About this role
Emerging Leader Development Associate
Eurofins Food & Feed North America
WHO
Do you walk into an unfamiliar room and immediately start figuring out how it works, who owns what, where the leverage is, and how you'd improve it? Are you energized by complexity rather than slowed down by it? Do people describe you as someone who makes things happen, not someone who waits to be told what to do next?
When you're given a problem, do you go after it with urgency, not just completing the task, but actually owning the outcome? Are you competitive, but self-aware enough to know that winning here means bringing people with you? Do you have the confidence to push back on senior leaders when you see something they don't and the maturity to do it in a way that earns more access, not less?
Are you early in your career but already thinking about what you want to build, not just what title comes next? If you're someone who thrives in ambiguity, moves fast, earns trust quickly, and is genuinely hungry to understand how a business actually runs, keep reading.
WHY
Most roles give you a lane and ask you to stay in it. This one is different.
Eurofins Food & Feed North America is one of the largest and most complex food testing networks in the world. We've intentionally designed this role as a fast track into the business, not a support function on the edge of it. You'll work directly with Business Unit Managers and senior leadership on real P&L decisions, large-scale projects, and operational challenges that actually move the business.
Within two years, successful candidates step into operational leadership roles with direct P&L ownership. That's not a promise we make lightly. It's a pattern we've built intentionally because we need the next generation of BUMAs to understand our business from the inside out.
You won't be maintaining someone else's work. You'll be learning the financial architecture of a multi-site laboratory business, running meaningful projects, sitting in rooms most people at your career level don't get access to, and building the judgment it takes to eventually run a business unit yourself.
If you want your ambition to have a real outlet, and you're ready to earn it, this is where you build the foundation.
WHAT
You'll own a defined set of outcomes. Here's how we'll know you're succeeding:
1. You understand the business, and you can prove it
Within your first 90 days, you can walk any senior leader through how our labs make money, where the pressure points are, and where we're leaving opportunity on the table. You've studied P&L statements, asked the uncomfortable questions, and earned a reputation for genuine intellectual curiosity, not just going through the motions.
2. Financial reporting is accurate, on time, and actually useful
You manage weekly forecasts, monthly scorecards, and quarterly business reviews with precision. Leadership isn't chasing you for numbers; they're asking you to help them interpret them. You've built a reputation as someone who makes the data tell a story, not just fills the cells.
3. You're driving projects — not just participating in them
You're assigned to high-visibility projects, and you take them seriously. You show up prepared, you move things forward between meetings, and you hold stakeholders accountable even when they outrank you. People know that if you're on a project, it gets done.
4. Senior leaders actually want you in the room
You've earned access not by staying quiet and deferential, but by adding value, asking sharp questions, and following through every time. BUMAs and VPs are pulling you into conversations because your perspective is useful, not just because it's your job to be there.
5. You're building your operational toolkit fast
Pricing strategy, customer proposal analysis, budget management, and cost recovery. You're not just observing these disciplines, you're developing real competency in them. In 18–24 months, you can stand in front of a business and run it. That's the bar, and you're tracking toward it.
6. You represent Eurofins like someone who's going to run it someday
With clients, with internal stakeholders, with external partners, you show up sharp, you communicate clearly, and you leave people with the impression that Eurofins has real talent in the pipeline. You're not a placeholder; you're a preview.
What we're looking for
BS/BBA in Business, Finance, or related field — MBA a plus but not required for the right candidate3–5 years of experience showing real ownership and growth — not just tenureDemonstrated ability to manage up and down — comfortable with C-suite and lab floor on the same dayStrong analytical instincts — you don't just run the numbers, you know what they meanHigh EQ — you read rooms, adapt fast, and build relationships that actually matterSelf-directed — you don't need a hand to hold; you need a clear objective and the autonomy to figure it outComfortable in ambiguity — we're not a structured rotation program with a playbook; you'll build as you goLocated within commuting distance of Des Moines, IA · Madison, WI · Lancaster, PA · New Orleans, LAWhat you'll get
Direct exposure to P&L management within the Food & Feed North America business lineRegular access to Business Unit Managers, VPs, and senior leadership — not once a quarter, consistentlyOwnership of large-scale projects that actually move the businessA clear, intentional path to operational leadership — not a vague promise, a real track record of developing BUMAsNetwork across a global organization with 800+ labs in 41 countriesCompetitive compensation commensurate with a leadership-track role, not a support functionReady to build something? Apply and tell us why this is the right room for you.
Eurofins USA Food Testing is an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer.
Lab operations, project management
All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.