Head of Project Management

WHO WE ARE At Ghirardelli, we honor tradition and drive innovation, aiming to be the top choice for premium chocolate. 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 2 is responsible for leading the cross‑functional effort to execute high priority, medium to high complexity projects for a given business category ranging from new product commercialization initiatives to continuous improvement. This role ensures the successful launch of tier1 and tier2 new product development projects, high‑complexity product changes, and time‑critical initiatives through cross‑functional collaboration and supply‑chain coordination. This role will also be responsible for the execution of fast‑paced, lower complexity, but more numerous tier3 projects to round out their responsibilities. The Project Manager works side‑by‑side with cross‑functional team members to:

Create project plans and timelines to document scope, requirements, key timings, milestones and decision points, based on internal & external constraints, slack time and launch dates.

Manage cross‑functional team members and business processes to ensure timelines are maintained and decisions are made on time.

Capture and maintain project data in the Product Lifecycle Management and other applicable systems to ensure team members can access current/latest project information.

Develop and maintain tracking tools, for instance Key Performance Indicators, ensuring milestone, timeline and performance visibility to the cross‑functional team and the larger organization, and implement process changes to improve performance as needed and agreed.

Develop, maintain and improve standard tools and processes for a systematic approach to routing new products, seasonal and in‑and‑out items, and other time‑critical products through the Supply Chain, and train cross‑functional team members on these tools and processes.

Drive a culture of continuous improvement in project delivery performance.

Manage escalations along functional management lines where conflicts cannot be resolved within time and/or wherever project delivery to agreed timing may be in jeopardy.

Present status updates upon request to various audiences up to and including the business management team.

Confidence to elevate concerns to management team in an unbiased manner.

Complete special projects and other duties as assigned or as necessary.

Education and Experiences Required Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering or other relevant discipline

5+ years in CPG industry or in other industries managing projects with multiple parties and complex timelines and/or leading cross‑functional teams

New product development/commercialization, brand management or supply chain management experience in consumer products industry strongly preferred

Project Management skills including use of MS Project and Smartsheet

PMP certification

Works in a regular office environment

Occasional interface with Food manufacturing environment with potential for very warm or very cold working environment/depending on area of manufacturing

J-18808-Ljbffr Ghirardelli Chocolate Company