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

Arla Foods; Denmark; Hybrid; DKK 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Job summary

Arla Foods Ingredients (AFI) seeks a Senior Project Manager to lead complex innovation and new product development projects from idea to implementation. You will create alignment, drive progress, and ensure value realization across R&D, supply chain and commercial teams.

The role involves on-site presence 2–3 days per week at our Innovation Centre near Videbæk, with ~10 days of international travel annually.

Qualifications

• We welcome a range of backgrounds, from specialised R&D to commercial operations or supply chain.
• Experience leading complex projects in matrix or cross-functional settings is valued.
• Strong stakeholder management, collaboration, and communication skills are essential.

Responsibilities

• Lead complex innovation and NPD projects end-to-end, driving on-time delivery and value realization.
• Foster collaboration and engagement across functions without formal line authority.
• Align diverse stakeholders across locations and seniority levels.
• Support strategic trade-offs with clear, fact-based recommendations and structured decision-making.
• Contribute to ongoing development of PMO leadership 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 Danmark 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!

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.

_JENCL

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