Scientific & Regulatory Affairs (SARA) Specialist

Scientific & Regulatory Affairs (SARA) Specialist

• Full-time

Company Description

It’s amazing what can happen over a cup of coffee. At JACOBS DOUWE EGBERTS (JDE), we’ve made it our mission to find out. Our people have been raising the bar since day one, thinking fast and acting even faster to make an impact that’s felt around the world. JDE is the home to some of the most well-known coffee brands in the world.

For more than 265 years, we have been inspired by the belief. Today our coffee & tea portfolio is available in over 140 countries around the world through iconic household names including: Jacobs, Tassimo, Moccona, Senseo, L’OR, Douwe Egberts, Super, Kenco, Pilao & Gevalia.

Responsibilities/ Key Activities:

Regulatory Affairs

• Accountable to monitor the new / changes in South East Asia Regulatory requirements (including industry trends & practices), inform Internal Stakeholders and adapt Regulatory strategies accordingly and timely.
• Represents JDE as an Expert on respective Local Industry Associations, Scientific Institutions and Government bodies in collaboration with SARA Team Leads and/or R&D Lead.
• Stay abreast of emerging scientific issues and legislation changes.

Regulatory Compliance

• Regularly prepares, approves and issues labelling specifications to meet business needs and timelines for the local and foreign markets by following and using effectively JDE & SARA agreed processes and tools.
• Conducts accurate label compliance reviews, such as proposing legal designations and acceptable claims wording, considering local Business requests and Legal feedback.
• Provides legal and accurate ingredients line and nutrition data for food product labels.
• Assures implementation of correct graphic design, and able to advise and guide team members on artwork design elements via CopyDeck and Syncforce processes.
• Assures implementation of correct techno-legal label information and JDE standards, e.g. allergen labelling and claims.
• Provides regulatory guidance on compositional requirements to R&D, e.g. checks for acceptable ingredients and their legal limits in recipes.
• Timely reviews and approves new raw materials and product specifications for regulatory compliance in local and other countries, including checking product recipes, nutrition data, allergens information and promotional materials to ensure compliance with local regulations and company standards.
• When Halal is a concern, able to provide compliance guidance to the Stakeholders.

Regulatory Submissions

• Support the Supply Chain Team in preparing the regulatory documents, including for product registrations, variations, renewals and responses to regulatory queries, in accordance with local requirements.

Scientific Support

• Provide scientific expertise and support to cross functional teams in areas such as Product Development, Market Research, Quality, Operations and Customer Experience.

Training and Education

• Conduct training sessions and provide educational materials to internal stakeholders to enhance understanding of Regulatory requirements and promote compliance culture.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Collaborate closely with internal teams, including R&D Product Team, Packaging & D2P, Regional Quality & Food Safety, Marketing, and Legal, to facilitate regulatory compliance and achieve business objectives, regularly.

Education:

Bachelor’s Degree / Master’s Degree in Nutrition, Food Chemistry, Food Technology, Food Science or equivalent.

Experience & Competencies:

• At least 3 to 5 years’ experience in Regulatory Affairs within food industry of South East Asia market, preferably coffee & tea industry.
• Thorough understanding of local Regulatory Affairs requirements and processes related to food legislation.
• Considerable understanding of nutrition science and food safety.
• Understanding of product development, ingredients, manufacturing and business processes.
• Good articulation and networking with respective Local Industry Associations, Scientific Institutions and Government/Authority bodies.
• Ability to manage and prioritize multiple time-constrained tasks.
• System acumen and IT skills.
• Excellent communication in English and Malay with multilingual ability, both written and verbal.
• Proven ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and meet tight deadlines (Project Management Skills).
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to collaborate effectively across cross-functional teams.

Additional Benefits:

• Passionate, energetic & innovative work culture.
• Exciting allowances to perk up your day.
• Sports perks to keep you energized.
• The best coffee and tea served all day in our office – or be your own Barista!