Director - Project Management

kdc/one, Columbus; New Albany (OH); On-site; USD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a Director of Project Management to lead customer-related projects across multiple sites. This pivotal role involves overseeing project implementation, coordinating cross-departmental efforts, and ensuring consistent communication and documentation. The ideal candidate will bring extensive project management experience, particularly in the FMCG sector, and possess strong leadership skills. The company offers competitive compensation, generous PTO, and opportunities for career advancement in a dynamic environment. If you are passionate about driving project success and enhancing customer satisfaction, this is the perfect opportunity for you.

Benefits

Competitive salary with annual incentive

Health, vision, dental insurance

401(k) plan

Generous PTO

11 paid holidays

Opportunities for career advancement

Qualifications

• 5+ years of project management experience in FMCG or consumer packaged goods.
• Experience in contract manufacturing with strong customer relationship skills.

Responsibilities

• Oversee customer projects across multiple sites ensuring consistent handling.
• Coordinate with Engineering, Quality, and Production departments for new projects.

Skills

Project Management

Customer Relationship Management

Process Improvement

Team Leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business Management

Equivalent work experience

Job description

KDC is a network of best-in-class custom formulators and manufacturers of color cosmetics, skincare, haircare, bath & body, fragrance, deodorant, home, health, industrial, and auto care products. KDC delivers high-touch innovation, operational excellence, and speed to market to well-known and emerging beauty, personal, and specialty companies from coast to coast. KDC has its head office in Longueuil, Québec. In addition, KDC has 10 operating facilities located throughout North America. Altogether, the company employs nearly 4,800 talented and dedicated employees in North America.

Kdc/one is currently growing, and we are looking for an experienced Director of Project Management. As part of the kdc/one network, we are the leading best-in-class producer of beauty and personal care products!

This role will manage and lead projects at our Groveport and New Albany sites, focusing on primary customer-related projects (existing or new). Responsibilities include creating and reviewing customer quotes, verifying manufacturing capabilities, preparing for first production, tracking internal readiness for customer launches, and maintaining executive awareness of project status to ensure high product recognition and communication for organizational reporting.

The essential duties of the role include:

1. Overseeing customer projects across multiple regional sites to ensure consistent handling from start to finish.
2. Coordinating and supporting the tracking of new customer projects, working with Engineering, Quality, Production, and Customer Support departments at each site.
3. Establishing and monitoring customer best practices in new project implementation, including:

• Creating processes for Project Managers to collaborate with Engineering teams, ensuring awareness and involvement in new projects (e.g., validating access to formulas, drawings, and customer documentation).
• Streamlining equipment needs identification, capital expenditure requirements, and challenges for new projects, including tooling authorizations and customer-responsible costs.
• Developing processes for receipt and automated distribution of customer material information such as specifications and protocols.

Overseeing the creation of internal documents and establishing review processes for customer documentation to ensure accuracy and completeness, providing feedback for corrections.

Collaborating with the center-led Project Management team to establish a network approach for quotes related to trials, pilots, and validations, including format and approval processes.

Tracking all network customer visits for testing, piloting, and production, ensuring support for planned visits and new product or site startups.

Supporting NPI Project teams with expertise on launches and new production, providing site-level support as needed.

Coordinating with Client Services on project progress to keep executive management informed of any at-risk projects.

Training, coaching, and developing team members to meet performance expectations and department objectives, including managing performance feedback.

The ideal candidate will have:

1. Bachelor’s degree in business management or a related field is preferred; equivalent work experience is acceptable.
2. At least 5 years of project management experience.
3. Experience in sectors such as FMCG, consumer packaged goods, or similar, with direct experience in contract manufacturing and strong customer relationship skills.

We offer:

• Competitive salary with annual incentive
• Health, vision, dental, 401(k)
• Generous PTO and 11 paid holidays
• Opportunities for career advancement

KDC-ONE is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, gender, disability, or any protected characteristic. Employment is at-will, and a drug/alcohol test may be required.