Senior Manager, Project Management and New Product Development

About the Role

Key Responsibilities

• Lead PMO for Global Business Unit including Project Managers and other key team members to facilitate Innovation and Change Management.
• Proactively drive cross-functional teams by taking full ownership of the process to meet project deliverables, timelines, and risks, ensuring alignment with company objectives and stakeholder expectations.
• Champion true ownership and accountability at all levels, holding team members and stakeholders responsible for their roles and commitments.
• Identify, plan, and coordinate activities needed to successfully launch new and evolving products, leveraging stakeholder inputs and fostering proactive communication.
• Lead the management of complex innovation projects with a focus on strategic influence, providing actionable recommendations to eliminate bottlenecks and optimize processes.
• Oversee the creation, management, and adjustment of project timelines for cross-functional teams, ensuring accountability for meeting deadlines and milestones.
• Identify critical paths and key milestones, and proactively address potential delays with effective resolution strategies.
• Negotiate and resolve roadblocks or delays, exercising influence and leadership to maintain momentum.
• Serve as a trusted liaison among Marketing, Graphics, R&D, Regulatory, Packaging, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, and Sourcing managing stakeholder expectations and fostering collaborative solutions.
• Develop and implement robust project management methodologies to track and manage constraints across multiple concurrent initiatives.
• Assess and communicate risks organization-wide, ensuring ownership at all levels and shared accountability.
• Manage multi-stakeholder relationships with tact, influence, and a focus on driving project success.
• Lead and develop direct reports, fostering accountability, ownership, and continuous growth.
• Manage the Stage Gate New Product Development (NPD) process, facilitating meetings, preparing reports, guiding adherence to guidelines, and training teams on change processes.
• Oversee NPD database entries emphasizing milestones, KPIs, and data integrity, driving team engagement in accurate and timely data capture.
• Identify process gaps and inefficiencies, leading initiatives to close these gaps through proactive solutions and continuous process improvements.
• Lead collaborative offline meetings and project resolution sessions, ensuring issues are addressed with ownership and influence.
• Drive process excellence by leading internal initiatives for continuous improvement, refining stage gate processes, and optimizing data collection methods.
• Cultivate a culture of ownership and accountability by setting clear expectations and empowering teams.
• Provide strategic recommendations based on thorough analysis, influencing stakeholders at all levels.
• Anticipate risks and proactively develop mitigation plans, taking ownership of risk management.
• Drive stakeholder engagement and alignment to ensure project goals are achieved with shared responsibility.
• Demonstrate leadership by motivating teams, managing conflicts effectively, and maintaining focus on continuous improvement.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Operations Management, or related field, or equivalent experience.
• 8+ years of operations and project management experience, preferably within consumer products.
• PMI or relevant certification preferred.
• Deep understanding of project management methodologies and agile/process management principles.
• Proven ability to proactively identify issues, assess risks, and act decisively.
• Strong influence and negotiation skills, with a track record of managing multi-stakeholder relationships.
• Effective communicator with the ability to articulate recommendations and motivate teams.
• Demonstrated leadership within product development teams and project environments.
• Excellent organizational and meeting management skills.
• Self-motivated with a bias for action, prioritization, and adaptability.

Nice to Have

• Consumer packaged goods experience preferred.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Operations Management, or related field, or equivalent experience.
• 8+ years of operations and project management experience.

Benefits & Perks

• Working conditions are normal for an office environment.