Job Information
Chick-fil-A Sensory Team Lead in Atlanta, Georgia
Overview
This individual will be responsible for leading, coordinating, and executing all sensory activities on and off-site. The successful candidate will be responsible for developing the recommended learning plans in addition to operation, maintenance, organization and cleanliness of all sensory panel activities. This includes working with project owners and third-party groups to design the testing needed, identify all resources, interpret test results, and report out to key stakeholders across the organization. This role will collaborate with the Customer & Market Insights (CMI) team to develop consumer learning plans that integrate sensory with customer assessments, as needed for projects. This person will serve as the Menu Services SME on all projects that require sensory analysis requiring organizational influence and autonomy in decision making in order to maintain project deliverables and meet deadlines. This individual will partner to document sensory specifications.
This individual will have the ability to build strong relationships and provide leadership to internal partners to facilitate the execution of the sensory program. This individual must have the ability to plan, organize and execute multiple sensory initiatives from concept to stewardship and may also provide training support as needed for production of training materials.
The Sensory Team Lead will report to the Sr. Principal Team Leader of Menu Services and serve on the Menu Services Leadership team.
Our Flexible Future model offers a healthy mix of working in person and virtually, strengthening key elements of the Chick-fil-A culture by fostering collaboration and community.
Responsibilities
- Lead all Sensory related activities for domestic and international business.
Lead, coordinate, and execute the design of sensory testing
Interpret sensory data for organizational projects
Document sensory procedures, specifications, and activities within Catalyst
Ensure support for all sensory events that occur within the development process for Menu, Production Design/Equipment and Packaging.
Develop and maintain budgetary discipline for all Sensory resources; staffing, inventory and equipment
Ensure all sensory work meets project timelines and cost targets
Evaluate and benchmark sensory practices and performance for continuous improvement
Coordinate organization and scheduling of all sensory activities
Schedule and coordinate contractor teams needed to accomplish effective operation of sensory projects
Ensure all contractor team members are practicing Chick-fil-A procedural compliance
Ensure all sensory team members are following food safety best practices
Ensure sanitation and maintenance of all sensory equipment and facility
Maintain sensory inventories: frozen, fresh and dry product
- Refine and develop sensory lexicons for new and existing Chick-fil-A products.
Calibrate the organization on target characteristics for Gold Standards
Integrate critical product characteristics into finished product evaluation process
Identify, develop, strengthen, and maintain vendor relationships.
Collaborate and strengthen integration with Customer & Market Insights (CMI) as needed for customer testing.
Assist Training Teams as needed to convert work methods into training materials of various formats.
Participate in menu-related project teams as Menu Services SME as needed.
Lead Sensory Team
Supervises and manages scheduling of the support team
Collaborates to establish work schedules, assignments and reviews results
Supports people leader performance assessments of support team
Ensures training and development of sensory support team
Initiates personnel actions/ decisions for scheduling
Qualifies and maintains internal relationships to support future organizational goals on product quality metrics
Skills and Abilities:
People: Personable and approachable. Exhibits strong interpersonal skills that encourage team cooperation, promotes enthusiasm and motivates relationship-building.
Excellence: Gives personal best every day; demonstrates positive attitude and confidence; sets high standards and meets self- expectations; pursues everything with energy, drive, and a need to finish; is committed to and works actively to growing and developing capabilities and capacity; seeks feedback on performance and acts upon feedback received; practices accountability.
Collaborator: ability to bring diverse groups across internal and external teams together to work across multiple disciplines, and successfully lead those SMEs toward a common outcome.
Passion: Go-getter with the relentless pursuit of excellence in a competitive, changing landscape.
Communication: Is able to write clearly and succinctly in a variety of communication settings and styles; can get messages across that have the desired effect.
Creativity: Thinks across disciplinary lines; uses the insights or techniques from one discipline to take on the challenges of another. Passionately curious. Thinks and learns and practices their craft all the time.
Complex Decision-Making: Can solve even the toughest and most complex of problems; is a quick study of the new and different; adds personal wisdom and experience to come to the best conclusion and solution, given the situation.
Minimum Qualifications
3-5 years of professional work experience in a sensory science capacity
Bachelor's Degree in Food Science or similar technical discipline
Proven track record of excellence in leadership, problem solving, and analytical skills
Excellent communicator of technical information for non-technical audiences.
High attention to quality and detail
In-depth project management experience
Experience in designing experiments, process and testing
A versatile mind and proven ability to influence key stakeholders along the project decision track and across multiple areas of the organization
Ability to raise, manage, and mitigate project issues and risks
Proven success in multi-tasking and managing multiple project deadlines simultaneously while quickly adapting and re-prioritizing work based on the needs of the business
Experience in supporting the work of multiple leaders
Proficiency in Microsoft Office and/or Apple computer software applications
Proficiency in math and statistics
Maintains highest level of confidentiality
Preferred Qualifications
5+ years' of professional work experience in a sensory science capacity
Chick-fil-A Restaurant experience
Formal training in sensory science
Training in statistical process control
ServSafe Certified
Experience managing a trained panel
Experience integrating sensory and consumer insights data in order to make business decisions
Minimum Years of Experience
3
Travel Requirements
20%
Required Level of Education
Bachelor's Degree
Major/Concentration
Food Science
Requisition ID2024-16183
Job FunctionMarketing
Position TypeExperienced Professionals
Posting Location : LocationUS-GA-Atlanta