Project Manager, Commercialization

Headquartered in Lakeville, Minn., Post Consumer Brands, a business unit of Post Holdings, Inc., is dedicated to providing people and their pets with delicious food choices for every taste and budget. The company’s portfolio includes beloved brands such as Honey Bunches of Oats®, PEBBLES®, Grape-Nuts® and Malt-O-Meal® cereal, and Peter Pan® peanut butter, as well as Rachael Ray® Nutrish®, Kibbles ‘n Bits® and 9Lives® dog and cat food. As a company committed to high standards of quality and to our values, we are driven by one idea: To make lives better by making delicious food accessible for all. For more information about our brands, visit www.postconsumerbrands.com and follow us on LinkedIn for the latest news.

Post Consumer Brands recently acquired several iconic pet food brands, venturing into a new market while remaining true to our purpose to provide delicious and accessible food that our consumers love. We’re always searching the center store for the next exciting product to add to our portfolio, and right now, we’re growing and need passionate, driven individuals with diverse perspectives to help us reach greater heights. That’s where you come in. Join a team where your voice is not only heard but valued. Make a real impact on brands enjoyed by millions of people and their pets.

At Post Consumer Brands, we take pride in our longstanding legacy of making one of every five breakfast cereals families eat daily. Today, we’re just as focused on our future as we expand our grocery business with different shelf-stable foods, including snacks and peanut butter. We are committed to providing accessible and delicious food for families, and we’re always searching the center store for the next exciting product to add to our portfolio. As we soar to new heights, we need creative, determined individuals from all walks of life to join our team, where your unique perspective and ideas are acknowledged and valued. Be a part of a company that empowers you to make a difference that’s evident on grocery store shelves and families’ tables across North America.

Post Consumer Brands corporate headquarters in Lakeville, Minn. is about 20 miles south of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Lakeville has all the benefits of smaller town living with access to everything a large metropolitan area has to offer. Join more than 400 team members collaborating on the two-building campus to help put breakfast on the tables of millions of consumers in North America. 

The Product Change Manager leads end-to-end commercialization initiatives for PCB. Seeking a highly motivated individual to drive a business-critical role of delivering commercialization excellence at Post Consumer Brands, and provide critical visibility across many different functions.  As part of a dedicated Commercialization Team, this individual will be responsible for leading and supporting the planning and execution of commercialization processes across all brands for the US retail business. The PCM functions as a Project Manager for stage gate approved projects, develops project schedules and timelines, manages issues and risks, develops and executes plans and leads project team meetings across a wide variety of project types (innovation, cost out, renovation, etc.). This individual will champion and leverage standard commercialization tools and processes, and hold their cross-functional teams accountable for adhering to and delivering expected standards. They will interface with all functions throughout the end-to-end development and launch of initiatives to deliver projects within the specified time, cost, and quality parameters. They will also play a critical role in problem solving and root cause analysis for driving continuous improvement.

Responsibilities and Accountabilities

• Lead projects with cross-functional teams to meet key business objectives and agreed upon deliverables.  This includes developing, managing, and updating the project schedule. Maintaining the critical path for assigned projects, risk identification and mitigation, issue management, escalation management, tracking baseline budget and key financials.
• Use the established commercialization tools, e.g., project plan templates, meeting notes, stage gate documentation, and project reporting to complete work.
• Hold cross-functional team members accountable for using their checklists, meeting agreed upon milestones and other standard commercialization tools.
• Manage and understand New Item Setup process and system functionality using PLM tools. 
• Enable best practices by properly closing out projects, capturing key learnings, and working with cross-functional teams to continuously improve.

• Critical Leadership Expectations: Win As One, Be Bold, Bring Joy, Act Like An Owner
• Minimum 2+ years of project management experience. 2+ years of experience in a consumer products environment is preferred. 
• Understanding of product commercialization processes and tools.
• Experience with project management principles, best practices, and disciplines.
• Solid understanding of the product development (R&D, Graphics, Supply Chain) is preferred.
• Highly motivated in uncovering and documenting process improvements and filing in knowledge gaps.
• Ability to organize effectively, manage multiple priorities and meet tight deadlines.
• Self-starter & motivated - Must have strong drive to exceed expectations
• Ability to influence and lead others without direct authority
• Strong time management, planning and organizational skills.
• Demonstrates a positive mindset through change

Education

BS or BA degree in Business or Technical field

PMP certification is strongly preferred