Program Manager - Purchasing

About the position

This position is responsible for the cross-functional coordination of All Global Sourcing Activities within HGAP and specifically in emerging markets such as India, China, and Mexico. The program manager is responsible to coordinate and act as liaison for all the activities related to Global Sourcing by working with all different internal partners within HGAP such as Quality, Engineering, Production, Logistics, Materials Management, Planning, Strategic Sourcing and Supply Chain teams. The program manager should drive the communication between HGAP and people work in those countries who are on the ground developing all the suppliers and the projects. The program manage should be the link between all those suppliers/HGAP teams working in those countries and the people working in HGAP-MCI. This position is located on-site in Michigan City, Indiana.

Responsibilities

• Develop the overall program schedule with sub-workstreams by function and ensure committed owners and delivery dates to all actions and work product deliverables.
• Lead, communicate and drive program objectives cross functionally through all applicable stakeholders.
• Structure the systems and data repositories used to document all program related work product.
• Schedule, run and document all program related cross-functional meetings.
• Maintain overall program timing, specifications, and cost status by regularly updating the respective tracking tools.
• Identify deviations from program targets (cost, timing, specification) and coordinate functions to develop counter measures / options.
• Escalate time sensitive issues to the appropriate decision makers outside of the established review cadence.
• Employ analytical skills to evaluate data and resolve issues to meet program requirements.
• Prepare and present the appropriate materials for the monthly NPD program review.
• Prepare executive gate review documentation and sign-off meetings.
• Guide stakeholders in the timely and comprehensive delivery of their work packages.
• Present all aspects that cannot be decided on the working level to the appropriate leadership team members, secure approval, document and drive the decision back into the program team.
• Prepare and present the Post Completion Audit (PCA) 6-12 month after launch to verify that program targets (quality, cost, delivery) have been sustainably met.
• Develop reference materials for all cross-functional organizational stakeholders that contribute to product lifecycle management (process flow, roles & responsibilities, templates, etc.).
• Execute, maintain, and propose refinements to the New Product Development (NPD) Process.
• Maintain and continuously improve program status report formats (meetings, templates, key metrics).

Requirements

• Bachelor of Business or Engineering and related field such as supply chain, manufacturing.
• 3-5 years of experience in program management are required.
• Good understanding of Global Sourcing process and supply chain/purchasing activities.
• Excellent verbal, communication and organization skills are required.
• Experience with Microsoft Project or Project Portfolio Management (PPM) Software Programs is required.
• Experience in New Product Development Phase Gate Design Process is required.
• Excellent people skills and able to lead cross-teams and motivate the team with the mentality of not taking 'no' for answer.