The position is based in Woodcliff Lake, NJ, but the incumbent will spend the majority of time working in the safety/regulatory departments of one or more selected RIFM member companies and IFRA’s Brussels office. This allows exposure to safety and regulatory compliance on a day-to-day basis. 

Responsibilities are as varied as possible, to provide the broadest background for the greatest benefit to the industry. They are comparable to “study sponsor” individual contributor functions, such as development and monitoring of specific test protocols at contract research organizations. The position also may be the focal point for reaching consensus on study design and interpretation with staff, working groups and standing industry committees, such as the IFRA Scientific Committee and Joint Advisory Group, as well as RIFM’s Expert Panel. Manuscript preparation and technical report writing are included, as is interaction with the flavor/fragrance database to insure the incumbent’s familiarity with quality control of added information. Other duties encourage internal and member company interactions. Every effort is made to assign special projects which broaden the individual’s experience, such as the application of Quantitative Structure Activity Relationships (QSAR), since the technique is common to chemical groupings, predictions and REACH. Skills such as critical evaluation, interdisciplinary coordination and strategic design, are developed.

RIFM is responsible for advertising and recruiting qualified individuals to fill the position, and for notifying member companies when the incumbent has completed training. During training, RIFM pays all expenses for compensation, benefits and travel. At the end of the period, the trainee will potentially be hired by a sponsoring member company in the fragrance or flavor industry that will cover a percentage of the training expenses or it may be possible that RIFM would have a permanent position available.

The following is an outline of typical study responsibility:

·      Identification of data gap/need.The need to conduct a study on a given material may arise from several sources. It may be the result of a group review, industry use level support or to answer a basic research question.

·      Selection/development of a suitable protocol.Once a study is identified a suitable protocol is selected or developed based on the question to be answered. To fill a data gap, existing protocols may be modified to meet RIFM’s specific needs. To answer basic research questions, extensive protocol development may be required.

·      Contract Research Organization (CRO) selection. Once a protocol is established a CRO is selected to carry out the study. At this stage, the requirements of the study are presented to the CRO and a contract is agreed upon. Multiple CROs may be contacted to solicit bids for the work and to determine which may be most qualified to carry out the study.

·      Identification and acquisition of an appropriate test sample. There are often several commercially available qualities of an individual material. In conjunction with the suppliers and industry committees a suitable material is selected and identified. A sample (prepared according to the protocol) is then arranged to be sent to the CRO.

·      Study Monitoring. At this stage, the sample has arrived at the CRO, the protocol has been agreed upon and a study start/completion date is selected. There is consistent communication between RIFM and the CRO to assure that the study is being completed on time.  Additionally, there may be communication to address scientific issues that arise during the conduct of the study. An onsite visit may be indicated depending on the study type and/or complexity.

·      Analysis of Draft Results.The study has been completed and a draft report on the results is issued to RIFM by the CRO. These results are then communicated to RIFM staff, The Expert Panel and the IFRA Scientific Committee for review (other advisors may be included when appropriate).

·      Finalizing the Report.The draft report from the CRO is reviewed to assure completeness. This report may also be circulated for review by the Expert Panel or other interested parties (such as consortia). Finalization of the report is then authorized following a discussion and incorporation of changes.

·      Archiving.The file which includes all documentation generated during the course of work on an individual study is then compiled and turned over to the database department for archiving and entry into the RIFM database.

·      Meetings of technical groups, including the Expert Panel and IFRA’s Scientific Committee and Joint Advisory Group. The incumbent presents updates and results from ongoing scientific studies and modifies approaches based on comments and suggestions.

·      Outside scientific meetings,such as the annual Society of Toxicology meeting. Trainees are expected to present research results and keep abreast of current events in the field.

·     Budget. Up-to-date information is required, on the costs of different types of scientific 
     studies contracted by RIFM, which can then be used for planning the testing program.