Senior Project Manager, Project Management Office, Arla Foods Ingredients - Videbæk or Aarhus

Arla Group; Denmark; On-site; DKK 900,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Arla Foods Ingredients is seeking a Senior Project Manager for its Innovation PMO. You will lead complex innovation and new product development projects from concept to implementation, aligning across R&D, supply chain, and commercial teams. On-site 2–3 days/week near Videbæk with international travel.

You will influence content of your role, drive progress, and measure success by business outcomes and value creation. English communication is essential; Danish is a plus.

Qualifications

• Senior Project Manager with experience leading complex, cross-functional projects.
• Background in innovation or NPD and PMO exposure is beneficial.
• Comfort with matrix organisations and stakeholder management.

Responsibilities

• Lead complex innovation and NPD projects end-to-end, ensuring on-time progress and value realization.
• Act as a people-oriented project leader, fostering collaboration without formal line authority.
• Coordinate across R&D, supply chain, commercial and global sites to align priorities.
• Drive decision-making with clear communication, structured processes and data-driven trade-offs.
• Contribute to ongoing development of PMO practices and ways of working.

Job description

Do you thrive on leading complex innovation projects, bringing people together across functions and turning ideas into business impact?

Join Arla Foods Ingredients’ innovation department and help drive the development and implementation of world-leading products and processes. We are looking for a highly skilled and passionate Senior Project Manager to become a key driving force in our Project Management Office. As a global leader in natural whey ingredients for infant, medical, food and sport nutrition, Arla Foods Ingredients (AFI) offers an exceptional opportunity to work with dedicated experts in a dynamic and innovative environment in a growth industry.

How you will make an impact

As our Senior Project Manager in the Innovation Project Management Office, you will lead complex innovation and new product development projects from early idea to implementation. Your role is to create alignment, drive progress and ensure commitment across a highly specialised, cross-functional organisation. Your success will be measured by progress towards business outcomes and value contribution.

You will have a unique opportunity to influence the content of your role and create the conditions for innovation success. You will work closely with stakeholders across the full value chain, from R&D and supply chain to commercial, and across our locations, including our headquarters in Viby and our state-of-the-art innovation centre at the Denmark Protein site near Videbæk. Ideally, you will be located within reasonable commuting distance of Videbæk, as the role requires an on-site presence 2–3 days per week, along with approximately 10 days of international travel per year.

Your key responsibilities include

• Leading complex innovation and NPD projects end-to-end, ensuring progress on time-to-market and benefit realisation
• Acting as a people-oriented project leader, creating strong collaboration and engagement without formal line authority
• Navigating and aligning diverse stakeholders across functions, seniority levels and locations
• Driving decision-making through clear communication, structure and fact-based recommendations that support strategic trade-offs
• Contributing to the continuous development of project leadership practices, ways of working and collaboration in the PMO

What will make you successful?

We are looking for a Senior Project Manager who thrives in complexity and is motivated by leading people and organisations rather than focusing on tools alone. A range of backgrounds could have led you to project management. You may, for example, have worked in a specialised R&D role, such as development engineering, or gained experience within commercial operations or supply chain. Experience from the pharmaceutical industry, or from a similarly regulated and quality-focused environment, would be a strong advantage.

You have experience leading complex projects in a matrix or cross-functional organisation, although formal project management certification is not required. You understand stakeholder management and organisational dynamics, build trust across professional disciplines and create collaboration without relying on formal authority. You are comfortable working with long project horizons, uncertainty and evolving solutions, and you communicate confidently in English. Danish is an advantage, but not a requirement.

What do we offer?

AFI is an independent company within the Arla Foods Group and a global leader in improving premium nutrition. Our passion for progress, combined with specialist knowledge of food products and production technology and a strong commitment to sustainability, enables us to serve leading global brands in early life nutrition, medical nutrition, sports nutrition, health foods and other foods and beverages.

You will have the chance to work with competent and dedicated colleagues who share your passion for project excellence, and you will enjoy a high degree of freedom within your project teams.

So join us and be part of driving complex projects and building an even stronger project management culture at AFI!

Would you like to join us?

If you are excited about leading complex innovation projects and shaping the future of project leadership in Arla Foods Ingredients, we would love to hear from you.

Please apply as soon as possible, as we review applications on an ongoing basis and close the recruitment once we have found the right candidate. When applying, please submit your CV in English. Applicants are encouraged to upload a cover letter.

For additional information, please contact Head of PMO, Casper Reinhard Christensen at [e-mail].

Shape the Future of Dairy

Arla is a global leader in the dairy industry, committed to enabling good food choices that make life better, providing people with nourishment, while taking care at every step to ensure Arla is a choice they can feel good about. If you are looking to shape the future with an ambitious global cooperative that truly cares about your growth, where everyone feels valued and empowered, and collaboration is the core of culture, Arla is a choice you can feel good about.

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