Americas Regional Product Stewardship Manager

JOB SUMMARY/PURPOSE

The PMA Product Stewardship Manager acts as a Strategic Business Partner to the Vice Presidents of the Americas region. Beyond technical expertise, the role involves being embedded early in the decision-making process to anticipate regulatory impacts on new markets, acquisitions, and product development, turning compliance into a competitive advantage.

Leads the implementation of Imerys Product Stewardship strategies and Product Stewardship best practices within the Americas region and business area to ensure regulatory compliance, minimize liability risk and add business value.

Product Regulatory Compliance: legal compliance in the countries and applications served by the product portfolio

Product Safety Communication: legally compliant, comprehensive and accurate  safety communications, primarily, but not exclusively, Safety Data Sheets (SDS)

Risk Assessments: availability of prioritized risk assessments across BA’s product portfolio

Customer Communication: management of regional customer product stewardship inquiries from receipt to response and closure

KEY TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Direct management and professional development of a regional team of Product Stewardship Managers, Specialists  and SDS Authors.

• In collaboration with the Global PS Vice-President, the relevant regional business development VP’s, the Global PS Center of Excellence Director, and the other regional PS Directors - determine future organizational needs (number, location, skills) to meet evolving product stewardship challenges and Imerys Product Stewardship Vision.

• Ensure regulatory compliance of domestic, export and import (in collaboration with importing location/BA) products to all applicable country and application-specific product regulation

• Proactively track and understand regulations impacting the regional  market applications/sales locations; early communication of potential regulatory impacts to the BA via Product & Market Managers.

• Proactively advise BA VPs on strategic risks and opportunities related to the product lifecycle by participating in regional management committees and portfolio reviews.

• Working with the Global Product Stewardship VP and the Global PS Center of Excellence Director, support the development of Group-wide Product Stewardship tools, systems, processes, policies, best practices and strategies; implement in BA Product Stewardship work practices.

• Ensure BA’s  product portfolio is risk assessed (health, environmental & liability exposures), including routine risk assessments for NPD/M&A projects. Regularly communicate results of risk analyses to BA Product & Market Mgrs.

• Provide BA customers with comprehensive and compliant product safety information (SDS, Safety Bulletins etc.) that enables them to use Imerys products safely in their intended applications.

• Ensure the PS team responds to customer product stewardship inquiries according to Imerys agreed protocols and target response metrics (both to be established).

• Facilitate collaboration across BA/regional boundaries to foster a OneImerys mindset within the PS team.

• Participation in external industry association Technical Boards, Working Groups and Committees as appropriate where skills/knowledge/experience can be best leveraged for Industry and Imerys impact

• Budgetary Management & Oversight: In alignment with leadership to ensure resources support specific business priorities > Full accountability for defining, allocating, and monitoring the Product Stewardship budget for the Americas region. This includes optimizing resources across the team and managing investments in compliance tools and external consulting.

• Change Management & Organizational Transformation: Lead the cultural and operational transformation to harmonize Product Stewardship practices in collaboration with other regions. Drive the 'OneImerys' mindset by streamlining processes and fostering a unified expertise culture.

PROFILE

• Masters or PhD in a relevant scientific discipline

• 10+ years of work experience, including 3+ years of leadership roles in a technical field, preferably in the chemical industry

• Typical profile: R&D Manager, PS/Toxicology/Reg. Compliance Manager, EHS Manager

KEY COMPETENCIES & PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE 

• Seasoned technical and product stewardship practitioner

• Good understanding of global chemical product regulations

• Knowledge of systems/tools used to facilitate product regulatory compliance

• Demonstrated leadership skills and ability to stand ground under pressure

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills to connect both internally and externally

• Experience managing technical teams

• Ability to think strategically 

• Demonstrated capability to deliver results in a challenging environment

• Business acumen

• Extensive internal & external networks

• Proven experience in Change Management and leading transformation in complex, matrixed organizations.

• Strong influential leadership to align diverse business cultures toward common regional goals