Associate Manager, Department Operations, Corporate Communications

Job Location: Hershey, PA

Summary:

The Associate Manager of Department Operations for the global Corporate Communications team is responsible for providing project management coordination, support, and expertise in all aspects of projects, portfolio management, financial management and department operations to support communications prioritization, planning, and decision making.

Responsibilities:

• Portfolio Strategy and Budget:
• Work closely with senior leadership to understand the organization's strategic direction and ensure that project portfolio decisions support these objectives. Develop and implement a comprehensive project portfolio management strategy that aligns with the organization's goals and objectives.
• Manage department budget management and reporting, including vendor services procurement and Contractor management. Understands contract and procurement processes across all steps of a project, including RFP, bid process, and work orders. Support Project Leads in securing, onboarding, and managing logistics for contract resources.

Project Management Methodology, Processes, and Mentorship:

• Define, establish, and maintain project and portfolio management processes, standards, technologies, and methodologies.
• Collaborate with Project Leads to ensure that project proposals and business cases are well-defined, accurately estimated, and aligned with portfolio objectives and SLAs. Mentor Project Leads, fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and excellence.

Project and Portfolio Tracking, Analytics, and Reporting:

• Evaluate project proposals with communications leadership and prioritize projects based on strategic alignment, resource availability, and potential benefits across the portfolio.
• Recommend resources, including personnel, budget, and technology, to projects in a manner that optimizes the overall portfolio performance.
• Monitor projects' progress to identify bottlenecks and help Project Leads identify potential risks and develop mitigation strategies to ensure on-time and on-budget delivery and to identify opportunities for synergies and efficiencies among projects.
• Establish portfolio-wide success metrics, measure portfolio performance, and provide Communications leadership with reporting on the status of the project portfolio, including key performance indicators, risks, and resource utilization.

Additional Competencies:

• Negotiation, mediation, and problem-solving
• Influence and trust with diverse stakeholders
• Drive objective, timely decision-making
• Manage multiple priorities
• Facilitate and model collaboration and teamwork
• Strong oral and written communications skills

Qualifications:

• Education: Bachelor's degree required
• 5-8+ years of related work experience, preferably in CPG, Product Lifecycle Management
• PMP certified or Lean/Six Sigma preferred
• Asana or other project management software system experience a plus

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