Project Director

Position Summary

The Project Director is responsible for leading high‑priority, enterprise‑wide initiatives while establishing a centralized Project / Program Management Office (PMO) that enables consistent, disciplined execution across the organization. This role combines hands‑on leadership of strategic projects with responsibility for defining project standards, governance, and portfolio visibility. The Project Director owns assigned initiatives from initiation through post‑implementation review and partners closely with executive leadership and cross‑functional stakeholders.

While the role does not initially include direct reports, the Project Director will routinely lead and influence project teams across the business. This is a highly visible role critical to executing corporate strategy and building long‑term project delivery capability.

• Own end‑to‑end delivery of assigned strategic initiatives, including scope, planning, execution, and post‑project review.
• Manage interdependencies across concurrent initiatives.
• Develop and maintain comprehensive project plans, timelines, milestones, budgets, and resource requirements.
• Ensure projects are delivered on time, within scope, and within budget, while meeting defined quality standards.
• Design and implement a scalable PMO framework, including methodologies, tools, templates, and reporting standards.
• Establish project intake, prioritization, and governance processes with senior leadership.
• Provide portfolio‑level visibility into project status, risks, capacity, and outcomes.
• Build project management capability across the organization through standards and coaching.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for project and portfolio communications.
• Partner with executives and functional leaders to align initiatives with business priorities.
• Interface regularly with executive leadership, business unit leaders, and cross‑functional teams.
• Facilitate decision‑making by clearly communicating project status, risks, dependencies, and recommendations.
• Prepare and present project updates to senior leadership, governance committees, and other key stakeholders.
• Lead and coordinate efforts across multiple lines of business, including but not limited to Operations, Finance, IT, Legal, HR, and Marketing.
• Align stakeholders around project objectives, deliverables, and timelines.
• Leverage influence to resolve issues, remove obstacles, and maintain momentum.
• Proactively manage project risks, issues, and change control.
• Lead post‑implementation reviews and continuously improve PMO and project practices.
• Develop mitigation plans and elevate concerns as appropriate.
• Manage scope changes through formal change control processes.
• Establish governance structures, decision rights, success metrics, and best practices.
• Track progress against key performance indicators and project success metrics.
• Ensure appropriate documentation is created, maintained, and archived.
• Lead post‑project reviews to evaluate outcomes, lessons learned, and process improvements.
• Document and communicate findings to stakeholders and leadership.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of project management practices and methodologies.

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Management, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience).
• 7+ years leading complex, cross‑functional projects or programs.
• Proven success delivering high‑visibility, enterprise initiatives.
• Strong executive communication, presentation and facilitation skills.
• Proven ability to successfully manage a cadre of assignments as the same time.
• Experience working within a PMO.
• Proficiency with project management tools and methodologies (e.g., MS Project, Smartsheet, Jira, Asana, Agile, Waterfall, or hybrid approaches).

• PMP or equivalent certification.
• Experience establishing a PMO.
• Familiarity with portfolio management, budgeting, and business case development.
• Experience working directly with C‑suite and senior leaders.

• Ownership mindset and accountability.
• Strategic thinking with operational rigor.
• Exceptional organizational and time management skills.
• Structured problem solving and sound judgment.
• Strong problem‑solving and decision‑making ability.
• Ability to lead through influence without direct authority.
• Comfortable operating in fast‑paced, evolving environments.

3 days on‑site at Home Office in Lombard, IL.