Strategic Initiatives Program Lead

Mars; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 108,000 - 149,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Mars University

Company bonus

401k plan

Job summary

Mars is seeking a Project Manager, Strategic Initiatives & Performance to plan and deliver assigned initiatives while enabling transparent, fact-based performance management. You will turn strategic priorities into clear plans, coordinate cross-functional execution, and provide leaders with accurate insights into progress, risks, decisions, and value.

The role requires a Bachelor’s degree and 3+ years in project management or PMO, with experience developing governance materials, RAID logs, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in supply chain, Engineering, Business, Information Systems, Analytics, Project Management, or related field.
• 3 years experience in project management or PMO, program coordination.
• Experience supporting complex cross-functional initiatives in a matrixed organization.
• Experience developing project plans, governance materials, status reports, RAID logs, and executive presentations.
• Experience with Microsoft Office tools including Power BI, Power Sheets, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.

Responsibilities

• Project delivery: define scope, outcomes, workplans, timelines, governance, and ways of working for initiatives.
• Governance and controls: prepare agendas, facilitate reviews, document decisions, maintain action logs.
• Risk and dependency management: maintain RAID logs, identify critical-path impacts, coordinate mitigations.
• Performance analytics and dashboarding: build and maintain project and portfolio dashboards and executive scorecards.
• Reporting and insight: translate complex data into concise narratives for management actions.
• Data quality: partner with data owners to define measures and validate inputs.
• Process improvement: standardize and automate recurring reporting and governance activities.
• Stakeholder partnership: build relationships across a matrixed organization and enable timely decisions.

Skills

Project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Governance

RAID/logs management

Data analytics

Education

Bachelor’s degree in related field

Tools

Power BI

Power Sheets

Excel

Word

PowerPoint

Job description

Mars is seeking a Project Manager, Strategic Initiatives & Performance to plan and deliver assigned initiatives while enabling transparent, fact-based performance management. You will turn strategic priorities into clear plans, coordinate cross-functional execution, and provide leaders with accurate insights into progress, risks, decisions, and value.

The role requires a Bachelor’s degree and 3+ years in project management or PMO, with experience developing governance materials, RAID logs, and