Launch your Career
Our Leadership Track Career Development Program (formally the Management Trainee Program) is a great place to start your career. The goal of the Program is to develop talented individuals into Maple Leaf’s future leaders.
The Program is a three-year rotational program, which gives recent graduates the opportunity to experience diverse job placements, take on real responsibility and have an impact on the business while building a strong business foundation.
We offer the following career tracks:
- Manufacturing/Operations
- Marketing
- Sales
- Finance/Accounting
- Purchasing and Logistics
- Food Safety & Quality Assurance
- Information Solutions
- Six Sigma
When applying, candidates must identify their choice of track.
Following completion of the three year program, successful Program participants graduate into roles at Maple Leaf where they can continue to grow their career. We continue to have proven success with graduates moving into significant management roles within Maple Leaf Foods.
Manufacturing/Operations
As a manufacturing company, Maple Leaf strives to develop future plant managers and operations leaders. The Operations Development Program is aimed at developing high potential, talented graduates into future leaders for Maple Leaf Foods. The successful candidate will:
- Rotate through diverse manufacturing roles which will provide opportunities to gain practical on-the-job experiences that will contribute and accelerate their career. The program is continental in scope and relocation is usually required.
- Receive ongoing coaching & mentoring to help maximize their potential.
- Upon successful completion of the program be eligible for roles with greater scope and responsibility at our facilities across Canada, the United States and the UK.
Marketing
Marketing is fundamental to the strength and growth of the Company. In the Marketing Development Program, participants are immersed in Maple Leaf’s Marketing organization, and learn and experience the core elements of the discipline, including brand and category management, integrated communications, insights and analytics, and commercial campaign launches. There will also be ample opportunity to learn about the broader business, including our products, industry, commercial partners, and competitive environment.
If you join this Program, you will develop Marketing expertise, as well as a broader business understanding. You will acquire skills which will prepare you well for a future in Marketing leadership or General Management.
Sales
Managing relationships with our existing customers and developing relationships with new customers is critical to the health of our Company.
In the Sales Development Program, participants will learn about and be immersed in the many different facets of our Sales Organization.
There will also be ample opportunity to learn about the broader business, including our products, industry, commercial partners, and competitive environment.
If you join this Program, you will develop Customer Management expertise, as well as a broader business understanding. You will acquire skills which will prepare you well for a future in Sales leadership or General Management.
Finance/Accounting
The Finance Development Program is designed for business graduates who want to pursue a career in Corporate Finance and Accounting. Participants will rotate through different roles that provide opportunities to learn about the different areas of this function, such as Financial Planning and Budgeting, Category Finance, Compliance, Operations Analysis and Risk Management.
CMA and CGA designations are two important designation options for Finance Professionals, and participants in this program are expected to pursue one of them. Maple Leaf will support your efforts to obtain one of these designations.
By joining the Finance Development Program, you will develop a strong foundation in Corporate Finance and business, which in turn leads to exciting career opportunities and prepares you to take on significant leadership responsibility.
Purchasing & Logistics
Teams in the Purchasing and Logistics functions of the business form an integral part of our organization. The efficient movement of goods through the company, from supply of materials to delivery of products to our customers, is becoming ever more critical to our competitive edge and strong customer relationships.
Participants in the Purchasing and Logistics Development Program will rotate through three roles, which could include purchasing and managing strategic customer alliances, supply chain planning, inventory management, customer service, transportation and shipping.
Should you join this Program, you will acquire considerable business knowledge and understanding. You will also get the opportunity to develop significant expertise, enabling you to develop into a leader who can have a direct impact on the business.
Food Safety & Quality Assurance
At Maple Leaf Foods we have committed to always providing our consumers with safe, great tasting food, produced in a safe environment. In order to do so we rely daily on actions and decisions made by all staff regardless of function or level in the organization. As a member of the Food Safety and Quality program you will be a key player in helping others do what is right and further develop Maple Leaf Foods to deliver on this Safety commitment.
You will rotate 2-3 times between a combination of our Food Safety home office who is lead directly by our Chief Food Safety Officer, Randy Huffman, Business Unit Food Safety lead by our functional Food Safety Vice Presidents and other business functions such as Operations and Product Development.
We expect anyone joining our Food Safety and Quality program to have a passionate interest in consumer safety and be interested in a career within this area. It is important to understand that we, MLF, take Food Safety seriously and understand the important role of having the right people with the right talent in place to continually raise the bar for not only MLF but the Canadian food industry when it comes to the safety of consumers.
Information Solutions
If you have experience in or are studying Computer Sciences, Information Systems, Information Technology, Computer Engineering, Networking, Business Administration or a related discipline our Information Solutions (IS) team could be the place for you.
In the Information Solutions Development Program, you will rotate through multiple different IS teams, which could include Process and Solutions (SAP), BI/Kx/Portals & Web, Master Data Management, Client/server based systems, Infrastructure, Governance, Service Delivery, Change Management, Learning or Program/Project Management.
It is a great opportunity, for you will develop IS and business expertise, as well as leverage the latest tools and acquire the skills to prepare you for a future in IS leadership. All in a outstanding corporation that truly understands the benefits of information technology and systems.
Six Sigma
Six Sigma is Maple Leaf Foods’ approach for driving continuous improvement and management excellence across the business. Encompassing change management, project management and structured problem solving, Six Sigma is used by the business in various ways: from executing large-scale strategic initiatives to solving day-to-day business challenges.
There are great career opportunities within Six Sigma, and it is a great place to learn skills critical for any future leadership roles.
If you have strong analytical skills as well as excellent interpersonal skills, and have a passion for finding ways to improve things, Six Sigma may be the place for you. Within this track of the program, participants will have either three different Six Sigma roles, or two different Six Sigma roles plus one in another function in the business.
