Project Manager -New Product Introduction

Founded over 35 years ago, First Quality is a family-owned company that has grown from a small business in McElhattan, Pennsylvania into a group of companies, employing over 5,000 team members, while maintaining our family values and entrepreneurial spirit. With corporate offices in New York and Pennsylvania and 8 manufacturing campuses across the U.S. and Canada, the companies within the First Quality group produce high-quality personal care and household products for large retailers and healthcare organizations. Our personal care and household product portfolio includes baby diapers, wipes, feminine pads, paper towels, bath tissue, adult incontinence products, laundry detergents, fabric finishers, and dishwash solutions. In addition, we manufacture certain raw materials and components used in the manufacturing of these products, including flexible print and packaging solutions.

Guided by our values of humility, unity, and integrity, we leverage advanced technology and innovation to drive growth and create new opportunities. At First Quality, you’ll find a collaborative environment focused on continuous learning, professional development, and our mission to Make Things Better®.

We are seeking a Product Lifecycle Management Team Leader for our First Quality Consumer Products, LLC facility located in Salt Lake City, UT.  This position will be responsible for the project coordination and planning for new product introductions or upgrades to existing products in the First Quality product catalog. They will create and utilize a project template to lead cross-functional BU Sub-Teams including timelines, project plans, tasks, team responsibilities, risks and status reporting. They will manage the smooth transition of projects from the innovation project track to the execution project track. They will oversee direct reports to ensure all projects (innovation and execution) meet both internal and Customer expectations for assigned categories.

Primary responsibilities include:

• PLM representative on the Category BU team.  Responsible for representing projects in both the innovation and execution project tracks and communicating back and forth to the rest of the PLM team. 

• Leads cross-functional BU Sub-Team(s) to develop project plan(s) to include timelines, tasks, team responsibilities, risks and status reporting to ensure project is meeting BU expectations. 

• Manage ongoing project plan activities and risk identification/mitigation plans to achieve project objectives.

• Track project progress against milestones, issue status report and escalate issues or obsolescence risks, as necessary, to Business Unit.

• Works with PLM Director to establish, utilize and enforce balanced end to end Product Lifecycle Management business processes. 

• Ensures effective team decision making at key milestone decision points.

• Manage/influence core project team to achieve key deliverables.

• Monitor PLM Base Finished Good workflows in IPS Tool in SAP to ensure items are following the defined process and hitting key milestones.   

• Document post-launch learnings and identify and implement process improvements for future projects.

• Oversee direct reports (PLM Project Manager) to ensure all execution projects are meeting internal and Customer expectations for assigned categories.

• Lead and develop the continuous improvement effort to refine and enhance the PLM processes to improve efficiency, speed to market, customer experience, and service and reduce obsolescence. 

The ideal candidate should possess the following:

• Bachelor’s degree or comparable work experience in Project Management.

• Minimum of 5-7 years of Project Management; preferably with background in CPG and technical/operations projects.  Operational/Planning background a plus.

• Project Management (PMI) and/or Lean Six-Sigma certification a plus.

• ERP system experience, SAP preferred.

• Demonstrated leadership skills and ability to influence and motivate non-direct reports; leading high performing cross-functional teams.

• Demonstrated success in leading projects, with ability to handle multiple priorities under compressed timeline.

• Demonstrated experience working independently and collaboratively within a cross-function team. Organized and efficient approach; understand and addresses inter-dependences and real issues.

• Strong verbal and written communication skills; solid presentation skills.

• Ability to provide solutions to assist in decision making and problem solving.

• Ability to successfully navigate in a complex, evolving environment.

• Excellent ability to build and manage interpersonal relationships; ability to influence.

• Aptitude; flexibility and ability to adapt to change.

Occasional travel to other plant location(s) as project work requires.

What We Offer You

We believe that by continuously improving the quality of our benefits, we can help to raise the quality of life for our team members and their families. At First Quality you will receive:

• Competitive base salary and bonus opportunities

• Paid time off (three-week minimum)

• Medical, dental and vision starting day one

• 401(k) with employer match

• Paid parental leave

• Child and family care assistance (dependent care FSA with employer match up to $2500)

• Bundle of joy benefit (years’ worth of free diapers to all team members with a new baby)

• Tuition assistance

• Wellness program with savings of up to $4,000 per year on insurance premiums

• ...and more!