Project Manager

Job Description

Project Manager

Location: AWG Support Center - 5000 Kansas Ave

Department: Information Technology

Overview:

AWG needs a Project Manager to lead complex, critical, and enterprise-wide projects. This role plans and coordinates all aspects of projects from initiation to delivery. You will use your leadership, organization, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication skills to support business initiatives that will deliver value to AWG and its retail members. You will be asked to align people, process, and technology as an impact leader across internal and external entities and deliver quality solutions while overseeing the budget and timeline aspects of projects and enhancements. It is important you guide the team in understanding the business outcomes and value, not just the tools and process used to achieve them.

Responsibilities

Deliver Reliable Solutions, Services &/or Technology

• Partner with key internal and external stakeholders to understand and drive projects through clear project benefits, scope, requirements, timelines, and budget from initiation through deployment and closure.
• Ensure identification and assignment of appropriate project resources (internal and external) and ensure all team members understand tasks and benefits.
• Ensure that project governance processes are followed.
• Anticipate, identify, and escalate risks and issues. Ensure all risks have defined mitigation plans and issues are resolved in a timely manner.
• Have a basic understanding of the solutions and services involved to help effectively manage the project.
• Collaborate with leaders to ensure that solutions are aligned with the larger architecture and/or strategic direction of the organization.
• Ensure that delivered solutions have a clear and concise support model.
• Ability to guide teams to breakdown work to reduce complexity, improve work process efficiency and estimate effort accurately.

Own Communication & Customer Service

• Deliver clear communication on approach, status, issues, and risks on a regular basis.
• Effectively engage and build relationships with stakeholders to ensure their needs and expectations are met.
• Build a cohesive project team (both internal and external team members) and foster a collaborative environment where there is trust and a positive working atmosphere.
• Support Strategy & Execution Alignment
• Understand the AWG strategic plan and priorities and how your project aligns in the plan.
• Understand the defined PMO processes and procedures related to projects and ensure your project team is executing using these processes and procedures.
• Understand that non-IT personnel on the project team will have less familiarity with PMO deliverables and the value to the visibility and success of the project. Anticipate the needs of project artifacts and deliverables versus your project team's experience with them to ensure completion.
• Understand and report on necessary status and metrics.
• Deep understanding of the budgetary processes associated with projects and provide appropriate reporting on the project budget.
• Ensure an understanding of the project's value and benefit and how it will be measured and realized.
• Identifies and reports when there is a change in scope, budget or schedule that will put the project at risk or off track and identifies plan to get back on track.

Drive Continuous Improvement Culture

• Lead change through influence, personal advocacy, vision, and drive.
• Partner with AWG stakeholders to seek and provide continuous feedback regarding projects and how they align with larger goals and objectives.
• Be an advocate for creative thinking around projects by always considering more efficient and cost-effective ways to serve the organization and its members.
• Use regular retrospectives throughout projects to identify actions the project team members, teams, and organization can take to improve project execution.

REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor's Degree
• 5-10+ years of proven progressive performance in the management of information technology and/or business projects.
• Experience with the following business functions/functional area knowledge of the following: Flexible Leading business transformation projects across multiple IT disciplines
• Proven solution delivery experience using Agile, hybrid and/or waterfall methodologies, leveraging internal, external, and offshore skillset to optimize cost and support.
• Excellent verbal, written and interpersonal communication skills.
• Self-Motivated / Proactive
• Ability to apply best practices to the project lifecycle and effectively coordinate implementations with cross functional teams.
• Ability to plan, organize, and drive results.
• Ability to understand project financials and manage a project budget.
• Adaptable to changing business needs / Cross Functional Mindset
• Customer Focus / Orientation
• Process Improvement Mindset / Critical Thinking Proven success working with all levels of leadership.
• Excellent presentation and facilitation skills.
• Ability to travel up to 5% of the time; occasional travel associated with supporting company needs and/or vendor relations.

Additional Preferred Skills & Experience:

• PMP certification and/or agile certifications (CSM, PMI-ACP)
• Retail, wholesale, supply chain & logistics or Consumer Product Goods industry experience
• Professional services, consulting experience
• Solution evaluation/selection and implementation for large scale, complex environments, including proposal comparison/score carding and total cost of ownership and benefit estimation experience in coaching project team members to strengthen their abilities and skillsets.
• Experience with SaaS solutions.
• Analytical / Metrics Driven Mindset

Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc. (AWG) is the nation's largest cooperative food wholesaler to independently owned supermarkets, serving 1,100 member companies and more than 3,400 locations throughout 33 states from 9 wholesale divisions. Consolidated sales for AWG in 2024 exceeded $12.0 billion. In addition to its cooperative wholesale operations, the company also operates subsidiary companies that provide certain real estate and supermarket development services, and pharmaceutical products. For more information, visit AWGinc.com.

Benefits:

• Medical, Dental, & Vision Insurance
• Health Savings Account
• Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account
• Paid Vacation, Holiday, and Sick Time
• 401(k) with 4% match along with 3 other contributions
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Basic & Supplemental Life and AD&D
• Employee Assistance Program
• Short-Term and Long-Term Disability
• Wellness Program
• Yearly Holiday Bonus