Laboratory Lead (m/w/d)

The Laboratory Lead at Mondelez Schweiz GmbH in Bern oversees daily lab operations, ensures compliance with quality and safety standards, and manages team and budget responsibilities for a chocolate production facility.

This position is responsible for the overall management of the laboratory within the chocolate manufacturing plant in Bern. The role focuses on maintaining efficient workflows, guaranteeing that all testing procedures meet regulatory and internal standards, and supporting continuous process improvements while holding budget accountability.

Responsibilities

• Direct daily laboratory activities to maintain operational efficiency.
• Oversee testing of raw materials, semi-finished goods, and packaging to ensure compliance with GLP, legal mandates, and internal policies.
• Analyze measurement data to identify trends and authorize corrective actions or material release decisions.
• Track material blocking and releasing statuses within the SAP system.
• Enforce internal protocols for sampling plans and analytical methodologies.
• Develop and coordinate inspection instructions for process control.
• Maintain laboratory infrastructure and equipment to meet legal standards through regular monitoring and upkeep.
• Provide technical and laboratory support for development and improvement initiatives.
• Ensure safe handling and storage of hazardous substances.
• Guarantee timely and high-quality test results.
• Evaluate analysis certificates for all incoming materials.
• Perform input controls for packaging materials, including odor and taste assessments.
• Apply and refine company-specific analytical methods.
• Monitor sampling of critical raw materials, semi-finished products, and finished goods according to KF requirements.
• Manage the duration of material blocking periods for critical inputs.
• Collect and analyze analysis data, generate statistics, and report findings to management and relevant stakeholders.
• Monitor hygienic parameters such as water and air quality and implement corrective measures.
• Oversee hand hygiene compliance in production areas.
• Drive process organization improvements to optimize resource usage.
• Participate in internal quality and laboratory working groups.
• Create, update, and manage laboratory documentation in the eQCMS system.
• Plan and monitor the department's budget and support investment planning.
• Manage laboratory expenditures in a cost-effective manner.

Requirements

• University degree in chemistry or a related scientific field with practical experience, or a chemical laboratory assistant with several years of experience leading an analytical lab.
• 3-4 years of experience in the field of food and quality assurance.
• Fluency in spoken and written German and English.
• Entrepreneurial thinking and acting.
• Ability to enforce quality, safety and environmental protection requirements.
• Reliable, unsolicited, committed, self-reliant, ability to keep an overview in hectic situations.
• Coaching and communication skills.
• Able to make decisions independently and to enforce them, strong coordinating skills.
• Advanced expertise in a food lab.
• No known allergies or sensitivities to cleaning agents, disinfectants, and body protection products.

Nice to have

• Expertise in Microbiology, HACCP, GMP from the food industry.
• Very good user knowledge in MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Good understanding and experience with SAP transactions in the field of quality.
• Willingness to develop their own continuous training.
• Project management, e.g. Quality Auditing.
• Advanced Knowledge of Food technology, hygiene technology, chemistry.
• Lean-6-Sigma know-how & experience.

About the company

Mondelez Schweiz GmbH values talented employees and strives to help associates grow professionally before recruiting new talent. The company believes that its people make all the difference in its success.

• Values talented employees and strives to help associates grow professionally before recruiting new talent.
• Our people make all the difference in our success.