Regulated and Stewardship Specialist

At Syngenta Seeds Field Crops,we'reshaping the future of agriculture and empowering farmers to meet the ever-growing demand for food and fuel.

We’rea global Ag Tech powerhouse, headquartered in the United States, with passionate, local experts collaborating with farmers to deliver solutions that create market opportunities.

We unite precision breeding, advanced biotechnology trait choice, and digital platforms for unmatched in-field performance.

Our seeds help mitigate risks such as disease,insect,weed, and extreme weather pressures, all while promoting sustainable farming practices that protect and enhance our planet. Join our mission of revolutionizing food security and transforming agriculture.

At Syngenta, our goal is to build the most collaborative and trustworthy team in agriculture, providing top-quality seeds and innovative crop protection solutions that improve farmers' success. To support this mission, Syngenta’sQuality team is seeking aRegulated and Stewardship Specialist in Slater, IA.

The Regulated and Stewardship Specialist oversees quality and stewardship activities for nursery seed production and trialing teams within the North America (NA) region. This role focuses on the compliant handling of stewarded and regulated materials (including GM and GE traits) to ensure field compliance and quality assurance (QA) for effective pipeline delivery.

Working closely with Regulatory, Trialing, Operations, and Scientists, this role ensures strict adherence to Regulated and Stewarded guidelines across all operational stages, including seed movement, planting, harvesting, and processing. The role provides expert guidance and leadership to foster a culture of continuous improvement and excellence. Key responsibilities incorporate managing comprehensive quality systems—such as training, document management, audits, risk analysis, and incident response—while maintaining USDA inspection readiness to protect the company's license to operate.

Accountabilities

• Lead and coordinate new processes, protocols, and site designs to incorporateregulatory, stewardship, and quality control requirements.
• Lead and support
  
  MoC (Management of Change) process for regulated/stewarded process changes.
• Coordinate and support implementation of QA (Quality Assurance) methods in NA Nurseries.
• Provide and present Quality & Stewardship metrics to leaders.
• Lead Quality & Stewardship monthly calls.
• Lead critical investigations and RCA (Root Cause Analysis) for problems related to regulatory, stewardship, and quality.
• Lead yearly Level 2 Regulated & Stewardship Audits & Level 1 assessments.
• Regional SQC lead for North America Region – Seeds Development:
  Ensure SQC Strategy and Operation is in compliance with Global SQC standards:
  • Follow-up SQC results and actions taken to avoid GMI and maintain LTO.
• Assist Trialing and Nursery operations with USDA inspections during preparation and execution.
• Develop training resources for regulated and stewarded key processes within Trialing & Nursery Operations.
• Develop and improve training tools and resources for all QMS regionally.
• Ensure waste streams and destruction processes are followed.
• Manage quality for Regulated and Stewarded trials, including:
  • Document Management
  • Nonconformity Management
  • PDCA
  • Audits
  • Risk Analysis
  • Incident Response
• Support Operation teams to ensure regulated seed shipments meet compliance requirements.
• Support Trait Assessment APHIS/NSVBM process review for compliance.
• Support shipping and receiving of NSVBM (Non-Seed Viable Biological Materials including. insects, pathogens, nematodes, soil, plants) to meet compliance requirements.
• Support ETS (Excellence Through Stewardship) best practices implementation.

Required

• Bachelor's degree in agriculture, biology or related field or 5+ years’ experience in agricultural operations, preferably in Seed Development, Seed research, Seed Production or plant breeding environments.
• Clear understanding of Quality Management and Stewardship guidelines and practices applicable to nursery seed production.
• Knowledge of Regulated/Stewarded compliance guidelines is required.
• Knowledge of Quality Management and Stewardship methods and…