All Associates, no matter what their job, have a direct part to play in the achievement of business objectives, and this common purpose links all who work in the company. We try to create a working environment in which everyone feels closely and personally associated with the success of our business, and shares in that success.
Accounting and Finance - Apply Now!
The Mars Finance function has a dual role.
First, we must be effective Custodians of the assets and resources of Mars, Incorporated. Effective governance establishes the security of a foundation upon which all other business activities can be built. Information must be credible, and activities throughout the business must be in compliance with policies and procedures of Mars, Incorporated, as well as the regulatory environment in which we work. It is the role of Finance to create a controlled environment for the business and maintain its integrity.
Second, we must be an effective Co-pilot of successful businesses, providing guidance and counsel to Business Unit Heads, Management Teams and all Associates of Mars, Incorporated. This decision-support responsibility must be executed with an approach that supports the Principles, Philosophy's and Objectives of the business, its Associates and its Shareholders - the Mars Family. At the same time we must challenge and promote activities to achieve these goals.
Qualifications suitable for this discipline:
Finance, accounting, economics and other related studies.
Service & Finance Graduate: Cindy (Petcare)
Studied: Master of Applied Commerce - Accounting
Life in Service & Finance = Analysis + Reporting + Fun!
My primary responsibility is management of copacking spend, including planning, analysis, periodic reporting and various ad hoc tasks. I also work closely with my manager (Wodonga Plant Accountant) and participate in a variety of tasks that widens my business knowledge and extends my overall skill base. I have also had the opportunity to cover the roles of some of my peers, including my manager's role in his absence. I found this to be a very challenging and rewarding experience, especially for a first year graduate..
I consider that University laid a good foundation for my transition into a finance role. The Graduate Program has then taken over, providing a great opportunity to develop my "soft skills", with the greatest personal learning in how to navigate in an organisation and communicating effectively in the workplace. This coupled with on the job training has considerably enhanced my skills and knowledge, and taken my career prospects to an entirely different level.
Engineering is an integral part of the Supply functional network, which also includes Logistics and Manufacturing. As a function, Supply consistently produces and reliably delivers the products that meet our customers' needs and our consumers' expectations. The Supply functional network has approximately 20,000 Associates working worldwide to provide the highest-quality products to meet our consumers' exacting demands for nutrition, taste, appearance, convenience and cost. Variability of design, workforce deployment and management, rigorous and uncompromising quality control, competitive conversion costs and logistics and customer demands provide an environment within Supply that is both challenging and stimulating.
At Mars Australia, Engineers do not simply take ready-made, off-the-shelf solutions from third parties and install them. Our engineering teams design Mars-specific solutions and make them work in the most efficient and effective way possible. They have enabled the business to develop manufacturing facilities capable of being fully operational 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Our Engineers also play a vital role in giving Mars a competitive edge when bringing new and unique products to the market. At Mars, Engineers enjoy the creative challenge of large-scale manufacturing in a demanding commercial environment.
Qualifications suitable for this discipline:
Applications are welcome from any engineering discipline. We will also accept applications from operations, supply chain and logistics graduates.
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Industrial Engineering
Industrial engineering is a branch of engineering that concerns the development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy, material and process. Few roles offer such freedom of operation or such scope to make a profound impact on the business. Our Industrial Engineers act as a key link between the Supply division and our markets, deeply involved in tailoring the ideal development solution for each of our factories and markets. This involves everything from evaluating project plans and activities to justifying capital expenditure and formulating individual investment strategies, establishing a comprehensive product sourcing matrix, and developing pragmatic site strategies.
Industrial Engineering Graduate: Andrew (Petcare)
Studied: Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical) and Bachelor of Medical Science.
Over the last 2 years in the Mars Graduate Program I have had many varied experiences, learnt a lot about myself and about my craft. My work responsibilities have included understanding and modelling past, current and future operation of the Bathurst site to improve efficiencies and better manage downtimes and product changes.
I have been a representative on projects whereby we have had to install new production lines and launch new products. My financial knowledge has been put the test developing models to allocate conversion costs and I have had to understand interactions between departments to gather information and promote change.
The graduate program has provided a strong support network, but given me enough room to find my own way in the business. I have also attended many training courses to develop my ability to manage myself and others.
Other engineers in the graduate program have been able to focus on delivering capital projects from process analysis and design to equipment selection, installation and commissioning.
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People and Organisation, as Human Resources is known at Mars, creates the conditions where each Associate can do their best in line with The Five Principles. An independent function within the Mars businesses, represented at local and Corporate level, the scope of the function is broad and includes roles in the following areas of human resources practice: Generalists, Specialists (Organisation Development, Talent Management, Remuneration, Learning & Development) and Associate Services.
Qualifications suitable for this discipline:
Applications are welcome from any discipline and successful applicants will have a passion to develop people. Past Mars' Graduates have held qualifications in the following areas: Human Resources, Communication, Business Management plus other related studies.
People & Organisation Graduate: Tim (Petcare)
Studied: Bachelor of Business/Bachelor of Arts-Psychology
First thing this morning I met with our Sales leadership team to review the Sales People strategy. With the help of a people scorecard that I created, we addressed an action plan to reduce turnover, focused on specific actions to maintain high levels of engagement within teams such as rolling out a national health and wellness program, and discussed critical development roles with a clear succession plan in place.
I then gave one of our field sales managers a call, and worked through a solution to upcoming legislation changes that will impact the costs associated with our current merchandiser model. I calculated the costs, provided alternative solutions and overlayed the impact of each solution to human capital.
In the afternoon I discussed an Associate's development plan and coached them through how to approach an upcoming conversation with their line manager about future role aspirations.
I then began to organise an upcoming focus group meeting with our graduates to collect feedback about their induction into the business and collect ideas from them. This was just today, and each day is certainly different!
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Logistics & Supply Chain - Apply Now!
Logistics is an integral part of the Supply functional network, which also includes Engineering and Manufacturing. As a function, Supply consistently produces and reliably delivers the products that meet our customers' needs and our consumers' expectations. The Supply functional network has approximately 20,000 Associates working worldwide to provide the highest-quality products to meet our consumers' exacting demands for nutrition, taste, appearance, convenience and cost. Variability of design, workforce deployment and management, rigorous and uncompromising quality control, competitive conversion costs and logistics and customer demands provide an environment within Supply that is both challenging and stimulating. Logistics & Supply Chain is the mechanism that pulls everything together, helping us bring raw materials in and send our finished products out.
Qualifications suitable for this discipline:
Applications are welcome from all disciplines including Business and Commerce. Past Mars' Graduates have held qualifications in the following areas: Business Management, Supply Chain Management, Finance or Accounting, Agriculture, Economics, Commerce plus many other areas.
Logistics & Supply Chain Graduate: Ben (Food)
Studied: Bachelor of Business (Operations Management) Majoring in Logistics & Supply Chain Management
During my first year of the Mars Graduate Program working as a Supply Chain Analyst, there hasn't been a dull moment. From monitoring day-to-day performance of transport providers through to analyzing current warehousing and transport operations to develop more efficient and cost effective supply chain practices, there have been ample opportunities to put my learnings from University into practice.
The role has allowed me to become involved across other varying business functions when working on projects and to also develop a detailed understanding of customer and supplier relationships through real ‘hands-on' experiences.
Most recently I was able to put my project management skills to the test, as I was given the responsibility of managing the change of providers and transport method for all imported and exported goods.
If someone had told me a year ago the type of things I'd be doing at work each day I wouldn't have believed it and probably been a bit scared, however there is an immense amount of support given to graduates at Mars. This support has enabled me to grow and develop both personally and within the business seemingly easily. I would recommend it highly to any University graduate.
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Purchasing & Commercial - Apply Now!
Commercial, our purchasing function, manages the global network of suppliers who provide our goods and services. Understanding the consumer's perspective, material functionality and the entire supply chain for the materials we buy, we use this understanding to influence the direction of our businesses and relations with our suppliers, the industry and regulatory agencies. At Mars, the purchasing function is known as Commercial due to the broad perspective and understanding that is gained. We take a long-term view on the goods and services we use and the businesses that provide them. We work to ensure that our sourcing practices reflect our mutuality principle in every respect including long-term sustainability of all the materials we use. We are free to invest in the long-term development of materials, technologies, origin countries and suppliers to advance our sustainability and business objectives.
The Commercial function at Mars attracts applicants from a wide and diverse range of studies. There is no right or wrong formula when placing a graduate into a Commercial role. What is important however, is that you enjoy working in a fast paced environment and have good negotiation and interpersonal skills.
Qualifications suitable for this discipline:
Whether you have studied Agricultural Science, International Trade, Environmental Studies, or another degree that you never thought would be applicable to the Mars business – take a look below to find out why a role in Commercial might be just what you are looking for:
- Agricultural Science/Animal Science – many of the raw materials that go into our products are sourced from the cereals, poultry, beef and diary industries. It is vital that we have people who understand these disciplines and the suppliers and producers who operate within them.
- Business/Commerce – as our Commercial function deals with a diverse external supplier base it is critical that our Associates have a broad understanding of key external and internal influences that affect purchasing decisions. Different economic conditions, currency volatility, historic pricing trends, etc. can all impact the decision on when and how to procure the range of goods and services required.
- Engineering – when dealing with highly sophisticated suppliers, we need people who have the technical understanding to ensure that our materials are produced and delivered to a predetermined specification to deliver the efficiencies and quality standards that our consumers expect.
- International Trade – when dealing with the huge range of raw materials, packaging materials and services required by Mars it is inevitable that many of these products will be sourced from outside Australia. As a result Commercial Associates need to know how to trade in foreign countries and deal with people from different cultural backgrounds.
- Logistics – its not all about getting product out to market – we also have to make it! Commercial play a vital role in ensuring that our manufacturing plants are running to plan and that materials are delivered on time, in the most cost effective manner possible while ensuring inventories are kept to minimum.
- Procurement & PurchasingP – our buyers are constantly looking to develop and strengthen relations with suppliers while ensuring products are sourced at the best quality and lowest price.
- Environmental Studies – a changing consumer environment is demanding the use of more sustainable materials. Commercial is committed to the sourcing of sustainable raw and packaging materials to minimise the impact we as a business have on the environment.
Applications are welcome from all disciplines. Current Commercial Associates hold qualifications in all of the above plus other related areas.
Commercial Graduate: Kate (Petcare)
Studied: Bachelor of Animal Science & Management
I joined MARS as a Commercial Graduate two years ago. From day one I was an important part of the Commercial team with a real role and real responsibilities.
Price and supply risk management are a key aspect of my role. Through a better understanding of this, I now have a far greater appreciation for global economic trends and markets and the impact these have on businesses locally. Commercial in Mars also involves bringing innovation from our suppliers in-house and driving sustainability initiatives through our supplier base.
One of my first roles was as Activity Coordinator where I worked on project teams helping bring innovative ideas to fruition such as the PEDIGREE® Restage in 2008. This involved a relaunch of the PEDIGREE® brand to a stronger balance of health and taste via a product upgrade to improve protein levels, nutritional claims and kibble format. This role gave me great exposure to other internal departments and a broader understanding of the MARS business both locally and overseas.
During my second year of the Graduate Program I was responsible for a number of raw material buying portfolios including: dairy, egg, fresh vegetables and frozen vegetables. In July, I visited our carrot and capsicum suppliers in Queensland to view their extensive farming and processing facilities. I also spent time at James Cook University in Townsville with their Aquaculture Professor investigating the potential application of marine based products in our Petfood range.
One of the great things about working in Commercial is that we get to interact with so many different suppliers and stakeholders within the supply chain across a number of industries providing great variety in a challenging environment.
The opportunities to learn and develop my skills in a career at MARS are limitless. I would highly recommend the Mars graduate program to prospective graduates.
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Research & Development - Apply Now!
Research and Development (R&D) Associates use the combined know-how of science and technology with consumer insight to make great products. We interface with many functions across Mars but most importantly Marketing in the innovation process where we together gain a deep understanding of our consumers. Our ability to translate these insights into concepts, prototypes and commercialised products is what makes us excited.
Functional areas within R&D include new product development, quality and food safety, process, packaging development and design and new technology.
Great R&D starts with engaged and motivated people who are able to work together to solve problems related to current and new products. Continued learning is a focus with opportunities to improve professional knowledge and skill being provided.
Qualifications we look for:
Working in Research and Development at Mars attracts Graduates from a wide range of disciplines. If you are interested in working in the fast moving consumer goods industry and seeing your products on the supermarket shelves then we would be interested in talking to you.
Science and Technology - we are looking for people who have undertaken studies in any applied science field. We need to continue to deepen our knowledge on recipe formulation, animal health, nutrition, product shelf life, consumer driven design and raw material development.
- Engineering - being a food manufacturer we depend on our engineers to work with our product developers to design, commission and validate new processes and existing process upgrades. R&D engineers lead projects in packaging and process development.
- Environmental - Mars has a continued focus on reducing environmental impact. Those students interested in ecology, environmental economics or pollution studies would be continuously challenged to reduce overall environmental impact whilst continuing to work to LEAN guidelines.
Food Science Stream
Research & Development Graduate: Carmen (Chocolate)
Studied: Bachelor or Engineering (Chemical & Petroleum)
current role as a Process Developer can be broken into two main parts; Process implementation and Product implementation.
Process implementation involves the investigation of new equipment or the re-use of old equipment for ensuring our business is always moving towards the most effective processes possible. I find my job exciting and often use a large amount of the knowledge I learnt at University to design increasingly efficient processes. A great example would be helping to design the gas fired engine which we have recently installed onsite that reduces our carbon emissions footprint by half (due to the inefficiencies associated with power transmission) This engine will also be used for heat recovery which provides a further reduction in power usage.
Product implementation involves the upscaling of "recipes" which people would make at home into one suitable for a factory process; this is a challenge at times due to the complex reactions that occur between food ingredients and the way food tends to react differently in factory processes compared to using kitchen utensils.
I've found at Mars that I've been given the freedom to use the skills I learnt at University to help drive business growth.
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Our Sales Associates play a key role in influencing the shopper's decision at the point of purchase and driving profitable growth through excellence in availability. Our Sales Associates visit customers every day, in every sales area to ensure superior distribution, display and product quality at the point of purchase, at the correct price, supplemented by effective promotions.
The consumer is our boss! We strive to better satisfy our consumer by providing great products and meaningful brands. Charged with identifying consumer needs and satisfying them with best in class executions and winning business models, our Marketing Associates develop powerful brand ideas based on deep insights into our consumers' lives.
**To gain this valuable exposure to the business and its activities, the majority of our Marketing Graduates will start their careers in the Sales team to gain this experience during their first 1-2 years of the Graduate Program.
Qualifications suitable for this discipline:
All degree disciplines welcome.
Sales & Marketing Graduate: Laura(Chocolate)
Studied: Bachelor or Business (Marketing)
I started out my Graduate career at Mars in the NSW Sales Team as a Territory Manager of the northern beaches area. After a few months I moved into to the Sydney CBD, giving a diverse customer experience. Each territory consisted of around 270 retail outlets, which I would visit each month with the goal of growing their confectionary category through sales of our products. My first year with the business was an intense learning experience as I quickly realised I would need to focus on building competencies that would create strong relationships with my customers. I acquired many skills through these roles, such as negotiation, an understanding of good business principles and techniques to drive retail sales and maximise profits. By the end of my first year with Mars, I was able to use these skills to persuade customers to make fact-based decisions which would ultimately grow their business.
my second year of the program, I was offered a role within the Marketing Team as the BOUNTY® and MILKY WAY® Brand Manager. Given I am a Marketing Graduate, it had been my goal to grow within this discipline and I jumped at the opportunity. Being part of a small yet highly experienced team of marketeers has absolutely exceeded my expectations. A very different experience from the more target orientated sales world, I constantly feel challenged and am continuing to learn the importance marketing plays within an organisation. Furthermore the role also meant a move to our Chocolate head office in Ballarat. As much of my work is team based, being part of a central office allows an understanding of the role of other departments, such as Research & Development, Supply and Commercial. Throughout the year some of my highlights have included leading an activity team in launching two new products, BOUNTY 3® and MARS DARK®, conducting a TVC trial for BOUNTY® in South Australia, long term strategy planning for the various brands, traveling to the other states to launch our campaigns to the sales teams and planning for major sales and branding events.
My experience throughout the Graduate Program has been one of challenge, self-evaluation and development. I believe my sales role was a crucial part of my learning and enhanced my sense of independence and understanding of the business before moving into the central office. Ultimately with Mars, your experience is as valuable as you choose to make it and mine has certainly been fantastic.
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To learn more about the functional areas of our business, visit our global website.