Senior PM, Research & Innovation Projects – Eindhoven

VDB Executive Search, LLC; Eindhoven; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

AFA is seeking a Senior Project Manager – Research & Innovation to facilitate and coordinate complex product innovation projects. Based in Eindhoven, NL, you will report to the Director R&I and drive alignment across R&I, Engineering, Design, Operations and commercial teams to move ideas from ideation through development and scale-up.

The role emphasizes facilitating execution over direct people management, with a strong focus on collaboration, structured project governance, and timely decisions

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in engineering, product development, innovation management or related discipline.
• 8+ years of relevant professional experience managing complex, multidisciplinary projects.
• Proven track record in product development, innovation, new product development or related environment.
• Experience in personal care, packaging, consumer products or another product-oriented industry is preferred.
• Experience working in an international organization with multiple disciplines and stakeholders.
• Strong project management capabilities including planning, prioritization, risk management, budgeting, dependency management and reporting.

Responsibilities

• Facilitate and coordinate multidisciplinary product innovation projects from ideation to scale-up.
• Establish objectives, milestones, deliverables and timelines aligned with the Director R&I.
• Create structure and transparency across projects identifying actions, decisions, dependencies and risks.
• Act as a facilitator across R&I, Engineering, Design, Operations and commercial stakeholders to ensure collaboration.
• Drive project execution and maintain momentum, resolving obstacles and escalating as needed.
• Manage project scope, timelines, budgets, resources, risks and dependencies.
• Coordinate project meetings, workshops, and follow-up actions to keep stakeholders aligned.
• Coordinate IP-related activities within assigned projects with internal and external stakeholders.
• Ensure prepared handover to Operations when projects transition to the next phase.

Skills

Project management

Planning

Risk management

Budgeting

Dependency management

Reporting

Stakeholder management

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in engineering/related

Job description

AFA is seeking a Senior Project Manager – Research & Innovation to facilitate and coordinate complex product innovation projects. Based in Eindhoven, NL, you will report to the Director R&I and drive alignment across R&I, Engineering, Design, Operations and commercial teams to move ideas from ideation through development and scale-up.

The role emphasizes facilitating execution over direct people management, with a strong focus on collaboration, structured project governance, and timely decisions