Commercialization Project Manager

Krispy Kreme; Charlotte (NC); On-site; USD 100,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, vision, dental insurance

Employee discount program

401K plan

Generous PTO Plan

Company events

Education Reimbursement

Adoption Assistance

Life Insurance

FSA/HSA Plans

Pet Insurance

Job summary

Krispy Kreme in Charlotte, NC seeks a Commercialization Project Manager to lead cross-functional product initiatives and optimize commercialization workflows. The role drives business performance through development initiatives, coordinating across product strategy, marketing, finance, operations, and supply chain.

The ideal candidate has strong project management, communication, and organizational skills with the ability to influence teams and manage multiple projects in a fast-paced

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in relevant fields; Master’s or PMP is a plus.
• Progressively responsible experience in project/change management and/or product commercialization.
• Experience with commercialization, stage gate, or product development processes and tools.
• Strong organizational and project management skills with a continuous improvement mindset.
• Excellent analytical thinking and leadership in cross-functional settings.

Responsibilities

• Lead the IDEAL process for limited time offerings across cross-functional teams.
• Maintain and update project plans, timelines, milestones, and deliverables.
• Facilitate weekly cross-functional Product Development Forum meetings and reviews.
• Monitor progress, identify risks, and coordinate mitigation plans.
• Support governance by ensuring milestones and criteria are met.
• Ensure documentation and action items are accessible for all stakeholders.
• Improve IDEAL processes, tools, and templates for best practices.
• Maintain dashboards and schedules; integrate with portfolio steps.
• Lead ad hoc strategic projects with multiple stakeholders and dependencies.
• Build cross-functional networks to enable solutions.

Skills

Project management

Cross-functional leadership

Communication skills

Organizational skills

Stakeholder management

Problem-solving

Data analysis

Leadership

Multi-project management

Education

Bachelor's degree in project management, product commercialization, product development, marketing, operations or related fields

Master's degree or PMP certification

Tools

Adobe Workfront

Smartsheet

Microsoft Power BI

Excel (Pivot Tables, Power Query)

PowerPoint

Teams

SharePoint

Job description

Since its founding in 1937, Krispy Kreme’s focus has remained the same - making fresh doughnuts using our founder’s original recipe. The brand’s iconic Hot Light lets consumers know when doughnuts are being made in the shop so they can stop in and enjoy them hot, right off the line.

Krispy Kreme’s Commercialization Project Manager leads high-impact product initiatives across the Krispy Kreme organization. This role will provide critical cross-functional leadership, execution and support, driving business performance through product development initiatives. Additionally, the role will continuously optimize business processes between teams including but not limited to product strategy, innovation, marketing, finance, operations, supply chain, food quality and safety, demand & production planning and more in support of the broader product strategy. The ideal candidate brings strong project management experience, communication skills, and organizational skills, along with the ability to influence cross-functional teams and manage multiple projects in a fast-paced environment.

A TASTE OF WHAT YOU WILL BE DOING:

Product

• Lead the IDEAL (Ideation, Development, Evaluation, Actualization, Launch) process for limited time offerings to ensure the cross-functional team consistently delivers commercially viable, brand building, product collections in support of the broader business objectives.
• Maintain and update project plans, timelines, milestones, deliverables, and critical path activities.
• Facilitate weekly cross-functional US Product Development Forum project meetings, working sessions, and milestone reviews to support alignment and decision-making.
• Monitor project progress, identify risks and issues, and coordinate mitigation plans.
• Support project governance activities by ensuring commercialization projects meet key milestone requirements, approval criteria, and commercialization standards.
• Ensure project documentation, decisions, and action items are maintained and accessible for Marketing Tastings, IPP, FPP and IVRs.
• Support continuous improvement of the IDEAL processes, tools, and templates for best practices.
• Maintain project dashboards, reports, schedules, milestone tracking, and integration into Portfolio step of the S&OP process.
• Lead ad hoc strategic product projects with multiple stakeholders and dependencies, defining project scope, goals, deliverables, and success criteria in alignment with business objectives
• Build effective cross-functional/subject matter expert (SME) network and relationships to enable solutions.

Marketing/Creative

• Oversee daily management of multiple creative projects from intake to completion — scoping requirements, developing timeline templates, managing budgets, tracking progress, and ensuring cross-functional alignment.
• Facilitate weekly meetings to manage expectations, share critical updates, and?consolidate?inputs against key workflows.
• Drive operational efficiency by streamlining project management systems, tools, and workflows, with a strong focus on Workfront.
• Ensure creative assets are delivered with consistency, quality, and speed across all channels.
• Lead intake and resourcing processes, ensuring the right talent and resources are aligned to the right projects, backed by proven experience in resource management.
• Develop and refine operating procedures to enhance team efficiency, scalability, and effectiveness.
• Monitor performance metrics, generate reports, and provide recommendations to leadership for continuous improvement.
• Champion creative excellence by supporting briefing processes, ensuring clarity of?objectives, and keeping teams accountable to timelines and deliverables.

YOUR RECIPE FOR SUCCESS:

• Bachelor’s degree in project management, product commercialization, product development, marketing, operations or related fields. Master’s or PMP certification is a plus.
• 3-6 years of progressively responsible experience in project/change management and/or product commercialization, including leadership of cross-functional initiatives.
• Experience working within commercialization, innovation, stage gate, or product development processes and tools.
• Exceptional organizational and project management skills with a proven ability to move projects forward in a productive and timely manner, driven by a continuous improvement mindset.
• Demonstrated complex problem-solving ability, including strong conceptual and analytical skills, coupled with innovative/creative thinking.
• Technical Skills: Adobe Workfront (Preferred), Smartsheet, Microsoft Power BI, Excel (Pivot Tables, Power Query), PowerPoint, Teams, SharePoint.
• Experience with Dashboard Development & Reporting Tools
• Experience with Process Mapping and Improvement
• Expertise in understanding unique organization dynamics and culture, with an ability to gain trust and confidence at all levels in the organization, rallying XF partners/key stakeholders around common goals.
• Ability to effectively multi-task, managing numerous projects and adapting to shifting priorities in a high-pressure, fast-paced environment.
• Self-motivated with an innovative, can-do spirit; always ready to lead and to learn.
• Strong business and analytical acumen. Comfortable working with data, reporting, and project management systems.
• Excellent leadership, communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience managing cross-functional projects from concept through launch.
• Strong project planning, timeline management, risk management, and stakeholder management skills.
• The above statements are intended to describe the general nature of work performed by the employees assigned to this job and are not the official job description for the position. The official job description will be provided during the application/interview process.

BENEFITS:

• Comprehensive benefits (medical, vision, and dental insurance)
• Employee discount program
• 401K plan
• Generous PTO Plan
• Company events
• Education Reimbursement
• Adoption Assistance
• Life Insurance
• FSA/HSA Plans
• Pet Insurance

Learn more at www.kkbenefits.com

WHY KRISPY KREME?

At Krispy Kreme, we focus on:

• Loving People:
• Our global culture is best captured by our Leadership Mix, a dozen behaviors that define how we work with one another across the world and give back to our communities. Check out our leadership mix here.
• Belonging happens once each Krispy Kremer knows their bold authentic self is welcomed, dignified, and loved, where their wonderfully original identities flourish and thrive.
• Loving Communities:
• At Krispy Kreme, sharing joy is at the center of everything we do, and we strive to inspire this in our communities. Our brand purpose truly shines through our Acts of Joy and community fundraising initiatives.
• In the U.S., we have been donating unsold doughnuts to local food banks, with a goal of bringing a smile to our consumers as they enjoy a small, sweet treat. We partner with Feeding America and Convoy of Hope, who in turn partner with organizations nationwide to distribute donations to people in need through diverse types of programs and services.
• In 2022, we helped community groups raise $40 million globally. Last year in the U.S., we supported more than 83,000 fundraising events, raising nearly $37 million.
• Loving Planet:
• We have been conducting a multi-year global GHG emissions assessment to establish an emissions baseline, using this foundation to soon set goals for greenhouse gas emission reductions.
• We are working on reducing food waste through donation efforts, animal feed, and composting programs.

Krispy Kreme is an Equal Opportunity Employer:

At Krispy Kreme, we believe that your originality sweetens our recipe. We value the diverse ingredients of the ethnicity, national origin, race, age, sex, gender, intersex, or veteran status of every individual. We strive for an inclusive culture that allows each of our peeps to bring their bold authentic self to work regardless of their religion, gender identity & expression, sexual orientation, or disability.

About Krispy Kreme

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Krispy Kreme is one of the most beloved and well-known sweet treat brands in the world. Our iconic Original Glazed® doughnut is universally recognized for its hot-off-the-line, melt-in-your-mouth experience. Krispy Kreme operates in more than 35 countries through its unique network of fresh doughnut shops, partnerships with leading retailers, and a rapidly growing Ecommerce and delivery business with more than 14,000 fresh points of access. Our purpose of touching and enhancing lives through the joy that is Krispy Kreme guides how we operate every day and is reflected in the love we have for our people, our communities and the planet. Connect with Krispy Kreme Doughnuts at www.KrispyKreme.com, or on one of its many social media channels, including www.Facebook.com/KrispyKreme and www.Twitter.com/KrispyKreme.