Project Manager III

WHO WE ARE At Ghirardelli, we honor tradition and drive innovation, aiming to be the top choice for premium chocolate. Our commitment to Making Life A Bite Better inspires both our products and the way we do business. We support personal and professional growth, recognizing that each employee’s contribution directly impacts Ghirardelli’s growth and success. Join our dynamic team and help shape Ghirardelli’s future. Job Summary The Project Manager III is responsible for leading the cross‑functional effort to execute high priority, high complex projects across one or more categories. This includes leading high‑complexity product changes and time‑critical initiatives, managing a project portfolio that aligns with the company’s strategic plan, and ensuring successful launch of tier 1 and tier 2 new product development projects. Responsibilities Manage project portfolio by overseeing selection, prioritization, and execution. Align projects with organizational strategy and optimize resource allocation. Create project plans and timelines documenting scope, requirements, milestones, and decision points. Manage cross‑functional team members and business processes to maintain timelines and decision cadence. Capture and maintain project data in Product Lifecycle Management and applicable systems. Develop and maintain tracking tools, including KPIs, to provide visibility to the team and larger organization. Develop, maintain, and improve standard tools and processes for routing new products, seasonal items, and time‑critical products through the supply chain, and train cross‑functional team members. Drive a culture of continuous improvement in project delivery performance. Facilitate team meetings, ensuring agendas, decisions, and actions are recorded and distributed. Create a culture of ownership within the team, supporting the Senior Project Manager in developing and executing team vision and strategy. Anticipate potential problems and work proactively with the team to inform decisions and prevent issues. Resolve conflicts within the team wherever possible. Manage escalations along functional management lines when conflicts cannot be resolved or project delivery is jeopardized. Present status updates to various audiences, including the business management team. Provide overall business‑oriented and objective leadership to the cross‑functional team. Elevate concerns to management in an unbiased manner. People Manager: hire, develop and manage performance of junior Project Managers as business needs dictate. Create an inclusive environment that embraces our values and purpose. Perform other duties as assigned. Complete special projects and other duties as required. Requirements Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering or other relevant discipline. 7+ years in CPG industry or other industries managing multi‑party projects with complex timelines or leading cross‑functional teams. Experience in new product development/commercialization, brand management or supply‑chain management in consumer products (preferred). Project Management skills, including use of MS Project and Smartsheet. PMP certification or proven track record of delivering multiple high‑complexity projects simultaneously. Salary $117,770 – $153,080 #J-18808-Ljbffr Ghirardelli Chocolate Company