Project Manager

The Vollrath Company; Sheboygan (WI); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

The Vollrath Company is looking for a Project Manager to lead cross-functional teams through the planning, execution, and closing of New Product Development (NPD) projects. You will facilitate cross-functional planning and continuous improvement events while ensuring adherence to the NPD process.

Key responsibilities include leading 5–12 projects, managing scope, schedule, and costs, mitigating risks, and fostering teamwork and stakeholder engagement across Product Management, Engineering,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a product development related discipline is required; MBA is preferred.
• Minimum 3–5 years of Project Management or Project Engineer experience.
• PMP Certification is desired.
• Stage-Gate / NPD / Lean Product Development process knowledge is expected.
• Project Management software knowledge (Smartsheet or similar).

Responsibilities

• Lead cross-functional project teams through planning, execution, and closing of NPD projects.
• Facilitate cross-functional planning and continuous improvement events.
• Ensure adherence to the NPD process and proper documentation.
• Scope management: clarify requirements and translate into the scope of work.
• Schedule management: develop and maintain cross-functional project schedules and dependencies.
• Cost management: estimate and monitor project costs against baseline.
• Risk and issue management: identify risks and develop mitigation plans.
• Team leadership: build and motivate cross-functional teams and mentor members.
• Stakeholder engagement: coordinate communication across functions and executives.
• Continuous improvement: propose and implement process updates.

Skills

Project management

Cross-functional leadership

Facilitation

Stakeholder management

Mentorship

Education

Bachelor's degree in product development

MBA preferred

PM certification (PMP) desired

Tools

Smartsheet

PM software

Job description

The Project Manager will lead cross-functional project teams through the planning, execution, and closing of New Product Development (NPD) projects, facilitate cross-functional planning and continuous improvement events, and ensure adherence to the NPD process.

Job Responsibilities

Project Leadership: Lead between 5-12 projects of various scale & scope.

• Scope Management: Understand the project justification. Clarify project requirements & translate them into scope of work. Communicate & adhere to the established scope, mitigating scope change to limit project impact.
• Schedule Management: Facilitate creation of a cross-functional project schedule, define dependencies & manage the critical path. Communicate variances to baseline. Identify schedule improvement opportunities & drive them to realization.
• Cost Management: Compile cross-functional projects costs by gathering labor, development, and capital expense estimates. Monitor performance to baseline.
• Risk & Issue Management: Proactively identify project risks. Develop & manage mitigation plans. Escalate high impact risks appropriately & lead resolution of critical project issues to limit project impact.
• Practitioner Expertise: Demonstrate project management best practices (meeting cadences, communication, etc.) that improve team engagement & productivity through application.
• Process Expertise: Understand the NPD process & ensure projects comply through proper documentation & storage of process deliverables.
• Prioritization: Within projects, ensure tasks are sequenced based on dependencies & deadlines. Highlight priority conflicts across projects & coordinate with contributors to resolve.
• Continuous Improvement: Identify, propose, plan, & implement process updates & improvements.

Team Leadership: Build strong cross-functional teams including Product Management, Engineering, Operations, Quality, & more.

• Team Motivation & Development: Encourage collaboration & open dialogue. Coordinate recognition & team-building.
• Influence: Use data, logic, & empathy to gain buy-in. Build trust-based relationships. Navigate resistance & facilitate consensus.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Coordinate communication across functions, escalating concerns or misalignment appropriately.
• Conflict Resolution: Identify the underlying causes of conflict & facilitate open & respectful discussions, arriving at resolution through shared understanding.
• Mentorship: Offer advice & encouragement to others. Share helpful resources and lessons learned.

Communication

• Facilitation: Lead project planning events while ensuring balanced participation. Guide cross-functional teams in process improvement & mapping exercises.
• Presenting: Share project status & gate approval presentations to an executive audience, tailoring the message & reading the room for appropriate detail. Use effective visuals to support key points.
• Reporting: Provide both planned and ad hoc project updates, organizing content logically & concisely, highlighting key metrics & milestones, & ensuring consistency across formats.

Other

• May perform other duties as assigned in support of team, departmental, and organizational goals.

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in a product development related discipline (Engineering, Marketing, Design); MBA preferred.
• Minimum 3-5 years of Project Management or Project Engineer experience.
• PMP Certification is desired.
• Stage-Gate / NPD / Lean Product Development Process Knowledge.
• Project Management Software Knowledge (Smartsheet or similar).