Project Manager Operations, EMEA

What to Expect

The Project Manager Operations, EMEA will be responsible for leading and managing strategic operations programs across the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) region. This role is pivotal in ensuring the successful implementation of operational initiatives that align with the company's goals. The Project Manager will collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including Operations, Sales, Marketing, Supply Chain, Finance, and IT, to drive operational excellence, efficiency, and consistency across the region. 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead and manage multiple complex operations programs across the EMEA region, ensuring they are delivered on time, within scope, and within budget.
• Develop and maintain detailed program plans, including timelines, milestones, resource allocation, and risk management strategies.
• Monitor and report on program progress, identifying and addressing potential risks or issues.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for program stakeholders, ensuring clear communication and alignment across all levels of the organization.
• Facilitate cross-functional collaboration between departments to drive program success.
• Prepare and deliver presentations and reports to senior management and other key stakeholders.
• Identify opportunities for process improvements within EMEA operations, leveraging data-driven insights to recommend and implement changes.
• Standardize and optimize operational processes to enhance efficiency and scalability across the region.
• Lead initiatives to implement best practices and continuous improvement methodologies, such as Lean, Six Sigma or 80/20. 
• Oversee the allocation and management of resources across multiple projects and programs.
• Manage relationships with external vendors, ensuring they deliver quality services on time and within budget

Keys to Success

• Leading projects independently
• Managing High Risk impacts to production, customer deadlines. More independently making decisions
• Interprets internal or external business issues and recommends best practices to improve products, processes or services
• Solves complex problems; takes a broad perspective to identify innovative solutions
• Works independently, with guidance in only the most complex situations
• Impacts the achievement of customer, operational, project or service objectives; work is guided by department objectives
• Communicates complex concepts; anticipates potential objections and influences others to adopt a different point of view
• Ability to travel internationally ~20% to 40%, project dependent

Supervisory Responsibilities

• No supervisory responsibilities 
• Requires specialized depth and/or breadth of expertise in own specialized area and general knowledge of related areas
• May lead functional teams or projects with moderate resource requirements, risk, and/or complexity
• Leads others to solve complex problems; uses analytical thinking, tools and judgement to identify innovative solution

Requirements and Preferred Skills

• 8-10 years of experience
• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Engineering, Operations or a related field; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
• Proven experience of 8+ years in Project Management within a manufacturing / industrial company and with specific experience in 80/20, efficiency programs, lean management, or process optimization.
• Proficiency in project management methodologies and tools.
• Specific project management (PMI, PMP, Lean Six Sigma, Agile…) certification is a plus.
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to apply the Pareto Principle effectively across different business functions. 
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with ability to create strong relationships with various stakeholders at all levels of the organization. 
• Recognized for assertiveness with the ability to confidently push boundaries and navigate resistance to ensure objectives are met.
• Proven ability to drive change and achieve outcomes in a role without direct authority, relying on strong interpersonal and persuasive skills
• Exceptional organizational skills with a structured and methodical approach to tasks and projects.

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