Associate Manager Project Mgmnt

Mattel•El Segundo, CA

7h•$110,000 - $130,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Associate Project Manager will be a key member of the Portfolio Planning team within Global Supply Chain. This position will lead strategic projects and new product launch initiatives from early planning through launch readiness, ensuring clear plans, ownership, milestones and decision points are established across functions. The successful candidate will be a highly effective project leader who can bring structure to complex and ambiguous initiatives, establish scalable processes, and influence cross-functional stakeholders without direct authority. This individual will serve as a central point of coordination across Brand, Product Development, Commercial, Demand Planning, Supply Planning and other key partners to ensure risks are identified early, decisions are made at the appropriate level, and teams remain aligned to deliver against launch objectives.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain, Project Management, Operations, Product Development or related field; advanced degree a plus.
5+ years of relevant experience in project/program management, supply chain, product development, operations or related functions; consumer products experience preferred.
Demonstrated experience leading complex, cross-functional projects from planning through execution.
Strong project management capability, including project planning, milestone management, dependency management, risk mitigation and issue resolution.
Proven ability to create structure and establish processes in ambiguous or evolving environments.
Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple initiatives, priorities and stakeholders simultaneously.
Strong facilitation skills with the ability to lead cross-functional discussions, navigate differing perspectives and drive teams toward decisions.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to communicate effectively with both working teams and senior leadership.
Strong business judgment and problem-solving capability; able to distinguish critical issues from routine execution and escalate appropriately.
Comfortable working across global teams, functions and time zones.
Proficiency with project management and business tools such as Workfront, PowerPoint and Excel; experience with Tableau or other visualization tools beneficial.
Demonstrated growth mindset with a focus on continuous improvement, learning and developing more effective ways of working.

Responsibilities

Lead complex cross-functional projects and new product launch initiatives, establishing clear objectives, scope, deliverables, milestones, ownership and governance.
Develop and maintain integrated project and launch plans that connect key activities and dependencies across Brand, Product Development, Commercial, Demand Planning, Supply Planning and other functions.
Serve as a cross-functional orchestration lead, bringing stakeholders together to drive alignment, resolve issues and maintain accountability against agreed plans.
Establish project management processes, operating rhythms, tools and governance that provide consistent visibility to status, risks, dependencies and decisions required.
Proactively identify project and launch risks, assess business impact, develop mitigation plans and facilitate timely escalation and resolution.
Lead cross-functional meetings and working sessions with clear objectives, decisions, actions, owners and follow-through.
Influence stakeholders without direct authority to drive decisions, accountability and execution across multiple functions and levels of the organization.
Partner with functional teams to clarify roles, responsibilities, decision rights and handoffs throughout the project and launch lifecycle.
Identify opportunities to simplify, standardize and improve processes; lead implementation of sustainable solutions across brands and functions.
Translate complex project information into concise updates and recommendations for senior leadership and cross-functional stakeholders.
Capture project learnings and establish repeatable processes and best practices that can be scaled across future launches.
Partner with Portfolio Governance & Intelligence to leverage portfolio metrics, analytics and reporting to inform project priorities, risks and decisions.