Stability Study Coordinator

The Jel Sert Company marks a major milestone this year, 100 years of success, innovation, and industry leadership. The Jel Sert Company has focused on creating high-quality, high-value foods and beverages that help bring people together. Jel Sert is proud to have been awarded the Great Place to Work certification and recognized as a Best Workplace to Work in Chicago and a Best Workplace in Manufacturing and Production. We are currently looking for a passionate and dedicated individual to join our team as aHUMAN RESOURCES GENERALIST.If you are looking for a work environment that encourages personal growth, responsibility, and a shared vision for creating incredible products that help create lasting memories, then Jel Sert wants you!

Primarily responsible for maintaining real-time and accelerated stability studies and conducting sensory panels on finished goods. This includes branded, licensed, and contract items. This position is also responsible for coordinating with our QC department to submit samples for external testing and reporting, in conjunction with the Jel Sert Formulation Scientist Group.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

• Setting up stability studies in our system and maintaining a log of all active tests.
• Coordinate bench samples for formulation scientists to evaluate across all product categories.
• Timely organization of sensory panels with analysis and reports to be reviewed by formulation scientists.

• Follow all testing procedures
• Extensive data entry and comprehension
• Collaborate with formulation scientists and QA documentation to submit samples for external testing.
• Comprehend and enter report data from external testing for formulation scientist review.
• Create SQF Audit-ready end-of-stability test reports.

QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

The Jel Sert Company is committed to pay transparency and will provide further compensation information during the interview process. Theminimum compensation for the Stability Study Coordinator is $26.26 per hour.Compensation is determined by a candidate's experience, education, skills, training, and the internal equity within our organization. The actual compensation to be paid will be determined upon an offer. In addition to a competitive compensation package, regular full-time corporate employees of Jel Sert are eligible for our extensive benefits programs that can be reviewedhere.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

• Minimum of 2 years' experience in food or beverage manufacturing, Quality Assurance, Quality Control, laboratory operations, R&D/Product Development, or a related technical environment preferred, sensory science experience a plus.
• Experience coordinating or supporting product stability, shelf-life, laboratory testing, sensory evaluation, product quality, or related technical programs preferred, along with sensory evaluation skills, be able to set up, conduct, and analyze results.
• Coordinating stability, shelf-life, laboratory, or product testing programs required.
• Prior experience with shelf-stable food and beverage products, powdered products, beverage mixes, liquid products, freezer pops, gelatin or dessert mixes, or similar categories preferred.
• Working knowledge of food and beverage product stability and shelf-life principles, including physical, chemical, microbiological, sensory, ingredient, processing, environmental, and packaging factors that may influence product quality over time.
• Managing technical data, study schedules, sample inventories, laboratory records, or other detail-oriented technical programs required.
• Familiarity with real-time and accelerated stability study principles and the appropriate application and limitations of accelerated testing.
• Understanding of common food and beverage analytical and physical measurements, including pH, acidity, moisture, water activity, color, texture, viscosity, and sensory characteristics.
• Experience in compiling and organizing trends and interpreting technical data and recognizing changes or patterns that may require additional evaluation or investigation.
• Experience utilizing Genesis
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, specifically Excel.
• Bachelor's degree in food science, food technology, sensory science, chemistry, or biology required.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, and ABILITIES

• Strong written communication skills with the ability to prepare clear, concise, accurate, and technically sound study protocols, summaries, and reports and communicate effectively across multiple teams, while maintaining data integrity.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to identify potential issues, gather relevant information, coordinate follow-up activities, and appropriately escalate concerns.
• Self-starter with the ability to work independently, prioritize competing responsibilities, meet established deadlines, and follow through on assignments in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong organizational, attention to detail, and project coordination skills with the ability to simultaneously manage multiple products, studies, sample sets, testing intervals, and deadlines.
• Ability to work with others on the team or involved with assigned projects.
• Knowledge of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), food safety principles, quality systems, and appropriate laboratory practices.
• Ability to understand and follow technical protocols, specifications, test methods, standard operating procedures, work instructions, and product preparation instructions.
• Strong organizational and project coordination skills with the ability to simultaneously manage multiple products, studies, sample sets, testing intervals, and deadlines.
• Exceptional attention to detail and commitment to accurate, complete, contemporaneous, and traceable documentation.
• Maintain accurate sample inventories and effectively manage large numbers of stability samples across multiple products, lots, storage conditions, and testing intervals.
• Demonstrated commitment to product quality, food safety, consumer satisfaction, continuous improvement, and compliance with established company procedures.
• Knowledge of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), food safety principles, quality systems, and appropriate laboratory practices.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Standing: Remaining upright on the feet, particularly for sustained periods of time.
• Reaching: Extending hand(s) and arm(s) in any direction
• Walking: Moving about on foot to accomplish tasks, particularly for long distances or moving from one work site to another.
• Lifting: Raising objects from a lower to a higher position or moving objects horizontally from position to position.
• Fingering: Picking, pinching, typing or otherwise working, primarily with fingers rather than with whole hand or arm as in handling.
• Grasping: Applying pressure to an object with the fingers and palm.
• Talking: Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word.
• Hearing: perceiving the nature of sounds at normal speaking levels with or without correction and having the ability to receive detailed information through oral communication and making fine discriminations in sound.
• Repetitive Motions: Making substantial movements (motions) of the wrists, hands, and/or fingers.
• Kneeling: Bending legs at knee to come to a rest on knee or knees.
• Crouching: Bending the body downward and forward by bending leg and spine.
• Ability to lift up to 50 lbs on an as needed basis
• Ability to climb stairs in order to get to areas of the facility to perform job responsibilities.
• Pushing and pulling of carts on an as needed basis.
• Ability to use senses; taste, touch, smell and sight.
• Close visual acuity to perform activities: preparing and analyzing data and figures, viewing a computer terminal, reading, visual inspection of materials, operating laboratory devices, etc.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

Mainly lab environment with some office and plant work. In the lab environment, one will work, from time to time, with hazardous chemicals with supplied safety equipment, and is subject to atmospheric conditions such as dust.

FOOD SAFETY RESPONSIBILITIES

Follow applicable procedures and work instructions.

Monitor QCP, if applicable QCCP's

Back-up to Manager of Research & Development

IMPACT ON JEL SERT SUCCESS

Ensuring the shelf stability and quality of our products in general is integral to the success and growth of Jel Sert as a whole.