Business Analyst & Process Coordinator (R&D)

At Zentis - We are Fruit Masters!

Zentis is Europe's number one fruit processing company and one of the leading brand manufacturers of jams, sweets, and custard-based desserts. The Company's North America operations are located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Plymouth, Indiana, where we produce fruit and dairy preparations for a variety of customers including yogurt, ice cream and bakery manufacturers. We are currently looking to recruit a Business Analyst & Process Coordinator for our Philadelphia location.

The Business Analyst & Process Coordinator is the centralized operational and analytical hub for the Research & Development organization. This role combines KPI ownership, Power BI reporting/insights, and workflow coordination with process digitization to increase R&D productivity, reduce manual effort, and improve data accuracy across enterprise systems (SAP, DMS, MES). Acting as 'Air Traffic Control' for R&D, this position ensures samples, trials, documentation, and operational data move smoothly across teams and sites, enabling scientists and developers to focus on innovation.

This position can be hired as part-time (up to 24 hours per week) or full-time (40 hours per week) depending on candidate preference and business needs. This role also offers a hybrid schedule, with a blend of remote work and on-site collaboration at our Philadelphia office

Key Responsibilities:

• Own and maintain all R&D KPIs, including data quality checks, monthly/quarterly/YTD reporting, and ongoing refinement.
• Build, publish, and iterate Power BI dashboards and standardized reporting packages for leadership and stakeholders.
• Drive process improvements and digitization to streamline samples, trials, shipping, and documentation workflows.
• Serve as system/process steward across SAP workflows, DMS archiving/governance, and MES documentation alignment.
• Coordinate and 'air traffic control' R&D workstreams, ensuring timely progression and closing of open loops.
• Partner with Commercialization, Sales/KAMs, and IT to improve visibility, data governance, and operational execution.

Required Skills & Qualifications

• Strong reporting and analytics capability with emphasis on analyzing data and providing actionable insights.
• Familiarity with Power BI (dashboarding, data modeling), Microsoft Excel, and modern productivity tools (including Copilot).
• Working proficiency with SAP workflows and comfort navigating enterprise systems; exposure to DMS/MES/PLM tools strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to identify inefficiencies and implement improvements that streamline workflows, reduce manual data entry, and improve accuracy.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills with the ability to influence without authority (R&D, Commercialization, Sales, IT, Ops, Quality).
• Highly organized; able to manage multiple concurrent workflows and maintain high attention to detail.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in manufacturing, food/beverage, CPG, or another regulated/traceable product environment.
• Experience with KPI governance, operational analytics, or continuous improvement (Lean/Six Sigma) initiatives.
• Experience supporting multi-site operations and cross-functional workflow alignment.

EOE/M/F/H/V