Customer Project Manager

Royal Cup, Inc.; Birmingham (AL); On-site; USD 75,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) with company match

Tuition reimbursement

Paid time off

Job summary

Royal Cup, Inc. is seeking a Customer Projects Manager in Birmingham, AL to lead the planning and execution of high-visibility customer projects, from onboarding to multi-site rollouts.

This role owns QA and PM standards, schedules, and reporting, while collaborating with district leadership and cross-functional partners. You will define scope, coordinate resources, manage budgets, and ensure on-time delivery, with travel up to 50%.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in business administration or related field (minimum).
• At least 3 years of project or program management experience with customer-facing delivery.
• Ability to manage multiple projects to schedule and budget.
• Experience leading a small team and performance management.
• Willingness to travel up to 50%.

Responsibilities

• Define scope, deliverables, timeline, resource requirements, and budget for assigned special customer projects.
• Coordinate installation scheduling with district leadership, Planner, customers, and vendors.
• Lead multi-site rollout programs across districts.
• Own QA and PM calendar, reporting, and closeout.
• Represent the company at customer meetings and events as assigned.

Skills

Project management

Leadership

Communication

Travel

MS Office

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

SAP

Job description

At Royal Cup, we embody a winning spirit that extends far beyond friendly competitions and games. We believe in achieving victory in everything we do, and as a united team, we know there is not a challenge we can't conquer.

While luck may play a small role, true success comes from having a clear vision, a strong mission, and unwavering standards. These foundational elements lie at the heart of our employees' ongoing experience as valued “Cuppers.”

Our vision is to become the Chosen Partner to Customers Nationwide, establishing ourselves as the proven industry leader in sourcing, roasting, blending, and distributing exceptional coffee, tea, and affiliated beverages. To accomplish this, we hold ourselves accountable to a set of industry-leading standards that revolve around enhancing our customers' experiences and driving operational excellence. We can't accomplish this without a dedicated team across the nation who are committed to living out our standards each day.

Our standards are what set us apart. They guide our actions, shape our culture, and fuel our success.

• One Team, One Cup: Respect for one another, our customers, and our prospects. No Silos, each of us working together for the good of the whole.
• VICTORS, Not Victims: Challenges are opportunities in disguise. We are problem solvers who approach obstacles with optimism, turning them into steppingstones for growth and success.
• AS IF: All change happens by the “As If” principle. We act, speak, and think “as if” until we become the embodiment of our vision.
• Patience, Fortitude, and Resiliency: We have the patience to stay on our path and tolerate obstacles until we get the desired outcome, the fortitude to answer why we do what we do, and the resiliency to bounce back from setbacks.
• Nitty Gritty: We maintain an unwavering focus on the tasks at hand, ensuring that what needs to be accomplished today aligns with our longer-term objectives.
• Match Me!: A byproduct of all of our other standards. It is bringing the best version of ourselves to work each day, embodying our standards, and holding everyone around us accountable to them.

Join us, embrace our winning mindset, and embark on a fulfilling career that will leave an indelible mark on our industry and the lives of our customers. Together, we will redefine what it means to be the best.

One Team, One Cup!

Benefits at Royal Cup

We want our benefits to work for you.

Employee and Family Wellness

Health, Dental, and Vision plans are available to help keep you and your family healthy and happy!

Employee Assistance Program

For the times when things just “aren't right” - help is available to you and your family.

Disability Coverage

Whether for a short period or for a long period, we make sure you have coverage.

Life Insurance

Company-paid life insurance is provided for all employees. Optional term life coverage and Accidental Death & Dismemberment amounts are available as well.

Retirement Savings

Employee 401(k) participation with annual Company matching contributions will help prepare you for future retirement!

Tuition Reimbursement

We want to support your higher education goals!

Paid Vacations and Holidays

We believe our employees need to relax, rejuvenate, and get ready to re-engage.

Flexible Spending Account Plan

The FSA Plan allows you to save significant amounts on your medical (includes dental and vision) expenses and dependent care expenses.

Other Benefits

Smoking cessation program (free to employees and family), Jury duty leave, military service leave, and paid funeral leave, Uniforms are provided for certain positions, Discounts on employee purchases

The Royal Cup, Inc. Health Insurance Plan provides these links to access machine readable files as required by the Transparency in Coverage Rule. The files include negotiated service rates and out-of-network allowed amounts. The files are formatted to allow researchers, regulators, and application developers to access and analyze healthcare pricing data more easily. Contact, Human Resources, [e-mail] if you encounter technical issues with the links.

With a combination of perks, benefits, social activities, and learning opportunities, we invest every day in our most important asset: our people.

Position:Customer Project Manager

Location: Birmingham, AL

Job Id:956

# of Openings:1

Customer Projects Manager

Overview

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Customer Projects Manager reports to the Director, Field Service Operations. The role carries two areas of ownership. First, it leads the planning and execution of special customer-facing projects — non-routine, high-complexity, or high-visibility work that sits outside the standing service cadence owned by the districts, including national account onboarding, multi-site equipment rollouts, new concept and pilot launches, and major location openings. Second, it owns the divisional quality assurance and preventative maintenance process — the standards, schedule, tracking, and customer reporting that govern how QA and PM work is defined and measured.

Process ownership and field execution are deliberately separated. This role defines QA and PM scope, standards, frequency, and reporting, and releases the schedule into the field. The Directors, Field Service and the District Service Managers own execution — completing inspections and maintenance on schedule and to standard within their regions and districts. Day-to-day service scheduling and routine installation work likewise remain with the districts.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Directly supervises the project management and quality assurance project team.
• Recruits, interviews, hires, and trains new staff.
• Oversees the daily workflow of assigned staff.
• Provides constructive and timely performance evaluations.
• Handles discipline and termination of employees in accordance with company policy and in coordination with Human Resources.
• Directs matrixed project resources — field service technicians, district leadership, installation vendors, and cross-functional partners — through the project lifecycle.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Define scope, deliverables, timeline, resource requirements, and budget for assigned special customer projects.
• Apply the divisional intake criteria that determine which work is managed as a special project and which is executed through the standard district cadence; upscale borderline requests to the Director, Field Service Operations.
• Build and maintain project plans; manage dependencies, risks, and issues through to closure.
• Coordinate installation scheduling and sequencing with district leadership, the Planner, customers, and third-party vendors.
• Confirm site readiness — including utility, plumbing, electrical, and space requirements — in advance of scheduled installation.
• Execute project closeout, including asset record accuracy, billing readiness, and handoff of the account to the assigned district for ongoing service.
• Manage the opening calendar for assigned national and chain accounts in partnership with the sales support team; confirm equipment availability, resourcing, and delivery timing against committed customer opening dates.
• Lead multi-site rollout programs, including phasing, market sequencing, and resource planning across affected districts.
• Communicate schedule risk to Field Service Operations and the affected region as soon as it is identified.
• Own the QA and PM calendar; build the schedule, define coverage windows, and release scope into the field in coordination with the Directors, Field Service and the districts.
• Own completion tracking, exception reporting, and customer-facing reporting for all QA and PM programs.
• Maintain national account inspection requirements and allotted windows, and confirm that program commitments match contractual obligations.
• Analyze QA and PM results to identify recurring equipment, training, or process failures, and recommend corrective action to Field Service Operations and the regions.
• Deploy new and customer-specific QA and PM program scope, pilot new service offerings and program models, and document what is required to scale them.
• This role owns the process, standards, schedule, and reporting.
• Serve as the project-level point of contact for assigned customers throughout the project lifecycle.
• Communicate status, milestones, risks, and changes; elevate promptly where commitments are at risk.
• Resolve project-level customer concerns and accelerate appropriately to protect satisfaction and retention.
• Partner with Sales, Marketing, Supply Chain, and Customer Service on project alignment and handoffs.
• Support RFP responses and proposals with project scope, resourcing assumptions, and implementation timelines.
• Facilitate cross-functional project meetings, driving decisions and maintaining momentum against milestones.
• Represent the company at customer meetings, trade shows, and training events as assigned.
• All other duties as assigned.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

• Minimum of a bachelor's degree preferably in Business Administration, Project Management, or another similar discipline. Applicable experience will be considered in lieu of a degree.
• Minimum 3 years of project or program management experience, including direct ownership of customer-facing project delivery.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple concurrent projects to schedule and within budget.
• Demonstrated experience leading a small team, including performance management and development.
• Ability to travel up to 50%, as required based on business needs, often requiring overnight stays to attend meetings, training, and other work-related events as scheduled.
• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint; experience maintaining project plans in a tracking tool.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to present to customer and executive audiences.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to anticipate and mitigate project risk.
• Ability to be a team player but also work independently as needed.
• Valid driver's license and a motor vehicle record that meets company standards.
• Ability to successfully complete the pre-employment process.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience with SAP is highly preferred.
• Project management experience in foodservice, beverage, hospitality, or consumer packaged goods.
• Working knowledge of commercial beverage equipment installation requirements, including water, drain, and electrical considerations.
• Experience supporting national account onboarding or multi-site rollout programs.
• Experience launching pilots or new service offerings and scaling them into standard operations.
• PMP or comparable project management certification.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.
• Prolonged periods of sitting while working at a computer and while driving to and from customer locations.
• Ability to walk, stand, and move through active back-of-house and construction environments during site visits.
• Ability to lift up to 25 pounds with or without assistance.
• Occasional exposure to elevated noise levels and slick surfaces; use of required personal protective equipment.

COMPANY PROFILE:

Royal Cup, Inc. is the proven leader in sourcing, roasting, blending, and distributing high-quality coffees and fine teas since 1896 and is the chosen partner for restaurants, hotels, offices, and commuters across the country. We are a family-owned business rooted in a longstanding tradition of coffee roasting excellence that takes pride in our unparalleled dedication to customer care.

We are a large, privately held national importer, roaster, and distributor of coffees, teas, and related products that have been in business for more than 125 years. Royal Cup, Inc. currently provides products, equipment, and service to restaurants, hotels, convenience stores, businesses, and individuals throughout the United States, and we are growing!

At Royal Cup, Inc. having a customer-centric focus is not simply a motto; our employees believe we each have a responsibility to provide outstanding service to our customers. Our customer-centric focus results in actions we live by that not only retain our current customer base but grow our presence with new, high-impact accounts across the country based on exceptional products and service.

We believe serving our customers well, serves us well. We are results-oriented and strive to not only retain our current customer base but grow our presence with new and high-impact accounts across the country by offering exceptional products and service.

Royal Cup Coffee and Tea strives to be sustainably minded and a good corporate steward in all business endeavors. It is also what others expect of us – our employees, our customers, and we are creating a good corporate steward in the coffee and tea industry.

Royal Cup is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or another legally protected status. For individuals with disabilities who would like to request an accommodation, please contact us at 1-800-366-5836.

Discover how we combine our expertise in product, equipment, distribution & service to create a customized beverage solution that is right for your company.

Over the past 100 years, Royal Cup has grown from its small, hometown roots to become a major importer, roaster and distributor of premium coffees and teas.