Sr. IT Project & Portfolio Manager

Now Foods•Bloomingdale, IL

4d•$121,500 - $152,200•Onsite

About The Position

The Senior IT Project & Portfolio Manager is a senior individual contributor who leads selected strategic and cross-functional technology projects while establishing and operating a practical IT project and portfolio management framework. The role provides portfolio visibility, governance, executive reporting, risk and dependency management, resource capacity insight, and project management coaching across IT. It requires technical fluency, executive-level communication, disciplined follow-through, and the ability to influence leaders and teams without direct authority. This position is based onsite at the company’s corporate office in Bloomingdale, Illinois. The role leads complex IT projects from intake through implementation, operational transition, stakeholder acceptance, and closure. It manages initiatives across infrastructure, cybersecurity, data center and facilities technology, enterprise applications, compliance, vendors, and business stakeholders. The position also owns IT portfolio governance, reporting standards, portfolio reviews, intake and prioritization processes, capacity-planning tools, project-management standards, and functional requirements and improvement of ServiceNow project and portfolio capabilities. The manager participates in the senior IT leadership team and partners with the Head of IT and IT leaders to translate strategic priorities into plans, surface delivery risks and resource conflicts, and recommend actions. The role leads through influence and collaboration rather than direct organizational authority. The position also supports the company’s safety culture and compliance with workplace health and safety requirements. The role requires at least seven years of progressive IT project, program, portfolio, or PMO management experience. Ten or more years is preferred. A bachelor’s degree in a related field is preferred, although equivalent education and relevant professional experience may be considered. The listed salary range is $121,500–$152,200.

Requirements

At least seven years of progressive experience in IT project, program, portfolio, or PMO management.
Demonstrated success leading multiple complex, cross-functional technology projects involving technical teams, business stakeholders, vendors, and senior leaders.
Technical background or strong technical fluency sufficient to manage infrastructure, cybersecurity, data center, enterprise application, integration, and complex IT initiatives credibly.
Experience leading complex IT projects and establishing or improving portfolio governance, executive reporting, integrated planning, risk management, and delivery standards.
Working knowledge of Waterfall, Agile, hybrid, Kanban, and vendor-led delivery models, with the judgment to scale governance to project complexity and risk.
Experience managing third-party vendors, contractors, consultants, and implementation partners.
Advanced executive communication, facilitation, negotiation, organization, problem-solving, and influencing skills.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to translate technical delivery information into concise executive-level status, risk, decision, and recommendation reporting.
Ability to facilitate meetings, influence stakeholders, constructively challenge assumptions, document decisions, and communicate with technical teams, business leaders, vendors, contractors, and executives.
Ability to work independently, manage competing priorities, and exercise sound judgment in ambiguous and changing situations.
Ability to assess portfolio health, identify meaningful delivery risks, gaps, dependencies, and resource constraints, develop response options, and escalate recommendations appropriately.
Persistence and diplomacy to drive accountability and timely follow-through across a matrixed organization.
Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Business Administration, Project Management, Engineering, or a related field preferred; equivalent education and relevant professional experience may be considered.
Regular use of a telephone and computer; ability to remain at a stationary work location regularly and occasionally move within the work facility.
Ability to travel to different work sites.

Nice To Haves

Ten or more years of progressive IT project, program, portfolio, or PMO management experience.
Experience with portfolio intake, prioritization, demand visibility, and resource capacity planning.
Experience with ServiceNow project, demand, portfolio, or Strategic Portfolio Management capabilities; hands-on configuration experience is a plus but not required.
Experience in manufacturing, distribution, or another operationally complex environment.
Nutraceutical, dietary supplement, food, or pharmaceutical industry experience.
Knowledge of cGMP, validation, audit readiness, formal change control, or regulated documentation practices.
PMP or comparable project or program management certification.
Agile or organizational change management credentials.

Responsibilities

Lead selected complex IT projects from intake and initiation through implementation, operational transition, stakeholder acceptance, and closure.
Manage cross-functional technology initiatives involving infrastructure, cybersecurity, data center and facilities technology, enterprise applications, compliance, vendors, and business stakeholders.
Develop and maintain project charters, integrated delivery plans, schedules, budget tracking, milestones, and dependencies.
Coordinate internal teams, business stakeholders, vendors, contractors, and implementation partners; track ownership, statements of work, deliverables, commitments, and project financial status.
Facilitate project meetings, steering reviews, decision forums, implementation-readiness activities, and post-project retrospectives as appropriate.
Identify and manage risks, issues, dependencies, assumptions, decisions, resource constraints, and delivery trade-offs; escalate with options and recommendations.
Ensure project plans include testing, change management, security, architecture, operational readiness, documentation, and support handoffs.
Own IT project and portfolio governance processes, including reporting standards, update cadence, minimum documentation, project health definitions, risk escalation, and closure requirements.
Create, maintain, and improve the enterprise IT project portfolio dashboard and provide visibility into health, milestones, risks, dependencies, decisions, resource constraints, and financial status.
Prepare executive-level portfolio reports, presentations, dashboards, and decision materials.
Establish and facilitate portfolio reviews to evaluate priorities, sequencing, delivery confidence, dependencies, and risks; validate project status, hold owners accountable for timely updates, and identify corrective actions or escalations.
Help establish transparent project intake, evaluation, and prioritization processes aligned with business value, strategic objectives, risk reduction, compliance, cost, urgency, effort, and capacity.
Partner with the Head of IT and IT leaders to establish intake criteria, project ownership, sponsorship, and governance requirements.
Develop resource capacity-planning tools and processes; identify bottlenecks, delivery conflicts, critical skill constraints, and competing commitments.
Recommend project sequencing, scope adjustments, resource alternatives, or deferrals to inform leadership trade-off decisions.
Help prepare business cases by coordinating estimates and gathering input on costs, benefits, risks, alternatives, resource needs, and expected outcomes.
Assess and improve the IT project-management framework for Waterfall, Agile, hybrid, Kanban, and vendor-led delivery approaches.
Create and maintain project templates, standards, and guidance, including charters, plans, status reports, RAID logs, readiness controls, and closure documentation.
Establish tiered governance, documentation requirements, stage gates, and quality checkpoints based on project complexity, risk, and organizational impact.
Develop RFP templates, evaluation tools, vendor-selection guidance, implementation governance practices, and related IT processes.
Coach IT leaders, project owners, and technical leads on planning, estimation, risk management, stakeholder communication, documentation, and project-management practices.
Use lessons learned, retrospectives, and portfolio performance to improve delivery practices, tools, transparency, and accountability.
Own functional requirements, adoption, data quality, and continuous improvement of ServiceNow capabilities used for IT project and portfolio management; partner with administrators and implementation partners on enhancements, with limited hands-on configuration as applicable.
Participate in the senior IT leadership team and provide objective insight into portfolio health, delivery risks, resource constraints, and organizational priorities.
Build trusted relationships across IT teams, business functions, vendors, and implementation partners.
Partner with the Head of IT and senior IT leadership to translate strategic priorities into plans, monitor commitments, and report delivery risks, blockers, resource conflicts, and unresolved decisions.
Support a culture of safety, follow workplace health and safety procedures, and fulfill safety responsibilities outlined in the company safety management plan.