Senior Specialist, Global Regulatory Affairs

Company Overview

At Mara Renewables Corporation (Mara), we exist to re-engineer nature’s pantry, reimagine human nutrition, and revitalize wellness and the environment. We believe there has never been a more critical need to evolve health ingredients for human nutrition and related industries using the power of science and nature to build a more sustainable and healthier world.

Mara’s remarkable journey has transformed us from a research & development startup into a global leader within the algal omega-3 oil industry, encompassing pivotal sectors such as food, beverage, and infant nutrition. Our commitment to commercializing our unique patent-protected technologies, coupled with the expertise of our diverse and exceptionally talented team, has been the driving force behind our success.

Position Summary

The Senior Specialist, Global Regulatory Affairs will join Mara at an exciting time of growth and play a significant role in supporting our global regulatory activities, route-to-market initiatives, and product programs. Reporting to the Director, Global Regulatory Affairs, this is a hands-on individual contributor role with broad exposure across human food and beverage, novel ingredient, dietary/food supplement, animal feed, pet food, and international markets.

Working collaboratively with teams across the business, as well as suppliers, co-manufacturers, customers, and regulatory bodies, the Senior Specialist will manage assigned submissions, registrations, regulatory documentation, customer support, and compliance activities. By building strong partnerships internally and externally, this role will help enable new product initiatives, support market expansion, and ensure product compliance across all stages of the product lifecycle. The Senior Specialist will work closely with Applications (R&D), Quality, Operations, and Commercial to translate regulatory requirements into clear actions that support business objectives. The role combines regulatory analysis, scientific submission support, market-access activities, and regulatory operations responsibilities within a lean global function, offering the opportunity to help strengthen scalable regulatory processes within a growing global business.

This position is well suited to an experienced regulatory professional who enjoys solving complex problems, coordinating diverse stakeholders, and moving regulatory work from requirements assessment through pre-market submissions and post-approval maintenance. The ideal candidate will thrive in a fast-paced environment and be motivated by the opportunity to help strengthen Mara’s regulatory capabilities and processes.

This is a hybrid role (3 days in office, 2 days remote), located in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

Key Responsibilities

The responsibilities of this role include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Research, interpret, and map regulatory requirements, pathways, evidence needs, application steps, and expected timing for market entry across assigned jurisdictions.
• Support the preparation, coordination, and review of human-food scientific and regulatory submissions in coordination with external experts, where applicable, including for Novel Food applications, GRAS assessments, registrations, and other international dossiers.
• Support animal feed and pet food regulatory activities, including pathway assessments, submissions, registrations, renewals, authority responses, documentation, claims, and label development.
• Manage assigned submissions, registrations, notifications, renewals, and pre-market regulatory activities from planning through completion.
• Coordinate cross-functional inputs, consultant deliverables, authority questions, response packages, and project timelines.
• Communicate directly with regulatory authorities on routine assigned matters and participate in regulatory meetings with functional leadership.
• Coordinate regulatory documentation for product registrations including health or sanitary certificates, compliance attestations, and apply any document authentication processes (i.e. legalization) of the documents, as needed, to meet country of registration/customer requirements.
• Maintain regulatory trackers, databases, submission files, document repositories, and project-status tools supporting the management of global regulatory projects, approvals, commitments, and renewal schedules.
• Provide practical regulatory support to R&D, Quality, Operations, Commercial, customers, and distributors.
• Provide regulatory input on formulations, ingredients, specifications, claims, labels, packaging, manufacturing changes, and product-maintenance activities.
• Monitor relevant regulatory developments and communicate potential impacts and required actions.
• Contribute to regulatory procedures, templates, workflows, and continuous-improvement activities.
• Support regulatory activities associated with product and facility certification programs, including organic, non-GMO, vegan, kosher, halal, and other voluntary certification schemes, in collaboration with Quality Assurance and external certification bodies.

Qualifications and Experience

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in life sciences, health sciences, food science, nutrition, regulatory affairs, animal science, veterinary science, toxicology, biotechnology, biochemistry, or related discipline.
• 5+ years of progressive regulatory affairs or relevant submission-based market access experience.
• Experience supporting or managing regulatory dossiers, registrations, approvals, notifications, renewals, or compliance activities.
• Ability to research, interpret, map, and apply regulatory requirements across multiple jurisdictions or product categories.
• Strong project management, organizational, analytical, and written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to independently manage multiple priorities, demonstrate strong attention to detail, and recognize when escalation is required.
• Collaborative, practical, and comfortable working in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment.

Preferred

• Advanced degree, such as a Master’s or Doctorate, in a relevant scientific or health-related discipline.
• Experience with EU or UK Novel Food applications, U.S. GRAS assessments, Canadian Novel Food submissions, Natural Health Product licence applications, infant formula submissions, animal feed ingredient approvals, or other scientific regulatory submissions.
• Exposure to animal feed or pet food regulatory frameworks in the United States, European Union, Canada, or other major markets; animal-health or animal-nutrition experience is an asset.
• Experience with international registrations, market-entry assessments, regulatory certificates, document legalization, or regulatory operations processes.
• Experience coordinating consultants, laboratories, or other regulatory service providers.
• Experience in food ingredients, dietary/food supplements, natural health products, biotechnology, animal nutrition, pet food, or a related industry.
• Experience providing regulatory consultation or support for third-party certification programs, including organic, non-GMO, vegan, halal, kosher, or similar voluntary certification schemes, in collaboration with Quality Assurance and external certification bodies, is an asset.

What We Offer

Mara is proud to offer a competitive salary and benefits package, including but not limited to:

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plan
• Employee & Family Assistance Program
• RRSP matching program
• Health care spending account
• Physical Wellness Reimbursement Plan

At Mara we value diversity, equity, and inclusion. We strongly encourage applications from all qualified candidates, including persons who identify as racially visible, Indigenous, persons with disabilities, women in underrepresented roles and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Mara supports candidates and employees with access and accommodation needs.