Innovation PMO is part of Global Marketing services and its main objectives are aligned with Unilever 2030 GAP strategy.
Innovation PMO’s mission statement is “We are the go to team for facilitating excellent project delivery in innovation. Our people, processes, tools and systems provide the expertise to challenge timelines in order to accelerate plans or combat delays, putting the appropriate risk profile in place. Our support enables decision making to happen at the right time, with the right information, always ensuring we are aligned with Unilever’s vision and objectives”.
Key Accountabilities:
(Please describe the responsibilities and end results that would be expected.)
- Innovation Project PMO Support Kick Off & Overall Direction – Ensure project objective and the ‘how’ to deliver is clear and understood by the entire project team. Facilitate in the definition of project goals, objectives, scope, milestones and deliverables. Define project tasks and resource requirements with a marketer and the rest of a x-functional team.
- Scope & Change Control – Ensure completeness and alignment of full scope with project teams, and manage / reduce unnecessary scope creep via change control measures.
- Project Governance & Meetings – Establish WOW’s for the project team including meeting cadence, documentation, communication, roles and responsibilities. Coach the cross functional project team on best practice project management. For allocated projects, collate agendas, facilitate meetings, distribute minutes and track actions. Ensure to drive discussions, ask impartial questions, anticipate and highlight potential impacts.
- Stakeholder Engagement & Decision Making – Identify and ensure appropriate engagement with stakeholders who have an interest or influence over the project. Ensure engagement with regional and local representatives at key stages of the project. Support decision making forums through preparation of materials and overall messages for decision moments for Investor Boards (IB), or for key stages in the project to engage with stakeholders. Co-present with a marketer at the IB.
- Network Creation & Management – Support the project team with scenario planning based on the outlined objectives of the project, identifying acceleration opportunities and applying SPEEDO principles where possible. Accountable for creating and baselining the project network, ensuring it is regularly reviewed with the project team and highlighting areas for focus throughout. Manage the network through using UPM tools and systems, ensuring the delivery of projects to specified timelines. Critical path analysis will be a regular requirement as well as identifying and suggesting areas to accelerate.
- Risks, Issue & Interdependency Management – Ensure project risks are assessed, managed and mitigated with the appropriate level of stakeholder engagement. Lead cross-functional risk workshops and ensure ongoing management of mitigation the plan. Support project teams with issue management and resolution, understanding appropriate escalation channels. Actively manage interdependencies through highlighting them to the project team and ensuring links are established with other projects to gain clarity on any potential impacts.
- Reporting & Tracking – Track project deliverables using appropriate tools and reporting processes. Ensure Unilever standard project management systems are used to plan, monitor and review project execution with the relevant KPI’s. Capture and communicate lessons learned on innovation projects.
- Supporting Team Lead:
- Identify improvement areas and discuss with Team Lead for further development and implementation.
- Analyse team survey feedback (quarterly), discuss with Team Lead, define action plan for team members to close any gaps.
- Track main internal and external metrics and KPIs.
- Help prepare regular stakeholder reports and presentations.
- Be a representative and advocate of the Innovation PMO team
Professional Skills:
- Must have a strong knowledge and understanding of innovation and NPD (min 7 years of experience.
- Proven experience in managing innovation projects to achieve successful project outcomes.
- Proven knowledge and experience of stage gate and project delivery within fast paced business Project Management: External certification (e.g. IPMA, APM, PMI, Prince2)
- Advanced MSP user.
- Strong relationship building and interpersonal skills, experience in coaching/mentoring teams and individuals (directly or indirectly).
- Effective communicator at all levels, with the ability to impact and influence.
- Good presentation skills are required, plus the ability to conduct effective meetings and presentations with large teams.
- Able to demonstrate good capability in problem solving, decision making and making sound judgement in time pressured situations.
- Holding project teams accountable for delivering against plan, being assertive but not aggressive.
- Experience in managing and mitigating risks and issues.
- Ability to think strategically beyond the role to support the development of the Innovation PMO team
- Effectively lead and influence change management.
- Professional and positive approach – a can-do attitude with a willingness to go the extra mile when required. Dynamic, self-motivated and self sufficient.
- Ability to cope with pressure and ability to flex and adapt ways of working to suit the needs of others.
Experience Required:
- A solid understanding of innovation / NPD Processes is essential.
- At least 7 years of Innovation Project Management experience.
- Has been part of supply chain, manufacturing, R&D, with proven experience in supporting innovation projects.