Sr NPD Project Leader

Sr NPD Project Leader

Work Mode: Onsite

Location: Onsite 4 – Kohler, WI

BASIC FUNCTION

  As a member of a New Product Development project team:

• Focus on product categories for North America region including regional and global projects.
• Lead product development teams to launch innovative new products and improve the quality, performance and/or cost of existing products.
• Manage cross functional teams using the KBDP new product development process through market launch. Drive each Program to defined metrics.
• Develop and manage the project budget with the team including development expense, capital tooling and expense tooling. Guide the team to develop new products that meet cost targets.
• Develop and monitor project schedules and adhere to the KBDP process.  Manage deliverables and tasks within each phase of a project. Anticipates and manages tasks/risks within each project. 
• Participate in performance expectations and evaluations for cross functional teams. Provide leadership and mentoring to less experienced team members as needed.
• Communicate to senior management on project status, execution plans, and process.
• Define and facilitate decision-making process for development teams. Coaches project team personnel to develop and implement cross-functional solutions to complex issues.
• Establish and maintain relationships with senior management for the purpose of aligning NPD objectives and removing obstacles for project completion.
• Drive improvements in creative problem solving and continually improve the KBDP process and organization.
  

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES

Project Management:

• Lead regional and global projects of moderate-to-high complexity, risk and business impact.
• Provide structure and leadership for solving technically complex design and business problems.
• Proactively identify and plan for project risks, communicating risk clearly, early and appropriately to management
• Managing your assigned projects' timing and financial adherence to plan.
  

Leadership

• Challenge project teams to achieve innovative solutions.
• Willing and successful in taking moderate risk.
• Identify opportunities for organizational and process change.
• Work effectively when organizational structure or processes are unclear or conflicting.
• Lead brainstorming discussions.
• Able to facilitate & resolve conflict and problem solving.

Decision-making

• Make decisions with moderate levels of ambiguity.
• Chooses appropriate action and alternatives with rationale that is consistent with facts, constraints, and predicted consequences.
• Take independent action with insight into global and regional business impact.
• Willing to speak up and raise concern in global and regional settings.
• Provide options, scenarios and recommendations to overcome obstacles.

Skills/Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in a product development related discipline (e.g. Engineering, Manufacturing, Marketing, or Design) with a minimum of 8 years of experience in concurrent product development (project management, product design, process engineering or manufacturing engineering).
• Must demonstrate the capability to build cohesive high-performance teams, improve development processes and communicate effectively with associates and executives.
• Global product development experience is preferred but not required.
• Ability to travel 10-20% including international.

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