Head of Associate Health & Wellbeing – US & Canada

Job Description:

Associate Health and Wellbeing (AHWB) is a strategic enabler of business success and serves as a foundational pillar of the Mars People Strategy.

The Head of Associate Health & Wellbeing – US & Canada is a high-impact, business partner, senior leader, and subject matter expert responsible for driving the strategic AHWB agenda across the region while actively contributing to the evolution and delivery of Mars' global health and wellbeing strategy and thereby the success of the North American business.

Operating at the intersection of business strategy and Associate advocacy, this role is accountable for advancing measurable health and business outcomes across the US and Canada. The Head of AHWB will lead the regional approach to reducing population health risks, managing workplace and psychosocial hazards, and mitigating absenteeism, injuries, and rising operational costs. Ensuring strict compliance with local legislation and Mars standards, this leader will actively cultivate Associate energy, resilience, and sustainable performance.

This role will partner with several businesses across Mars working collaboratively with key cross-functional partners—including P&O (HR), Health, Safety & Environment (HSE), Security, Benefits, Facilities, Business Leadership, and external consultants—to build a unified, high-performing culture of care enabling Associates and Business to Thrive.

Key Accountabilities

1. Lead and Develop a High-Performing Expert Team

• Inspire, lead, and govern a diverse regional team of health and wellbeing specialists by establishing a clear, strategically aligned vision, fostering a culture of professional excellence and professional development, and building organizational capability to deliver measurable Associate and business value.

2. Contribute to and Deliver the Global Health & Wellbeing Strategy

• Serve on the Global Associate Health & Wellbeing Leadership Team, translating global priorities into an impactful US/Canada roadmap that balances enterprise consistency with local legislation, culture, and business needs.

• Lead the regional deployment of strategic health initiatives, monitoring industry advances, emerging risks, and scientific trends to proactively innovate programs and feed insights back into the global agenda.

• Represent Mars AHWB internally and externally with key stakeholders, industry groups and peer organizations, with a commitment to advance the company’s reputation in the areas of Associate engagement, culture of health and employer brand.

3. Strategic Stakeholder Engagement & Partnership

• Act as a senior strategic partner and trusted advisor to regional leadership and key functional partners (P&O, HSE, Benefits), leveraging deep business acumen and problem-solving expertise to co-create tailored health and wellbeing solutions that solve core organizational challenges and drive value creation.

• Manage strategic relationships with external providers, healthcare vendors, and clinical partners to ensure high-quality, and evidence-based service delivery.

4. Occupational Health & Wellbeing Expertise

• Provide senior-level clinical and technical expertise across at least one of the following areas: occupational health, population health management, holistic wellbeing, and health benefits, ensuring all regional programs, policies and interventions comply with local regulatory standards and reflect evidence-based, leading practices. Support global Occupational Health governance and quality enhancement.

5. Data, Evidence & Impact

• Drive an evidence-based, data-driven culture across the region, utilizing workforce analytics and actionable executive insights to diagnose, manage, and resolve the root causes of complex health and wellbeing challenges through targeted, high-impact interventions to demonstrate measurable Organizational and Associate impact. Leverage the breadth of data sources available.

Success in this role is defined by leading a highly engaged, high-performing regional team to deliver Mars’ global AHWB strategy with exceptional local impact. As a trusted strategic partner, collaborate cross-functionally with senior leadership, P&O, HSE, and Benefits to co-create and embed an evidence-based, data-driven offering that advances the People Strategy and directly improves Associate health and sustainable business performance.

Key Relationships

Reports to: Global Head of Associate Health & Wellbeing

Leadership responsibility: Large regional team of health and wellbeing professionals and subject matter experts

Global role: Member of the Global Associate Health & Wellbeing Leadership Team

Key internal partners: Business and functional leaders; US Benefits; People & Organization (P&O); Health, Safety & Environment (HSE) Team; Global Associate Health & Wellbeing CoE

External partners: Occupational health and healthcare providers; strategic health and wellbeing partners; clinical and professional networks

Education & Credentials

Required:

Experience: Minimum of 5 years leadership experience in Occupational Health, Population health or Wellbeing within the corporate sector.

Credentials: Post-graduate education in Public Health, Occupational Health or Wellbeing

Preferred: Master's degree in Public Health (MPH), Health Administration (MHA), or advanced clinical practice (COHN, DO, NP).

Experience & Capabilities

• Strategic Leadership: Extensive experience in designing regional workplace health strategies, delivering improvements in population health / business outcomes, leading and developing clinical/non-clinical teams in large organizations.

• Regional Landscape: Deep knowledge of US/Canadian health systems, regional population health trends, and local regulatory/compliance frameworks.

• Business Partnering & Influence: Proven ability to act as a strategic partner to P&O, HSE, and Benefits, using deep business acumen to influence and engage senior stakeholders and demonstrate clear business ROI.

• Root-Cause Problem Solving: Strong analytical capability, using workforce data and metrics to diagnose complex health challenges and execute targeted occupational health, disability, and wellbeing programs.

What can you expect from Mars?

• Work with over 150,000 diverse and talented Associates, all guided by The Five Principles.
• Join a purpose driven company, where we’re striving to build the world we want tomorrow, today.
• Best-in-class learning and development support from day one, including access to our in-house Mars University.
• An industry competitive salary and benefits package, including company bonus.

The base pay range for this position at commencement of employment is between the range listed below, however, base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including but not limited to job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The total compensation package for this position will include variable pay, medical and dental benefits, participation in 401k plan, and paid time off benefits. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an applicant receives an offer of employment.

The pay range shown is applicable to all US locations listed within the job posting:USD 153,600.00 - USD 211,200.00