Breakthrough Innovation Project Lead

Rich's, also known as Rich Products Corporation, is a family-owned food company dedicated to inspiring possibilities. From cakes and icings to pizza, appetizers and specialty toppings, our products are used in homes, restaurants and bakeries around the world. Beyond great food, our customers also gain insights to help them stay competitive, no matter their size. Our portfolio includes creative solutions geared at helping food industry professionals compete in foodservice, retail, in-store bakery, deli, and prepared foods, among others. Working in 100 locations globally, with annual sales exceeding $4 billion, Rich's is a global leader with a focus on everything that family makes possible. Rich's®-Infinite Possibilities. One Family.

PURPOSE STATEMENT

The Project Leader, Breakthrough Innovation (BTI) provides strategic leadership and governance through influence and project management best practices to the BTI portfolio. Supports innovation portfolio management, BTI reporting and insights, and serves as the subject matter expert of Agile for Innovation methodology in the region. Partners with key stakeholders across the region to effectively lead cross-functional teams to ensure successful discovery, development, and commercialization of BTI projects.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES/OUTCOMES

• Partners with BTI Business Development Managers to translate projects from front-end innovation to tangible development with chartered, cross-functional teams leveraging Agile for Innovation principles.
• Creates a team environment that fosters collaboration, speed, efficiency, creativity and encourages diverse thinking to promote and nurture innovation.
• Defines and drives BTI project strategy and measurable success through leadership and influence.
• Supports Discover Phase efforts through the coordination of and engagement in immersion activities, with understanding of results and impact to platform development.
• Leads BTI Develop Phase projects. Defines and drives measurable, milestone-based progress guided by Agile for Innovation principles to accelerate innovation, ensuring functional deliverables are completed for business case development.
• Successfully transitions BTI Develop Phase projects to Commercialization through partnership with business leads and category project managers. Ensures project continues to meet innovation best practices and governance.
• Ensures BTI project team engagement and alignment; manages risk and leads team to overcome potential roadblocks. Ensures proper transparency with business to issues/challenges, managing to resolution when possible and escalates when not; ability to properly reprioritize based on unplanned events.
• Provides project management expertise to BTI projects, ensuring project next steps clarity to the organization. Leads project/process management best practices to deliver project results within target metrics. Drives BTI process requirements (templates, deliverables, and requirements for IST Governance) for leadership alignment and support.
• Initiates open communication with work team resources: project activity, key milestone deliverables and launch windows, fostering a fast-paced environment. Provide leadership through influence to drive accountability, conflict management, and results for strategic execution.
• Supports integrated innovation portfolio management within the region through accurate BTI project data, resource utilization, and metrics reporting.
• Recognizes and rewards behaviors that support innovation, with continuous reflection to extract actionable insights and identify continuous improvement.
• Drives innovation capability initiatives in the region when required and drives process improvement through project learnings.

KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS/EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor's degree in business or related field with 5+ years of experience; MBA preferred
• Minimum 5+ years of proven experience developing and executing creative and successful project and program governance
• Demonstrated leadership of a cross-functional team
• Demonstrated business acumen
• Excellent facilitator, strong conflict resolution skills
• Demonstrated problem solving and strategic thinking ability
• Ability to influence others, often without direct authority, to produce results
• Ability to work independently with little direction (self-reliant and independent)
• Ability to communicate and work effectively with multiple levels of management and functions, including proven communication and presentation skills
• Attention to detail
• Experience with new product development principles
• Ability to work in a rapidly changing environment with project ambiguity, diverse personalities and team members - adapt to shifting priorities, demands and timelines #IND123 #LI-RT1

Rich Products Corporation, its subsidiaries and affiliates ("Rich's"), are committed to a policy of Equal Employment Opportunity and will not discriminate against an applicant or employee on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, national origin or ancestry, sex, age, physical or mental disability, veteran or military status, genetic information, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state, or local law. The information collected by this application is solely to determine suitability for employment, verify identity, and maintain employment statistics on applicants.

Applicants with disabilities may be entitled to reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act and certain state or local laws. A reasonable accommodation is a change in the way things are normally done which will ensure an equal employment opportunity without imposing undue hardship on Rich's. Please contact Rich's Human Resources department at [email protected] if you need assistance completing this application or to otherwise participate in the application process.