R & D Project Manager

FAREVA•Morton Grove, IL

19h•Hybrid

About The Position

Join FAREVA Morton Grove, a leading contract manufacturer in the beauty and makeup industry, specializing in innovations in tubes, jars, bottles, and cutting-edge filling and compounding technologies. As the Project Manager for R&D, you will spearhead a captivating portfolio of multiple large customer-based projects. Collaborating seamlessly with cross-functional teams, you will ensure the orchestration of all essential planning, qualification, trial, and execution components for top-priority projects, paving the way for successful product launches. Concurrently, you will oversee Technical Transfer initiatives for ongoing business change management needs. This pivotal role will be the cornerstone of customer satisfaction, by masterfully executing FAREVA R&D and Customer Technical Transfer launches on schedule, with precision, safety, and industry leading quality. This ever-evolving position will dynamically adapt to business exigencies, fortifying site growth and propelling us into a time of unmatched acceleration and improvement. It may also involve leading the efforts of junior staff.

Requirements

3+ years project management experience in a manufacturing/production environment
Proven track record on managing projects and delivering on time, on cost and on quality.
Exposure to production environment & interaction of packaging, process, manufacturing preferably in the personal care products or similar industry.
Understanding of new product development processes & stage gate approach.
Knowledge of Microsoft Project, Smartsheet, Monday.com, Jira or other equivalent project management-related software.
Advanced Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft PowerPoint skills.
Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent from a four-year accredited college or university typically a degree in the Sciences, Engineering, Operations, Business or a related discipline.
Fluency in English (spoken and written).

Nice To Haves

Experience with an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system such as SAP or other related software and general understanding of MRP (Material Requirements Planning) logic is a plus.
PMP Certification, CAPM or equivalent certification is a plus.
LSS (Lean Six Sigma) Green or Black Belt certification is a plus.
Fluency in French or Spanish is a plus.

Responsibilities

Define, monitor, execute, and report results for multiple complex large volume (5M-20M units/year) new project launches (10-20 projects/year) across multiple customers (4-6 customers) independently with minimal supervisory input.
Acts as the voice of the project with senior management, stakeholders and project sponsors.
May lead or mentor junior project managers.
Conduct thorough feasibility studies to evaluate project viability, considering factors such as resources, timeline, budget, and potential risks.
Collaborate with customers and other stakeholders to define project scope, objectives, and deliverables, ensuring a well-defined roadmap for the product launch.
Lead cross-functional teams including but not limited to R&D, Sales, Customer Service, Supply Chain, Procurement, Warehouse, Operations, Finance, Engineering, Quality, and Safety teams, fostering collaboration, cooperation, open communication, and a sense of ownership among team members from various departments.
Manage and track project expenditures such as CapEx, trial spend, excess inventory, material destruction or cost of poor quality, and launch COGS to ensure appropriate invoicing and project profitability.
Measure key performance indicators (KPIs) for project success such as Right First Time Initiative delivery (on time, on quality) with a 40% high Customer Service achievement (on time, in full) and a sustainable manufacturing and procurement supply chain in place before handing the project over to customer service and operations.
Create and manage a well-structured project schedule, setting realistic deadlines, tracking milestones, dependencies, and critical path activities to ensure on-time delivery to the established schedule and customer launch timing.
Strategically allocate resources, both human and material, to ensure optimal utilization and prioritization throughout the project lifecycle.
Identify potential material risks in collaboration with supply chain, quality and procurement teams, such as shipping delays, manufacturing disruptions, or quality issues, and develop strategies to mitigate their impact on project timelines.
Analyze lead times for various components and materials, factoring in production schedules, capacity constraints and shipping times to ensure seamless and realistic timelines are communicated to customers.
Assess the potential impact of proposed changes to products, analyzing implications on processes, workflows, teams, quality, and overall product performance with little supervisory input.
Develop and implement effective communication strategies that keep all stakeholders such as customer service, sales, quality, and operations informed and engaged throughout the change journey, ensuring clarity and transparency.
Foster a collaborative decision-making environment, facilitating discussions that draw on the collective expertise of cross-functional teams to arrive at robust solutions.
Facilitate data-driven post-project evaluations to capture lessons learned from both successes and challenges, using insights to refine risk mitigation strategies and inform future decisions.
Develop robust contingency plans for issues such as capacity constraints, material supply concerns, and quality risks that outline actionable steps to mitigate identified risks, ensuring the organization is prepared for a variety of scenarios during launches.
Continuously assess project workflows and processes, identifying areas ripe for enhancement and implementing refinements that streamline operations and elevate outcomes.
Maintain a positive outlook in the face of challenges, leveraging setbacks as opportunities to learn and refine approaches, driving a culture of resilience and growth.
Serve as the bridge between engineering teams and sales and customer stakeholders by translating technical complexities into understandable terms and ensuring alignment between project goals and technical requirements.
Stay updated on emerging industry technologies and trends, advocating for the integration of relevant capital advancements to maintain competitiveness in the industry.
Foster collaboration between engineering teams and other departments to facilitate effective planning, purchasing, tactical execution and acceptance testing of capital equipment and change parts to meet project timelines.
Promotes cGMP compliance within the workplace by following site procedures and incorporating compliance into all assigned project scopes.
Identifies potential quality and safety risks proactively, devising and implementing ingenious risk management strategies to safeguard project progress and personnel.
Ensure meticulous documentation of quality and safety procedures, qualifications, validations, audits, and outcomes, creating a comprehensive record of project compliance and achievements.
Provide mentorship and training to team members on best practices in quality and safety, cultivating a skilled and empowered workforce that prioritizes these critical aspects.