinating multiple concurrent R&D, operational, or cross-functional projects in a resource-constrained environment.
- Experience managing cross-functional teams or groups.
- Strong analytical and data-quality skills, with the ability to translate operational data into clear insights, scenarios, and recommendations.
- Working proficiency with Excel, Power BI, Smartsheet, SharePoint, and related project or portfolio management tools.
- Excellent written, verbal, facilitation, organization, and stakeholder-management skills; able to influence without direct authority.
- Experience in cat and dog nutritional testing, animal research, panel management, or pet-care operations is preferred.
- Familiarity with IACUC, USDA, animal welfare, and Good Laboratory Practice expectations is preferred.
- Ability to manage detailed, deadline-driven work, adapt to changing priorities, and maintain sound judgment when information is incomplete.
What will be your key responsibilities?
Leadership
- Manage a team of associates delivering key categories such as Homing/Sourcing and Warehouse/Coating. Demonstrate the ability to set clear goals and expectations within the team that align against business priorities.
- Engage a high performing team by providing coaching, feedback and opportunities for growth.
- RLE Site Leadership Team member driving culture, engagement, vision, purpose and strategy.
Lead site activity planning and portfolio governance
- Own the end-to-end intake, feasibility assessment, prioritization, scheduling, and tracking of research protocols, standard methodologies, background feedings, facility activities, and Ecosystem projects.
- Translate business demand into an integrated site plan that balances pet population, panel readiness, associate capacity, facility constraints, testing requirements, welfare considerations, and delivery commitments.
- Maintain forward-looking demand, capacity, and animal-use forecasts; identify constraints, scenarios, and trade-offs early and recommend actions to site leadership.
Coordinate pet panels, population, and project resources
- Partner with research, global methods, behavior, welfare, veterinary, and protocol execution teams to maintain balanced, validated, study-ready cat and dog panels.
- Coordinate acquisition strategy, census planning, utilization, panel balancing, life-plan inputs, and allocation of pets across competing business needs.
- Ensure required diets, samples, laboratory services, equipment, supplies, and facility support are available when needed.
Enable disciplined project execution
- Facilitate cross-functional project planning from request through delivery of quality data to the principal investigator or business partner.
- Establish timelines, milestones, decision points, responsibilities, dependencies, risks, and recovery actions; follow through on commitments and escalate issues appropriately.
- Recommend whether activities should proceed, pause, be re-sequenced, or stop based on feasibility, resources, welfare, quality, cost, and business priority.
Deliver stakeholder alignment and visibility
- Serve as the primary planning interface for RLE customers and ecosystem partners, including Royal Canin R&D, Waltham, other pet centers, Champion, laboratories, manufacturing sites, and external research partners.
- Provide timely communication on activity status, capacity, decisions, constraints, risks, and delivery outlook.
- Build collaborative relationships and facilitate alignment when stakeholder priorities compete.
Own systems, data & KPIs
- Own and continuously improve site activity-management tools, dashboards, planning standards, and governance routines.
- Define, monitor, and communicate KPIs for schedule adherence, capacity and pet utilization, throughput, data delivery, and planning effectiveness through the Pet Center MOS.
- Oversee project coding, cross-charges, and activity-related cost visibility in partnership with Finance and project owners.
Drive quality, compliance, and continuous improvement
- Ensure planning and execution align with the Mars Quality Management System, applicable SOPs, animal welfare standards, IACUC and USDA requirements, an approved study protocols.
- Use data, lessons learned, and stakeholder feedback to reduce lead times, remove inefficiencies, standardize ways of working, and improve predictability and customer experience.
- Perform other activities, project work, and responsibilities as assigned.
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.
- A strong focus on learning and development support from day one, including access to our in-house Mars University.
- An industry competitive salary and benefits package, including company bonus.