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Senior Project Manager

Senior Project Manager – Niles, IL

 

Imbibe is a leading beverage product development & ingredient supply partner supporting customers that range from entrepreneurs to top CPG and foodservice brands.

 

Primary Job Responsibilities

We are looking for an organized Sr. Project Manager to guide, shape and lead cross functional projects and teams in the food development industry. The ideal candidate is experienced in supporting customers, sales, technical and operations teams, improving upon processes, and creating new ones when needed. Competent cross-functional leadership and collaboration is a crucial skill to be effective in implementing high-impact organizational decisions. Working autonomously is expected for this senior level position, though the sensibility to alert leadership, escalate issues and understand when to involve a larger group. Proactive identification of risk and leadership to mitigate is a must.

If the following statements describe you, please consider applying to be Imbibe’s next Senior Project Manager.

  • You are comfortable and competent creating structure, plans and timing in complex environments with very little guidance.
  • You are highly skilled in process creation, implementation, and management.  Creating the process/workflow to determine who, what and how.  Knowing how to organize people and activities and gets the most out of resources within time limitations.
  • You’re a competent cross-functional leader (internal and external); can motivate and quarterback teams even in the most complex and ambiguous projects.
  • You have significant experience identifying potential risks at the onset of a project and creating plans to address vs having them surprise you midstream.
  • You easily navigate between high level and detailed thinking.
  • You have breadth and depth within your project management experience, understanding that very few projects are ever exactly the same and can apply learning from project to project.
  • You’re nearly clairvoyant. You can anticipate a customer and team needs before they’ve realized they’re in need of anything. Ensuring all customers have a white glove experience.
  • Strong ability to influence without authority.
  • Adept at identifying when an existing process is right for the request and when it is not. 
  • Strong EQ (emotional intelligence). You recognize when there is misalignment on expectations and effectively and diplomatically navigate to solutions.
  • You deliver internal and external communications to the relevant parties in a clear, concise, and professional manner.  Knowing immediately when information should be conveyed verbally, electronically, or both.

 

 

To Apply:

Email your resume with the subject Sr. Project Manager to mblachut@imbibeinc.com and let us know why you are the perfect fit for what we are looking for!

 

 

Other Joe Responsibilities:

Project Leadership

  • Create the appropriate project structure and plans as informed by the needs of the customer, Imbibes internal teams and external partners.
  • Provide clarity on scope of work for internal and external parties
  • Facilitate project planning: technical and non-technical timelines, action items, accountability and identifying if our current process makes sense for the project
  • Identify project risk and implement mitigation plans
  • Create agendas and issue minutes for internal and external meetings
  • Can identify scope creep and escalate to BD/Management
  • Track KPIs (cost, taste, timing, quality etc.)
  • Provide updates to management

Ensure Process Compliance

  • Adept to recognize when our processes are right for a project (ie. timing of risk assessments) and when it should be modified.
  • Proper adherence and utilization of our project management platform (Wrike), including project communication and document sharing
  • Leading risk assessments and resolution
  • Collaborating with our operations team in the commercialization/scale-up process
  • Allot appropriate time when issuing regulatory documentation to customers

Customer Service Orientated for the project customer

  • Own all communication to the customer and bring them in when needed
    • Status updates/meeting notes and agendas
    • Sample shipments/tracking/what included
    • Pricing, document requests, misc requests
    • Communicate all deadlines internally and externally (ordering, shipping, trials, production, final formula, etc.)

Other duties as assigned.

 

 

Qualification and Requirements:

  • Bachelor’s degree required
  • 8 - 12 years’ experience
  • Technical knowledge as well as scale up experience within the Food and Beverage Industry, Adaptability and being able to pivot mid-project is crucial
  • Ability to influence stakeholders to take action when necessary
  • Openness and ability to learn new applications quickly (Wrike)
  • Ability to prioritize and meet deadlines in a start-up environment
  • Excellent communication skills in both written and verbal forms
  • Ability to work autonomously producing high quality results

 

Why Imbibe?

Imbibe is the leading innovator in the beverage industry – we set the standard! Our clients benefit from our holistic approach to product development where we engineer every beverage from the bottom up. We design custom components, such as ingredient blends, flavors and finished beverages for every project. Imbibe combines a powerful synergy of innovation, technical expertise and dedication to ensure our clients never settle for anything but the best. To learn more about us, check out our website at www.imbibeinc.com.

 

Industry Expertise 

Simply put, we are beverage experts. Our industry focus gives us a greater degree of insight into the beverage and flavor world!

Innovation 

We have a 40,000 sq. ft. facility that houses state of the art equipment, labs and a pilot plant.

Friendly Culture 

At Imbibe, in addition to your job, you’ll have opportunities to step away and challenge a coworker to a game of ping pong or visit at the custom beverage bar. People should like where they work, and we strive to provide an environment that fosters creativity and friendship.

Full Time Healthcare 

You are eligible for healthcare packages after 30 days of employment. All healthcare plans are Affordable Care Act compliant, and we have several plans to meet a variety of needs!

 

Equal Opportunity Employer

Imbibe is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, marital status, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by law. This transmission is intended only for the designated recipient(s), and any duplication or distribution, in any form or part, without the written consent of the sender is strictly prohibited. These confidentiality protections apply even if you received this transmission in error, in which case you should delete the message, disregard its contents and notify the sender of the mistake.