Director of Project Delivery (Greater Chicago Area)

nVenia , a member of the Duravant family of operating companies, is a manufacturer and supplier of integrated solutions and packaging equipment machinery. With over 300 years of combined experience, our long-standing brands of Arpac, Fischbein, Hamer and Ohlson serve end customers in the consumer-packaged goods, food and beverage, industrial, and other markets.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Director of Project Delivery is responsible for leading the customer and project journey from order release through successful installation, commissioning, and customer acceptance, ensuring exceptional customer outcomes while driving project predictability, operational performance, and profitability. The role serves as the voice of the customer and provides direct leadership for Project Management, Final Assurance, and Quality while partnering across Sales, Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Field Service, and other customer-facing functions to align customer expectations with operational execution and commercial objectives. The Director improves customer outcomes through predictable project execution, effective cross-functional coordination, project margin performance, and seamless delivery across the equipment project lifecycle.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Customer Leadership

• Champion the customer experience and represent customer needs in decisions involving scope, quality, schedule, readiness, delivery, and cost.
• Own the customer and project journey from order release through installation, commissioning, and customer acceptance.
• Lead resolution of significant customer escalations and improve outcomes through proactive communication and cross-functional coordination.

Project Execution and Delivery

• Lead Project Management to deliver projects safely, on time, within scope, and to customer expectations.
• Develop Project Managers as business leaders accountable for customer outcomes, risk, scope, execution, and project economics.
• Establish visibility to milestones, commitments, risks, and actions; facilitate timely cross-functional decisions and escalation.
• Drive project predictability and clear accountability across organizational handoffs.

Financial and Commercial Performance

• Own the operating actions required to protect and improve project margin in partnership with Operations, Engineering, and Finance.
• Manage the impact of labor performance, material variances, scope growth, rework, schedule decisions, and recovery actions.
• Balance customer, quality, schedule, and cost considerations to achieve responsible customer and business outcomes.

Value Capture and Business Growth

• Partner with Sales, Service, and Engineering to identify and capture legitimate incremental customer value.
• Ensure scope changes, change orders, upgrades, enhancements, and value-added solutions are identified and managed deliberately.

FAT-to-SAT Integration

• Ensure seamless transitions between Final Acceptance Testing (FAT), installation, startup, Site Acceptance Testing (SAT), and customer acceptance.
• Improve communication and accountability across project phases.
• Drive lessons learned and problem-solving activities across customer-facing functions.
• Minimize customer disruptions during project handoffs.

Leadership and Organizational Development

• Build, mentor, and develop high-performing leaders and teams with clear decision rights and accountability.
• Lead through influence across functions and develop organizational capability and succession depth.
• Create operating cadences that surface risks early and enable issues to be resolved at the appropriate level.

Operational Excellence and Problem Solving

• Use operational and financial data to improve customer outcomes, project execution, quality, and profitability.
• Apply disciplined problem-solving and continuous improvement tools.

POSITION REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Business Administration, or a related field required; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive leadership experience in manufacturing, capital equipment, project delivery, operations, or a related environment.
• Demonstrated success leading cross-functional teams and driving business performance through others.
• Experience managing and balancing project execution, customer relationships, and project financial performance.
• Strong understanding of project management, manufacturing operations, quality, and the customer lifecycle.
• Demonstrated financial acumen, including project margin management and business performance analysis.
• Excellent communication, judgment, and relationship-building skills with the ability to influence across functions and levels.

Why Work at nVenia?

• nVenia offers a competitive benefits package for all full-time employees, including:
• Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) or Health Savings Accounts (HSA), when allowed by tax law
• Paid life insurance and disability insurance, with options to purchase additional coverage
• Paid Maternity/Paternity Leave
• Optional coverages: Long-term Care, Accident Insurance, and Critical Illness Insurance
• 401(k) plan with company match
• Educational Assistance reimbursement
• Accrued Paid Time Off (PTO)
• 10 paid holidays annually