Corporate Project Manager in Aurora, Illinois at Phoenix Closures Inc

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Corporate Project Manager is responsible for initiating, planning, and executing corporate projects that support strategic business objectives. The Corporate PM works within the PMO framework and partners closely with engineering, operations, finance, marketing, sales, and external stakeholders to ensure projects are delivered on time, within scope, budget, and quality expectations. The role emphasizes disciplined project execution, strong communication, and continuous improvement while building foundational program management capabilities.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

• Manage assigned corporate projects from initiation through closeout, following established PMO governance, tools, and standards.
• Develop and maintain detailed project plans, schedules, budgets, risk registers, and resource plans for assigned projects or workstreams.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams to execute project deliverables, resolve issues, and manage dependencies.
• Provide regular project status updates, metrics, and risk assessments to stakeholders and leadership.
• Maintain accurate and timely project data within PPM tools (e.g., Celoxis) and supporting documentation repositories (MS Teams).
• Partner with finance to track project spending, forecasts, and variance to budget.
• Support capital projects, equipment installations, facility modifications, and new product development initiatives under the direction of a Program Manager or PMO leadership.
• Identify project risks and issues early and recommend mitigation plans; escalate appropriately when needed.
• Ensure adherence to company policies, engineering standards, drawings, specifications, SOPs, and documentation requirements.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of project management processes, templates, and best practices.
• Build strong working relationships with internal teams, customers, and suppliers to support successful project execution.
• Ability to travel up to 50% based on project needs.

EDUCATION AND TRAINING:

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Industrial Design, or a related technical discipline.
• Formal project management training or equivalent experience required; PMP certification or progress toward PMP preferred.

EXPERIENCE:

• 5+ years of progressive experience in project management, engineering, operations, or a related technical role within a manufacturing or industrial environment; injection molding experience preferred.
• Demonstrated experience managing projects involving new product development, commercialization, capital equipment, or process improvements.
• Experience working within a PMO or structured project management environment a plus.
• Ability to manage multiple projects or workstreams simultaneously while meeting deadlines.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to influence cross-functional teams.
• Working knowledge of project management tools and Microsoft Office applications (Project, Excel, Teams, SharePoint).
• Hands-on, detail-oriented approach with the ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced environment.

EQUIPMENT USED:

• Personal computer

SOFTWARE USED:

• Microsoft Office Suite, Microsoft SharePoint, Mini-Tab, MS Teams, Celoxis PPM

CONTACTS:

• VP, Engineering & Innovation,
• Executive Staff, Directors, Functional Managers, Plant Managers
• Director of Engineering; Design Engineers; Mold/Tooling Engineers; Plant Engineers
• Internal Customers: Manufacturing, Marketing, Sales, Customer Service
• External Customers, Fillers, End users
• Suppliers