Program Management Leader

Job Family Group:

Business Transformation

Are you ready to do something remarkable? Ready to collaborate with an incredible team to solve problems that improve people's lives? Meet Ingevity.

At Ingevity, we develop innovations that purify, protect and enhance the world around us. Our products enable oil to flow better, crops to grow fuller, roads to last longer and ensure that the air we all breathe is cleaner.

Our people come from all different backgrounds and help reimagine new possibilities daily. We understand there is no challenge too big and no contribution too small. We seek out new ideas for tackling complex problems and celebrate achieving the improbable. We value each person's unique talents and synergize them to create meaningful impact and sustainable solutions for our customers and our world.

Bold. Energetic. Ingenious. Genuine. If these qualities describe you, we'd love for you to join Ingevity!

We're looking for a hands‑on leader who will own and evolve the Ideation and Stage Gate processes, support commercialization of new businesses, and provide strategic portfolio analysis to drive growth in the Performance Materials segment. This role reports directly to the Vice President for Growth and partners closely with R&T, Commercial, and Business Development to operationalize new businesses and support strategic portfolio decisions.

If you thrive in ambiguity, enjoy building new processes, and are passionate about helping teams learn and grow, you'll do well here.

This role may be classified at the Manager, Senior Manager, or Director level depending on the experience and capability of the selected candidate. The responsibilities below reflect the full scope of the role; some elements may be emphasized more heavily at the Director level.

• Own and continuously improve the Ideation and Stage Gate processes, including communications, training, and direct support for teams working on each opportunity.
• Facilitate structured reviews, drive "accelerate/kill/pause" decisions, and ensure resource allocation aligns with strategic priorities.
• Develop and maintain clear criteria for advancing, pausing, or stopping projects, and ensure these are applied consistently across the portfolio.
• Champion a culture of transparency, learning, and disciplined execution - within Performance Materials and across Ingevity.

• Provide direct support to the VP of Growth in portfolio analysis, financial modeling, scenario planning, and strategic recommendations.
• Develop and report on KPIs, dashboards, and executive summaries for portfolio health, pipeline progression, and value creation.
• Ensure that portfolio decisions are grounded in market viability, right to win, and differentiated value proposition.

• Partner with the Global Commercialization Manager and Business Development to operationalize new businesses as they prepare for and start commercialization.
• Work closely with R&T, Commercial, and Operations to ensure that technical development aligns with customer needs and market feedback.
• Help teams translate early‑stage ideas into actionable commercialization plans, including positioning, value proposition, and go‑to‑market strategy.

• Lead training and communications to embed Stage Gate and Ideation processes within the Performance Materials segment and across Ingevity.
• Foster a culture of innovation, discipline, and continuous improvement - helping teams learn from both successes and failures.
• Prepare and deliver compelling presentations for senior management, the Board, and cross‑functional stakeholders.

• 7+ years (Manager), 10+ years (Sr. Manager/Director) in program/project management, portfolio management, or innovation leadership in B2B industrial markets (chemicals, materials, automotive, filtration, engineered products, or similar).
• Demonstrated success taking ideas from concept through Stage Gate to commercialization, with hands‑on…