Provide leadership for the Regulatory team and the organization on regulatory matters.
Ensure Sun Gro is adhering to all applicable regulations in U.S., Canada, Mexico, current countries we ship to and any potential new markets.
Oversee the regulatory collaboration with Sun Gro R&D, Marketing, Sales, Technical, Operation/Quality, and Supply Chain teams
Interface with required parties to drive the company regulatory strategy
ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:
Provide appropriate leadership for the Regulatory team to ensure effective operation and function of routine tasks and objectives of the team
Provide regulatory insights for new product development and product improvement projects e.g.
Evaluate new vendor qualification process with Sun Gro cross-functional teams such as Prop65, OMRI listings, registration status, etc.
Establish/support product development timelines through Stage & Gate processes
Label development/updates
Manage and support site level print & apply and other label applications
Manage registration/renewals and tonnage reporting via team processes for all product labels. Point person for developing a process for new and discontinued products to ensure registration is current and up to date
Complete/manage and maintain product registration database
Lead management of organic program registration and requirements for state and Canada regulatory agencies such as CDFA (OIM), NOP/COR (US/CDN), OMRI, etc.
Manage/support all required processes/documents by USDA and CFIA Veterinary Certification program
Coordinate with Stage & Gate Process/Team:
Regulatory review and approval of all label (package) text for all retail & professional products
Technical aspects of state and federal registration of all products, retail and professional.
Manage and maintain Mulch and Soil Council certification program
Manage required grow tests for regulatory compliance or registration
Coordinate with Quality/Technical:
Prop65, CFIA, OMRI, OIM, NOP/COR, USDA
Project Management
Coordinate with cross-disciplinary team members to make sure that all parties are on track with project requirements, deadlines, and schedules.
Meet with project team members to identify and resolve issues.
Submit project deliverables and ensure that they adhere to regulatory standards.
Prepare status reports by gathering, analyzing and summarizing relevant information.
Establish effective project communication plans and ensuring their execution.
Facilitate change requests to ensure that all parties are aware of the impact on schedules and budget.
Conduct post project evaluations identifying successful and unsuccessful project elements.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:
Effective team leadership
Good public speaking skills – effective presentation skills a must.
Excellent interpersonal skills
Strong communication skills to represent Sun Gro and to negotiate with regulators and government sectors.
Strong computer skills, specific proficiency in Excel, Word, PowerPoint, digital photograph, Internet and email.
Strong, fact based decision making skills
Excellent mentoring and development skills
Strong business process orientation
Understanding of R&D, Marketing, Sales, Operation, Quality, Technical and Supply Chain functions and their interactions
Flexibility and adaptability.
Ability to establish and follow plans
Skilled change champion
Strong execution skills
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:
Minimum BS in related field.
Strong network with state regulatory agencies including AAPFCO, CFIA, and OMRI knowledge is preferred.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
Ability to travel domestically and internationally (primarily Canada) (4 – 6 weeks per year or about 10%)
Ability to work remotely in a home office setting, sitting and using office equipment, primarily telephone and computers (50/50), for extended periods of time each day:
On calls 30-50% per work day
On computer tasks 30-50% per work day
Ability take and maintain notes and information for reference sharing
Respond to inquiries from internal and external customers in a timely manner (typically with 24 hours of initial inquiry)