IT Project Manager

Job Title: IT Project Manager

Department: Information Technology

Location: Turlock, CA

Full/Part-Time: Full-Time

Regular/Temporary: Regular

FLSA Status: Salary (Exempt)

Shift: Day

Salary Range: $140,000 to $160,000 per year.

SUMMARY
Reporting to the Vice President of Information Technology, the IT Project Manager leads technology projects across the Company. The first priority is the SAP ERP implementation: serving as a internal project manager, coordinating teams from our operating companies and our implementation partner, and keeping scope, schedule, and budget on track through go-live. As SAP allows, this role will also build the IT project management office (PMO) and take on other IT projects. This is a hands-on role for an experienced self-starter who can work independently and as part of a team.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Essential and other important responsibilities and duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Serve as a internal project manager for the SAP ERP implementation, coordinating business teams from our operating companies, IT, and the implementation partner.
• Build and maintain the integrated project plan, combining the partner's plan with a internal workstreams and keeping both on schedule.
• Hold the implementation partner to its contract: review deliverables, change orders, staffing, and invoices.
• Lead internal readiness for go-live: data cleanup and migration, testing, training, and cutover planning.
• Manage project budgets and forecasts, and report variances promptly to the VP of IT.
• Track and resolve risks, issues, and decisions, and run change control so scope, cost, and schedule don't drift.
• Run project governance: status reports, steering committee updates, and clear escalation paths, with decisions, owners, and due dates documented.
• Build practical PMO standards for planning, reporting, and risk management as SAP workload allows.

ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Manage other strategic IT projects as assigned
• Perform related duties and/or special projects as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS

Skills & Competencies:

• Project and program management across complex, multi-team initiatives
• Budget, schedule, and resource management
• Vendor and contract management, including holding outside partners to their deliverables
• Clear written and verbal communication with executives, business leaders, technical teams, and end users
• Risk management and practical problem solving
• Working knowledge of project management and collaboration tools (such as Microsoft Project, Smartsheet, Jira, or Azure DevOps)

Ability to:

• Drive accountability and results without positional authority
• Work independently with limited direction, including as the only project manager, and work well as part of a team
• Bring structure to ambiguous situations without creating unnecessary bureaucracy
• Manage several workstreams, priorities, and deadlines at once
• Build working relationships across companies, functions, and locations

Experience and Training Guidelines:
Required

• Bachelor's degree in business, information technology, project management, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience
• 7+ years of project management experience, including 3+ years leading enterprise-scale or ERP projects
• Full-lifecycle ERP implementation experience (any platform), including work with an outside implementation partner
• Demonstrated experience managing project budgets, risks, and executive reporting

Preferred

• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification
• SAP ERP experience, ideally S/4HANA, and familiarity with SAP Activate methodology
• Experience establishing or operating within a PMO
• Familiarity with Lean principles or other continuous improvement methods
• Experience in agribusiness, food processing, manufacturing, or a multi-entity, privately held company

SPECIAL DEMANDS

Physical requirements

• Primarily sedentary office work, with extended periods at a computer

Working conditions

• On-site in Turlock, CA, with flexibility for some work from home
• Occasional travel to different locations in California, Texas, and Ohio
• Occasional evening or weekend work around major go-live and cutover periods

Note: Job descriptions are not intended to reflect all duties performed within the job. Nothing in this job description restricts management’s right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.

Our company is an equal opportunity employer committed to non-discriminatory employment practices abiding by the regulations as outlined by the EEOC. This employer participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S.