Americas Lab Capabilities Lead

At Barry Callebaut, we are on a journey to transform the cocoa and chocolate industry. As the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, our actions truly shape the future of our industry. We are a business-to-business company, serving the entire food sector, from the cocoa bean to the finest chocolate product. We are a company with a purpose, we believe in doing well by doing good and reinvesting in the communities we operate.

We have a long-standing commitment to sustainability and our goal is to shape a sustainable cocoa and chocolate future. We are headquartered in Zurich, and have more than 12,000 passionate Employees working in more than 40 countries worldwide. We are very proud of who we are and what we do. And of course, we are always looking for talented people to help us have a positive impact on our industry and beyond!

Barry Callebaut is a global organization poised for growth; a company that has embraced the vision to delight its customers while out-performing its competitors, a business that is committed to sustainability, has innovation in its DNA, is a leader in complex manufacturing and supply chain solutions and is focused on being a best-in-class employer. Barry Callebaut seeks diverse and passionate people who thrive in a dynamic environment, focused on continuous learning, living BC’s Values, and of course, loving chocolate.

The Regional Laboratory Capabilities Lead is responsible for driving the strategic vision and overseeing the operational excellence of all laboratory functions across the North America region (Canada, USA, Mexico). He/she needs to develop and implement long-term initiatives at optimizing laboratory capabilities, driving process improvements, fostering innovation in testing, analysis and laboratory management while ensuring compliance to food safety, quality, regulatory and EHS standards.

• Lab Audits: plan and execute physical audits of internal and external microbiology labs in the region according to audit plan, and subsequently coverage will be extended to analytical labs. Audits should are based on ISO
  17025 requirements and GLP and BC internal auditing standards.
• Audit Management & CAPA Follow-up: ensure follow-up and closure of audit findings through effective CAPA management, consolidate and report audit data, and maintain overall oversight of the audit program performance
• Strategic Leadership: Develop and implement the regional laboratory strategy aligned with corporate objectives, driving operational efficiency, innovation and continuous improvement across all laboratory functions.
• Laboratory Optimization: Lead initiatives to standardize micro, physical and chemical laboratory processes, optimize workflows and enhance data management systems to ensure consistent and reliable results across the region.
• Lab Quality and Compliance Management: Ensure that all approved laboratories in the region (external and internal) operate in full compliance with industry regulations, safety standards and quality protocols. Establish and lead laboratory audits, global ring tests and performance evaluations. Oversees regular review of corrective action plans to ensure effective implementation across all local laboratories in the region.
• Cross-functional Collaboration: Work closely with key stakeholders, including suppliers, customers, Global Quality, R&D, operations and quality assurance teams to integrate laboratory efforts into broader business strategies and continuous improvement initiatives. Acts as a liaison between laboratory operations and senior leadership, providing updates and recommendations for regional improvements aligned with organizational goals
• Talent Development: Build and align training programmes for laboratory personnel, supporting laboratory managers to ensure high standards of performance, technical expertise and compliance with qualifications and certifications.
• Performance Monitoring and Reporting: Implement key performance indicators (KPIs) to track and assess lab performance, using data driven insights to drive decision making and improve laboratory operations
• Project…