Director, Commercial Excellence & Project Management

Colgate-Palmolive; Piscataway Township (NJ); On-site; USD 180,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision care

Life insurance

Parental leave

Disability coverage

401(k) plan

Paid vacation

Paid holidays

Sick leave

Job summary

Colgate-Palmolive is seeking a Director, Commercial Excellence & Project Management to lead governance, financial oversight, and cross-functional execution for breakthrough and core innovations. The role partners with Enterprise Oral Care leadership and can be based in NYC or Piscataway, NJ, driving end-to-end speed-to-market and portfolio simplification.

You will oversee FTG budgeting, resource allocation, and executive governance forums, ensuring on-budget delivery of big bets and a multi-year

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Project Management, B.A., B.S., or related field.
• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in Brand Marketing, Commercial Operations, Brand Commercialization, or Project Management within a CPG/FMCG.
• 5+ years of experience managing and developing project management/execution teams.
• Experience leading complex, cross-functional initiatives from concept to launch.
• Experience leading post-project reviews and continuous improvement cycles.

Responsibilities

• Governance & commercialization management: establish governance structures for active innovation projects and guide enterprise initiatives from concept to market on time and budget.
• Operational excellence: align and automate project steps and platforms to speed product launches and provide leadership visibility.
• Financial oversight & portfolio: manage FTG budget and drive cost-optimization and SKU harmonization.
• Cross-functional leadership & risk: deploy PM resources across global leadership and cross-functional teams to unblock risks.
• Capability building & change management: drive change management, establish guidelines, and institutionalize post-project reviews.

Skills

Leadership experience

Cross-functional collaboration

Project management

Strategic planning

Financial oversight

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business/Marketing/PM

MBA preferred

Tools

Smartsheet

Microsoft Project

Google Workspace

SAP

Veeva/CPS

Job description

Director, Commercial Excellence & Project Management Job Alerts Link Job Description

Established in 1806 as a small soap and candle business in New York City, Colgate-Palmolive is now a truly global company with products sold in over 200 countries and territories under such internationally recognized brand names as Colgate, Palmolive, Softsoap, Irish Spring, Protex, Sorriso, Kolynos, elmex, Tom's of Maine, Sanex, Ajax, Axion, Soupline, Haci Sakir, Suavitel, PCA SKIN, EltaMD, Filorga and Hello as well as Hill's Science Diet and Hill's Prescription Diet.

Colgate-Palmolive is a leading consumer products company that serves hundreds of millions of consumers worldwide with brands and products across four core businesses – Oral Care, Personal Care, Home Care and Pet Nutrition. We are committed to offering products that make lives healthier and more enjoyable, and programs that enrich communities around the world.

Every day millions of people trust our products to care for themselves and the ones they love. Our goal is to use our technology to create products that will continue to improve the quality of life for our consumers wherever they live.

A career at Colgate-Palmolive is an excellent opportunity if you seek a global experience, constant challenge, and development opportunities in an environment that respects work/life effectiveness.

Information at a Glance

Job Title: Director, Commercial Excellence & Project Management

Travel Required?: Travel - up to 10% of time

Posting Start Date: 10/28/26

On-site

No Relocation Assistance Offered

Job Number#176966 - Piscataway, New Jersey, United States

Who We Are

Colgate-Palmolive Company is a global consumer products company operating in over 200 countries specializing in Oral Care, Personal Care, Home Care, Skin Care, and Pet Nutrition. Our products are trusted in more households than any other brand in the world, making us a household name!

Join Colgate-Palmolive, a caring, innovative growth company reimagining a healthier future for people, their pets, and our planet. Guided by our core values—Caring, Inclusive, and Courageous—we foster a culture that inspires our people to achieve common goals. Together, let's build a brighter, healthier future for all.

Role Summary

Reporting to the SVP, Breakthrough Innovation, Commercial Excellence, the Project Management Director partners with both core and breakthrough innovation teams in Enterprise Oral Care. The role can be based in our NYC or Piscataway, NY office. In this role you will act as the strategic bridge connecting Enterprise/Global Leadership, Divisional Marketing Brand Strategies, and Market Execution. You will drive organizational capability to maximize the success of core and breakthrough innovations, optimize end-to-end speed-to-market, and spearhead portfolio simplification across the division. Additionally, you will oversee resource allocation, financial budget management, and executive governance forums, while championing the “Funding the Growth” (FTG) program and enabling flawless, on-budget delivery of enterprise “Big Bet” initiatives to unlock the company’s 3+ year innovation pipeline.

Responsibilities

• Governance & Commercialization Management: Serve as the ultimate timeline keeper and gatekeeper for active innovation project execution flows, establishing corporate governance structures and facilitating forums like the Strategic Innovation Forum to guide enterprise “Big Bet” initiatives, New Product Developments (NPDs), relaunches, line extensions, and agile breakthrough projects from concept to market on time and on budget.

• Operational Excellence & Process Standardization: Create, align, and automate project steps, tools, and platforms from the ground up to speed up product launches, simplify teamwork across categories, and provide clear visibility and tracking for leadership.

• Financial Oversight & Portfolio Simplification: Direct the enterprise “Funding the Growth” (FTG) cost-optimization program and own the master financial budget and monthly spend tracker, while driving portfolio complexity matrix reviews and SKU harmonization to optimize spend, maximize efficiency, and support commercial strategies (RGM and 4Ps/7Ps).

• Cross-Functional Resource Leadership & Risk Mitigation: Strategically deploy project management resources and partner across global/divisional leadership, Hub execution teams, Supply Chain, R&D, Regulatory, Customer Development, and Artwork teams to secure cross-functional alignment, resolve bottlenecks, and proactively unblock systemic launch risks.

• Capability Building & Change Management: Drive divisional change management regarding ways of working, establish process guidelines and training for cross-functional project teams, and institutionalize post-project reviews to ensure continuous operational improvement.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Project Management, B.A., B.S., or a related field.

• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in Brand Marketing, Commercial Operations, Brand Commercialization, or Project Management within a CPG/FMCG organization.

• 5+ years of experience managing and developing project management/execution teams.

• Experience leading complex, cross-functional initiatives from concept to launch.

• Experience leading post-project reviews and continuous improvement cycles.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree or MBA preferred; professional Project Management certification (PMP or Agile) is a plus.

• Demonstrated expertise navigating complex CPG/FMCG matrix structures to influence and align Supply Chain, Regulatory, IT, R&D, and Financial strategies.

• Proven track record in financial management, including capital budget tracking, financial variance analysis, and leading “Funding the Growth” (FTG) cost-optimization programs.

• Hands-on proficiency with project management tools (e.g., Smartsheet, Microsoft Project, Google Suite) and enterprise systems (e.g., SAP, Veeva/CPS).

• Strong capability in leading change management, post-project reviews, end-to-end supply chain assessment, and process harmonization from scratch.

• Running or contributing to stage-gate or similar commercialization processes.

• Designing and rolling out new processes, ways of working, and tools.

• Ability to present to and influence cross-functional stakeholders.

Compensation and Benefits

Salary Range $180,000.00 - $200,000.00 USD

Pay is determined based on experience, qualifications, and location. Salaried employees may also be eligible for discretionary bonuses, profit-sharing, and long-term incentives for Executive-level roles.

Benefits: Salaried employees enjoy a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, basic life insurance, paid parental leave, disability coverage, and participation in the 401(k) retirement plan with company matching contributions subject to eligibility requirements. Additional benefits include a minimum of 15 vacation/PTO days (hourly employees receive a minimum of 120 hours) and 13 paid holidays (vacation days are prorated based on the employee's hire date within the calendar year). Paid sick leave is adjusted based on role and location in accordance with local laws. Detailed information regarding paid sick leave entitlements will be provided to employees upon hiring and may be subject to adjustments based on changes in legislation or company policies.

Our Commitment to Inclusion Our journey begins with our people—developing strong talent with diverse backgrounds and perspectives to best serve our consumers around the world and fostering an inclusive environment where everyone feels a true sense of belonging. We are dedicated to ensuring that each individual can be their authentic self, is treated with respect, and is empowered by leadership to contribute meaningfully to our business.

Equal Opportunity Employer Colgate is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability, marital status, veteran status (United States positions), or any other characteristic protected by law.

Reasonable accommodation during the application process is available for persons with disabilities. Please complete this request form should you require accommodation.

For additional Colgate terms and conditions, please click here .

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