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Bayer Australia

  • 1,000 - 50,000 employees

Bayer Australia Graduate Programs & Internships

  • R&D and Manufacturing

What it does: It specialises in prescription products, consumer health products, seeds and crop protection, as well as non-agricultural pest control.

Mission: To advance health and nutrition for all Australians

Size and presence: On December 31, 2021, Bayer employed 99,637 people worldwide, and around 900 of them work in Australia and New Zealand facilities.

Best known for: Bayer is known as the maker of Aspirin, the popular pain reliever that is one of the company’s oldest and most iconic products.

The good bits: Working in a big company with good products and global opportunities

The not-so-good bits: The market is highly competitive

The Story of Bayer Australia

Bayer was established in Germany in 1863 by Friedrich Bayer and Johann Friedrich Wescott. In 1888, the pharmaceutical department was established, and in 1899, they developed Aspirin which became the favourite pain killer worldwide. 

It has three divisions: Pharmaceuticals, Consumer Health, and Crop Science. The Pharmaceutical department focuses on prescription products, such as for women’s healthcare, cardiology, oncology, haematology and ophthalmology, as well as diagnostic imaging equipment.

The Consumer Health department markets mainly over-the-counter products for nutritional supplements, digestive health, analgesic, allergy, sinus, cold, flu, and dermatology categories. The Crop Science department has businesses in crop protection, seeds, and nonagricultural pest control. It also provides customer service for sustainable agriculture.

Bayer scientists continue to make pioneering discoveries, and today the company is one of the largest enterprises in the world. In 2021, the Bayer Group had 374 consolidated companies in 83 countries. Bayer Australia invests in and is committed to improving national health outcomes by partnering with a diverse range of local stakeholders.

Culture & vibe

Bayer has a formal corporate culture but is relaxed within the office. There is no hierarchical grandstanding from upper management. With a positive work environment, the company provides support and onboarding for new starters. Everyone is very welcoming and makes you feel part of the Bayer family.

Supervisors and work colleagues will pass on their knowledge and show you how to do things. You will work in a self-directed environment and also in teams to learn a lot about the business, especially biotech products, technology transfer, time management, and how to work in a structured timetable. They also provide training and conferences that are great for team building and connecting.

They strive to build good teamwork that motivates each other to get the jobs done. A typical day at work may include a discussion with your supervisor and coworkers about what to do for the day or the rest of the week, how you will allocate the resources and time, and what possible challenges you might encounter to complete the job. This allows team members to understand the strengths of each person.

Other areas of work can consist of a lot of rural travel, speedy resolution of issues and complaints from the customers, ensuring the customer’s orders are processed accurately and dispatched on time, providing a safe work environment, creating a correct inventory practice for stock and parts, and liaise with sales or other divisions in the company.

Recruitment process

Some of the roles currently open for application are Order Management Specialist (contract), Software Engineer, Software QA Engineer, Operators, and HSE Coordinator. There are also more experienced positions such as Head of Finance, Head of IT, Territory Business Manager, Master Data Manager, and Territory Business Manager.

The general requirements are qualification in a related discipline, clear understanding of Bayer’s values, highly self-motivated and resilient professional, ability to work collaboratively across multiple departments, high level of attention to detail, strong communication skills, and a down-to-earth, can-do attitude.

You can apply online through their website and sign up for their Talent Community to stay connected and be informed of any new opportunities. The interview process can include a phone call discussing general information, and then a face-to-face interview with HR and the reporting manager.

They may ask behavioural and technical questions, such as: why you want to work at Bayer, why you are interested in the role, how your experiences tie with the role, why you think you are qualified, what your ambitions are, and describe your project experience. Depending on the role you apply for, they may also ask you to give a presentation with Q&A.

Career prospects

The company has a Development Dialogue programme that encourages managers to take responsibility for their employees’ development. In this dialogue, employees can discuss their career aspirations and development needs with their direct supervisor in order to agree on a personal development plan.

Employees can also work in a diverse team with leading experts to unlock new potential.  This is when the extensive educational and training programs are really useful to encourage the employees’ professional and personal development.

Benefits

The company offers the following benefits:

  • Life insurance
  • Staff discount
  • Free meals
  • Free vehicle facility
  • Free memberships to professional organisations and conference attendance
  • Medical allowance
  • Pension plan
  • Parental leave and 12 weeks of maternity pay
  • 5 additional annual leave days
  • Potential yearly bonus 
  • Gym membership

Social Contributions

Most of their social activities are related to their field of health and nutrition, such as:

  • They support youth agricultural education programs (through partnerships with Future Farmers Network and Nuffield Australia).
  • They organise Youth Ag-Summit, a global youth conference to connect and inspire young leaders in agriculture and related disciplines. The summit is a part of the Agricultural Education Program and aims to raise awareness for food and farming all over the world.
  • They offer a total of 33 two-year post-doctoral training positions as part of the GRDC-Bayer Herbicide Innovation Partnership. The researchers will gain firsthand experience in advanced industrial chemical research that will serve Australian research in future years.
  • They offer donations to assist those in need and support long-term projects to improve social conditions by cooperating closely with both government institutions and non-governmental organisations.

Sources

The following sources were used in researching this page

  • bayer.com.au
  • drugwatch.com
  • glassdoor.com
  • au.indeed.com
  • livehire.com/careers/bayeranz

Jobs & Opportunities

Locations With Jobs & Opportunities
  • Sydney, New South Wales
Hiring candidates with qualifications in
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Business & Management
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Engineering & Mathematics
I
IT & Computer Science
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Sciences