Product Change Manager

Kelly Services - East Hanover, NJ

Full-time - Mid Level

Onsite - East Hanover, NJ

Administrative and Support Services

About the position

Every day, Kelly Services connects professionals with opportunities to advance their careers. We currently have an exciting contract opportunity with one of our leading clients! The position of Product Change Manager is located in East Hanover, NJ, and is expected to last for 6 months or more. This role serves as a lead for commercialization projects that result in new or changing products and/or packages. The Product Change Manager is responsible for managing the total project timeline to ensure on-time delivery of all agreed and resourced projects while adhering to cost and quality parameters. In this role, the Product Change Manager will work closely with cross-functional team members from various departments including Marketing, Sales, Manufacturing, Research & Development, Quality, Finance, Procurement, and Customer Service & Logistics. The manager will provide insights for the execution of project timelines and processes, serving as the I2M (Innovation to Market) expert. This involves identifying opportunities and making recommendations to leadership based on project evaluations, which will help in recognizing key learnings and successes for future projects. The ability to negotiate and influence organizational leadership is crucial, as the manager will need to leverage their understanding of both the big picture and the details of projects. The role also includes managing timelines for new product launches and productivity initiatives, tracking and mitigating risks, and developing sourcing solutions for new products or complexity reduction at current sourcing locations. The Product Change Manager will facilitate the development of a project fact base with other functions, define options, understand trade-offs, and escalate concerns or issues as necessary. Supporting the business in achieving overall financial targets is also a key responsibility.

Responsibilities

• Manage timelines for new product launches and productivity initiatives.
• Manage product development through commercialization using I2M process.
• Identify, track and mitigate risks with particular attention to critical path activities.
• Work with local and global colleagues to develop sourcing solutions for new products or complexity reduction at current sourcing location.
• Facilitate development of a project fact base with other functions, define options, clearly understand trade-offs and escalate concerns/issues.
• Support the business delivery of overall financial targets.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Operations Management, Engineering, Chemistry, Food Science or related field.
• Minimum of 3 + years of experience in a role focused on new product launches (either project management, Research & Development or Manufacturing).
• Excellent project management & organizational skills.
• Influencing and negotiating skills.
• Solid understanding of the supply chain operational management agenda regarding cost of goods sold, capacity, logistics, planning, capital, safety and quality.
• Attention to detail.
• Ability to deal with complexity.
• Strong interpersonal, written & verbal communication skills.

Nice-to-haves

• CPG/food industry experience.
• Microsoft Project experience.

Benefits

• Paid holidays
• Disability insurance
• Health insurance
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• Opportunities for advancement
• Retirement plan
• Paid sick time