Bel, makers of iconic cheese brands including Babybel, The Laughing Cow, and Boursin, is a growing global company that values your contributions, strives to create a sense of belonging for everyone and offers career growth and development opportunities, as well as competitive total compensation and meaningful well-being benefits from day one. For All, For Good, our company signature, reflects Bel’s commitment to sustainability and healthier and responsible food for all. Bel Brands USA has been named Chicago's "101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For" for 10 years in a row. The company is headquartered in Chicago and operates three manufacturing plants in Little Chute, WI, Leitchfield, KY, and Brookings, SD.

Job Description Summary

The Regulatory Affairs Manager is responsible for managing regulatory activities in the U.S. and being a business partner to other teams.

This position is responsible for ensuring the compliance to food regulations for Bel activities (products, communications) and leading regulatory on innovation and renovation projects. This role reviews and assesses the impact of new regulations on Bel activities as well as manages regulatory issues.

This role focuses mostly on brands under their responsibility, and on sustainability, green claims and packaging regulations. This is a hybrid role, based in our Chicago office. It requires minimum 2 days in office.

Essential duties and responsibilities

For brands under their responsibility, and sustainability, green claims and packaging regulations:

• Act as US regulatory correspondent, in liaison with the Group regulatory team.

• Implement Group BEL regulatory policies, procedures, guidelines, and train co-workers (ex: marketing, purchasing).
• Be the central US regulatory contact person for all functions including but not limited to R&D, Marketing, Customer service and Sales.
• Create, update and manage internal labelling sheets.
• Validate marketing operations and communication support (products’ artworks, advertisings, websites…).
• Lead regulatory assessment and make clear recommendations on innovation/renovation projects (SOI, claims, ingredients list, nutritional facts, …).
• Guarantee the accessibility and traceability of information, feeding and maintaining the US and Group regulatory and quality databases (MagdaLena labelling sheets, regulatory specifications, …) and files.
• Manages customers and distributors’ requests.
• Review suppliers’ FSMA documentation and compliance to Bel requirements, validate their compliance.
• Implement Group BEL regulatory policies, procedures, guidelines, and train co-workers on these.
• Provide risk assessments on regulatory topics to the business team so that informed decisions can be made.
• Provide support and follow up in solving any issues as reported by regulatory agencies (FDA, USDA) or during regulatory authorities’ audits.
• Manages regulatory non-conformities and set up action plan to close the gap to reach compliance.
• Active member of organizations such as IDFA/plant-based food association and leading proactive lobbying actions along with the Public Affairs representative.
• Assess impact of regulation changes or new regulations in US and provide recommendations or action plan to maintain Bel’s compliance and protect Bel’s interests.
• Share a monthly report with the US General Manager and Leadership team, and the Group regulatory team.
• Contribute to crisis management as needed.

Minimum Degree and Experience Required:

Minimum requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in science, food science or dairy science, packaging, regulatory or law.
• 5 years minimum experience in Regulatory role, in food or pharma industry, experience on packaging/green claims regulation is a plus.
• The candidate needs to be methodical, rigorous & creative, with ability to analyse, explain and summarize a path forward.
• Ability to manage multiple complex tasks, communicate clearly, and provide definitive direction to the business.
• Ability to work cross functionally.
• Ability to meet project deadlines as provided by project teams.
• Ability to train and educate people on Regulatory topics, and to explain complex technical knowledge in simple terms to not technical people.
• Self-motivated, with a positive, can-do and pro-active attitude.

Performance Expectations: Quality, accuracy, timeliness, reliability, and thoroughness of work performed; ability to gain the trust and respect of management, coworkers and brokers; maintain the integrity of confidential business and product information; ability to communicate effectively and develop good working relationships with other employees is essential to accomplish goals and objectives of the department.

Working Conditions: Work is performed largely in a hybrid work environment, requiring at least 2 days in office, and optional 3rd day. Hours of work will generally be during regular business hours with at least 40 hours a week. At times there will be some variation in work hours due to special projects, deadlines and other concerns.

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Relationships: Will have strong relationships with Innovation, Marketing, Quality, Operations (plants), Procurement, CSR, Customer Service and other cross functional team members.

Bel Brands is an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran status, disability status or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws. Bel Brands also prohibits harassment of applicants or employees based on any of these protected categories. It is also Bel Brand’s policy to comply with all applicable federal, state and local laws respecting consideration of unemployment status in making hiring decisions.

Bel Brands is committed to recruiting, hiring and promoting people with disabilities and veterans. If you need an accommodation or assistance in using the website, please call 312-462-1500.

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