Manager, Entomology & Animal Sciences

The Home & Garden business unit of Spectrum Brands is based in St. Louis, Missouri with distribution, manufacturing and sales offices throughout the US and globe. We are a leading supplier of consumer products nationally for the home, lawn and garden, insect and weed control markets. We deliver groundbreaking products of exceptional value and top-notch quality to consumers with our well-recognized brands including Spectracide, Hot Shot, Cutter, Repel, Black Flag, Garden Safe, EcoLogic and Liquid Fence.

Innovate with us as a -Manager, Entomology & Animal Science within the Spectrum Brands R&D team! You will develop and commercialize new products across a wide range of chemistries and insects and other organisms
You will direct and coordinate the activities of the Entomology & Animal Science team in R&D to design and test products and systems for the competitiveness of the current portfolio and the development of the new pipeline. The Manager will be responsible for identifying risks in design and operations and implementing solutions to mitigate risks. This position will be a leader in advancing the entomology capabilities at Spectrum Brands.

Driving Innovation - You will use your innovative thinking skills to develop, transform and executing projects to drive the Home & Garden current portfolio and new products pipeline. Additionally, you will be leading innovation in the discovery, evaluation and advancement of new active ingredients, formulations, and product designs.

End to End Support - Maintain and sustain technical analysis, evaluation, recommendation, and implementation of new product concepts targeting insects and other organisms

Leadership and Consumer Focus - We know you care about our consumers! Demonstrate technical robustness and business leadership within cross-functional teams while supporting the company philosophy and direction as well as engaging with consumers in the evaluation of concepts and prototypes.

• Directs department activities to design new products, modify existing designs, improve production techniques, design new protocols and develop test procedures
• Confers with R&D and marketing staff to determine technical feasibility and customer demand for new products and/or claims
• Build and maintain a knowledge repository in entomology and animal science
• Interact with vendors and suppliers and develop recommendations accordingly
• Create and maintain a positive environment for all employees free of intimidation and harassment
• Manage and develop a team of entomologists of varying levels
• Hire and train employees
• Plan, assign, and direct work; appraising employee performance; addressing complaints and resolving problems and disputes
• Comply with all company policies and procedures

• PhD in Entomology, Biology, Animal Science or a related science with 3+ years of experience, or Master's degree in Entomology or a related science with 5+ years of experience or Bachelor's degree in Entomology or a related science with 10+ years of experience.
• A minimum of 2 years in a supervisory or managerial role leading a team
• Deep understanding of common urban entomology and structural pest biology
• Good Laboratory Practice knowledge and experience preferred, but not required
• Experience in common flying and crawling insects a plus
• Experience in developing products in outdoor controls, household insecticides, and repellents a plus
• Strong record of accomplishment of consumer package development both in new product development as well as process improvement and support of existing products
• Prefer experience in an innovation team or entrepreneurial environment
• Prefer Design Methods training, experience, and application

• Works effectively across the organization and fosters teamwork
• Effective communication skills to convey complex and/or detailed information to a wide range of individuals/audiences with different knowledge levels
• Proactive leadership skills and the ability to develop people
• Excellent problem-solving skills, including previous experience leading problem-solving groups
• Project management experience and use of project management software
• Ability to organize and carry out multiple projects
• Computer literate and experienced with Microsoft Office Suite Programs

• Must always understand and demonstrate safe work practices to ensure a safe work environment.
• This role requires travel and flexibility in your schedule as you will need the ability to work in office and manufacturing environments, and to travel 10% to 20% of the time.
• The ability to work a full shift, come to work on time, work overtime as needed and the ability to work according to the necessary schedule to meet job requirements with or without reasonable accommodation is an essential function of this position.
• Comply with all company policies and procedures.

The above information on this description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this job/classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job.

Spectrum Brands is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer.

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