Project Manager Team Lead

Frey Consulting Group; Columbus (OH); On-site; USD 70,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Profit sharing

Medical insurance

Short-term disability insurance

Paid time off

IRA plan

Education support

Job summary

Fortner in Columbus, OH is seeking a Project Manager Team Lead to guide Fortner's project management function while personally managing complex custom projects from order release to final installation.

You will lead a team of Project Managers, establish standards, and drive accountability, urgency, and communication across the project lifecycle to ensure successful outcomes.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of project management experience in custom manufacturing or related environments.
• Proven leadership or team lead experience.
• Experience managing complex, custom projects with shifting priorities.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing/construction processes and project flow through design to install.
• Ability to manage multiple complex projects while aligning with business objectives.
• Excellent customer-facing communication and problem-solving skills.
• Track record of proactive issue resolution and driving solutions.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and develop project managers across the team.
• Establish standards, workflows, and best practices for project delivery.
• Monitor budgets, labor utilization, and profitability across projects.
• Coordinate with Sales, Design, Engineering, Procurement, Production, and Logistics.
• Manage scope changes with proper documentation and approvals.
• Communicate status and risks proactively to stakeholders.
• Lead project closeout and post-install reviews.

Skills

Project management

Leadership

Communication

Problem-solving

Organization

Conflict resolution

Cross-functional collaboration

Reading drawings/specifications

Budget awareness

ERP systems

Production management software

Tools

ERP systems

Production management software

Job description

At Fortner, we build commercial-grade custom furniture for spaces all over the country. Right from our shop in Columbus, Ohio. Founded in 1929, our family-owned business is committed to bringing you the best in quality & service. Four generations deep, but the same core values since day one: Real Furniture, Good People, Focused on You.

We're looking for a Project Manager Team Lead who brings a strong business mindset to project management. This is a new leadership position responsible for leading Fortner's Project Management function while personally managing complex custom projects from order release through final installation. You'll lead a team of Project Managers and help create greater accountability, urgency, communication, and consistency across the project lifecycle.

Role and Responsibilities

As our Project Manager Team Lead, you will:

• Lead, mentor, and develop Fortner's Project Managers.
• Establish clear expectations, project management standards, workflows, and best practices.
• Create accountability for schedules, communication, problem-solving, and project results.
• Conduct regular project reviews to identify risks, address issues, and keep projects moving.
• Help balance workloads and project assignments across the team.
• Manage high-profile and complex custom projects from kickoff through final customer acceptance.
• Review contracts, project scope, specifications, drawings, finish schedules, and installation requirements.
• Develop and maintain comprehensive project schedules that align customer commitments with production capacity.
• Work proactively to recover schedules when projects encounter delays rather than automatically extending completion dates.
• Coordinate closely with Sales, Design, Engineering, Procurement, Production, Finishing, Logistics, and Installation.
• Monitor project budgets, labor utilization, freight costs, and profitability throughout the project lifecycle.
• Understand how project timing and decisions affect Fortner's financial and operational goals.
• Communicate project status, risks, schedule changes, and customer concerns proactively—not just when an issue reaches a critical point.
• Manage scope changes and ensure proper documentation and approvals are completed.
• Serve as an escalation point for project issues affecting quality, schedule, profitability, or customer satisfaction.

Customer & Cross-Functional Leadership

Customer communication is an important part of this position. You'll need to be comfortable having difficult conversations, setting expectations, and working with customers and internal teams to find creative solutions.

You will also:

• Partner with Production leadership to establish realistic production schedules and delivery commitments.
• Ensure engineering approvals, material procurement, production releases, and finish approvals happen on time.
• Identify supply chain, production, or scheduling risks before they become larger problems.
• Facilitate communication between departments to remove bottlenecks and maintain project flow.
• Coordinate installation schedules with customers, installers, general contractors, and other stakeholders.
• Manage customer expectations throughout the project lifecycle and resolve concerns quickly and professionally.
• Lead project closeout and post-installation reviews.
• Coordinate shipping, freight requirements, and specialty logistics for custom furniture projects.
• Develop and track project management KPIs and scorecard metrics.
• Lead after-action reviews and identify opportunities to improve throughput, communication, scheduling accuracy, and customer satisfaction.

Skills & Qualifications

We're looking for someone who combines project management expertise, leadership ability, and an entrepreneurial problem-solving mindset.

You may be a great fit if you have:

• 5+ years of project management experience in custom manufacturing, construction, architectural products, furniture, millwork, casework, or a related environment.
• Previous leadership, supervisory, or team lead experience.
• Experience managing complex, custom projects where schedules, requirements, and priorities can change.
• A strong understanding of manufacturing or construction processes and how projects move from design and engineering through production and installation.
• The ability to manage multiple complex projects simultaneously while keeping both details and larger business objectives in view.
• Strong customer-facing communication skills, including the ability to navigate difficult conversations professionally.
• A track record of anticipating problems and driving solutions rather than simply reacting to delays.
• Strong organizational, problem-solving, and conflict-resolution skills.
• Experience working directly with customers, contractors, designers, engineers, production teams, and other internal stakeholders.
• Experience working with project management, production, or ERP systems.
• The ability to read drawings, specifications, and production documents.
• An understanding of project budgets, estimating, pricing, costs, and profitability.

We'll be especially excited if you have experience with:

• Custom or made-to-order manufacturing
• Construction project management
• Furniture, millwork, casework, or architectural products
• Industrial engineering or a similar manufacturing-focused background
• Process improvement or Lean methodologies
• EOS or another entrepreneurial operating system
• ERP and production management systems

Benefits include the following:

• Competitive salary package commensurate with education, industry, and relevant experience
• Opportunities for profit sharing based upon companywide performance
• Medical insurance
• Short-term disability insurance
• Paid time off
• IRA plan with company match
• Company support for continued education and/or professional development

POSITION TYPE/EXPECTED HOURS OF WORK

This is a full-time, salaried position based at Fortner's Columbus, Ohio facility. Typical Project Management hours are approximately 8:00 AM–4:30 PM or 8:30 AM–5:00 PM, Monday through Friday.

PAY RANGE

$70,000 - $85,000 / year

This is a newly created position with the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on how Fortner manages projects and serves its customers. You'll have the ability to develop the Project Management team, strengthen processes, improve project execution, and help connect day-to-day project decisions to the company's growth and financial goals. For the right person, there may also be an opportunity for this position to grow into a role on Fortner's leadership team.