Project Manager

If you are looking for a company where you can grow and develop alongside respectfully collaborative teams, join us at Oliver Packaging and Equipment Company. With a history dating back to 1890, we offer the stability of a well-established organization and the support of colleagues who truly value one another. In addition to competitive base pay, we provide a generous benefits package, including a bonus plan, a 5% 401(k) match, 15 days of paid time off, and 10 paid holidays in your first year (pro-rated in year one). Our culture is built on teamwork and a shared commitment to creating and delivering packaging and equipment solutions around the globe. You’ll see your work make a real impact - in places like Walmart and Panera Bread, in schools providing meals to children, through programs like Meals on Wheels supporting seniors, and in hospitals helping patients in recovery. If you want your work to matter and to be part of a supportive team with a strong foundation and long-term vision, this is the opportunity for you.

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Professional development assistance
• Referral program
• Tuition reimbursement
• Vision insurance

Location: Hybrid in Walker, MI The Project Manager is responsible for leading the planning and execution of New Product Development (NPD), Market Response, Cost Reduction, Product Quality Enhancement, and other assigned cross-functional projects from initiation through approval, launch, and closeout. This position establishes project structure, maintains schedules and deliverables, facilitates phase-gate reviews, coordinates resources and functional handoffs, identifies project risks, and provides clear project status visibility to stakeholders and leadership. Reporting to the Manager of Engineering and Quality, the Project Manager works closely with Engineering, Quality, Product Management, Operations, Supply Chain, Sales, Marketing, and other functional partners. The role leads projects through Oliver’s NPD Phase Gate Process and helps ensure that technical, quality, manufacturing, commercial, and launch-readiness requirements are defined, completed, documented, and approved before a project advances to the next phase gate.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Serve as the project leader for Oliver's New Product Development Phase Gate Process, ensuring all gate deliverables, approvals, risks, resource requirements, and launch-readiness criteria are completed and documented before project advancement.
• Facilitate NPD project meetings, establish agendas, document decisions and action items, assign and follow up on owners and due dates, and maintain an effective meeting cadence.
• Lead phase-gate reviews and coordinate completion and approval of required deliverables before advancing projects to the next development stage.
• Develop and maintain project charters, scope statements, schedules, milestones, responsibility assignments, risk and issue logs, decision logs, project financial tracking , and status reports as appropriate to project complexity.
• Coordinate project activities among Engineering, Quality, Product Management, Operations, Supply Chain, Sales, Marketing, suppliers, customers, and other stakeholders.
• Partner with Product Management and project sponsors to translate business and product objectives into defined project requirements, deliverables, success criteria, and launch plans.
• Partner closely with Engineering and Quality on design reviews, manufacturing readiness, qualification plans, design and process risk reviews, verification and validation, and controlled release activities.
• Coordinate the development, review, and completion of technical project documentation, including Design Failure Mode and Effects Analyses (DFMEAs), Design Verification Plan and Reports (DVP&Rs), qualification protocols and reports, drawings, specifications, bills of material, work instructions, and other required records.
• Establish and maintain integrated project schedules using Smartsheet for visualization of project activities and Gantt chart depictions of timelines.
• Monitor project scope, timing, cost, resource needs, quality requirements, dependencies, and risks; identify variances and coordinate recovery plans with project owners.
• Ensure project changes are evaluated, documented, communicated, and approved by the appropriate stakeholders before implementation.
• Provide clear, concise project updates to stakeholders and leadership, including accomplishments, upcoming milestones, open decisions, risks, and required support
• Support the development and continuous improvement of standardized NPD, phase-gate, project documentation, and project governance processes.
• Promote accountability, collaboration, timely decision-making, and effective communication across project teams without replacing functional ownership of assigned deliverables.
• Maintain a safe working environment and follow established safety, quality, and food-safety policies, procedures, and requirements while supporting project activities in manufacturing areas.
• Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Project Management, Operations, Business, Manufacturing, or a related discipline required.
• Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM), Lean Six Sigma, or comparable project-management certification is preferred.
• Five (5) or more years of project-management experience in a manufacturing, engineering, product-development, or technical environment preferred.
• Demonstrated experience leading New Product Development projects through a phase-gate, stage-gate, or comparable gated development and approval process.
• Experience coordinating cross-functional teams through product design, prototyping, testing, qualification, manufacturing release, launch, and project closeout.
• Working experience with DFMEAs, DVP&Rs, qualification testing, verification and validation, design reviews, and manufacturing-readiness activities preferred.
• Experience with Smartsheet preferred; experience with Microsoft Project, Monday.com, or comparable project-management software is acceptable.
• Experience working with manufacturing processes, production operations, suppliers, and technical documentation preferred.
• Experience supporting foodservice packaging, thermoforming, paper converting, equipment development, or another regulated manufacturing environment is preferred but not required.

Required Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Strong knowledge of project-management principles, NPD processes, phase-gate governance, project scheduling, risk management, change control, and cross-functional execution.
• Ability to organize and lead multiple cross-functional projects, balancing scope, schedules, priorities, risks, and resources.
• Strong meeting facilitation and follow-through, with the ability to clarify decisions, establish accountability, and maintain momentum.
• Effective analytical and problem-solving skills, including sound judgment when addressing dependencies, constraints, and changing priorities.
• Clear written and verbal communication, with the ability to tailor information for technical teams, functional leaders, executives, suppliers, and customers.
• Ability to influence and coordinate work across functions without direct authority while maintaining positive working relationships.
• Demonstrated initiative, accountability, adaptability, and ownership of assigned projects.

Working Conditions:

This position operates in both a professional office environment and a controlled manufacturing environment. The role requires regular interaction with production operations, manufacturing equipment, and employees on the production floor. The employee must be able to work safely around manufacturing equipment, machinery, materials, noise, and other conditions typically associated with a manufacturing environment. Appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) must be worn as required.

Travel:

Up to 10% travel may be required based on business needs, including travel to suppliers, customers, manufacturing locations, equipment installations, project trials, and industry events.