Project Manager

Description

Job Title: Project Manager

Reports to: Project Manager Supervisor

Department: Operations

Location: 808 Timberlake Road, Fairmont, MN 56031 **This is an onsite position.

Position Summary: The Project Manager is responsible for the end-to-end coordination of customer and internal activities required to successfully execute projects from order entry through completion. The Project Manager serves as the primary point of contact for the customer and works with Sales, Engineering, Purchasing, Production, Service, and other departments to ensure project requirements, information, schedules, and customer commitments are clearly understood, documented, and communicated.

This position is accountable for maintaining clear awareness of project status, identifying missing information or potential issues early, driving the required coordination across teams, communicating changes and risks, and escalating issues that cannot be resolved within the Project Manager’s authority. The Project Manager does not directly manage those performing the work.

The Project Manager is expected to develop a working understanding of the project scope and customer requirements, proactively communicate with both the customer and internal teams, establish and drive realistic project schedules and ensure the project is properly prepared for delivery and commissioning. The Project Manager also maintains accurate project information in the ERP system and CRM system, coordinates and documents project changes, monitors project financial performance, and provides structured feedback following project completion.

 Exhibit and promote the following values:

• Curious Attitude: An employee who is curious is motivated to take time to question and explore new things to find answers that will ensure the best outcomes for the organization.
• Focus on Quality: An employee who values quality has integrity and produces results that meet high standards set by the organization.
• Passion for Service: An employee who is service-oriented displays a positive behavior and responds to customers using good business practices to meet their needs and expectations.
• Dedicated Spirit: A dedicated employee is one who takes ownership of their role and the whole organization to ensure that goals are achieved.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following. Other duties may be assigned:

Project Kickoff:

• Identify and resolve missing information, conflicting requirements, or discrepancies between the proposal and customer expectations before establishing final project commitments. 
• Review proposal, scope of work, estimates, PFDs, and project requirements prior to project kickoff. 
• Conduct an internal project kickoff with Sales and other internal teams to review project scope, customer requirements, schedule, deliverables, and known risks.
• Conduct an external project kickoff with the customer to review project scope, schedule, responsibilities, required customer information, and clarify any assumptions.
• Develop and maintain a realistic project schedule based on customer requirements, standard lead times, and internal commitments.
• Identify outstanding customer information, internal requirements, and project dependencies. 
• Establish action items and follow up to ensure required information and actions are completed. 
• Communicate the committed project schedule and customer expectations to the appropriate internal teams and the customer.

Customer Communication

• Serve as the primary customer contact throughout the project.
• Establish and maintain a consistent customer communication cadence appropriate to the complexity and duration of the project.
• Obtain required customer information, decisions, approvals, and site requirements.
• Maintain regular communication with the customer to understand project and site status.
• Communicate project status, requirements, schedule, and expectations.
• Coordinate customer responses to Engineering questions and requests for information.
• Provide drawings, submittals, checklists, and other project information as required.
• Communicate changes to project scope, schedule, and cost.
• Document significant customer communications, decisions, commitments, and approvals in the CRM system.
• Coordinate resolution of customer concerns and project issues.

Internal Coordination:

• Coordinate with Engineering, Purchasing, Production, Service, and other departments as required.
• Track project activities and follow up on required actions and deliverables.
• Identify project issues, delays, and missing information.
• Communicate required completion dates to Engineering, Purchasing, Production, and Service based on the project schedule.
• Coordinate with Purchasing to ensure purchased items are ordered and drop shipped when required.
• Coordinate with Production to ensure project items are scheduled and completed when required.
• Coordinate with Service to ensure they have the information needed for commissioning.
• Communicate project changes and impacts to the appropriate internal teams.
• Escalate problems that require management or departmental intervention.
• Maintain accurate project information in the ERP and CRM systems.

Delivery & Commissioning:

• Maintain awareness of the approved project scope throughout execution and identify requests or activities that fall outside the original contractual requirements. 
• Confirm shipping address, primary shipping contact, and communicate expected delivery date. 
• Monitor customer site readiness and confirm required information prior to delivery and commissioning.
• Confirm project readiness with appropriate internal teams.
• Coordinate pre-startup communication with the customer, Service, and Engineering.
• Maintain communication with Service during commissioning.
• Track startup status, delays, open issues, and customer concerns.
• Coordinate follow-up activities to complete remaining project requirements.

Project Financials & Closeout:

• Identify and document customer-requested changes, additional requirements, and other deviations from the approved project scope.
• Coordinate with Sales, Engineering and other appropriate departments to evaluate the technical, financial, and scheduling impacts of proposed changes.
• Ensure proposed changes are properly documented and approved in accordance with company procedures and established approval authority.
• Obtain customer approval and process change orders for additional work before work is performed
• Communicate approved changes to all affected departments and update documentation accordingly.
• Maintain accurate records of approved, pending, and rejected project change orders.
• Communicate significant financial variances and potential margin impacts to the Project Manager Supervisor and/or appropriate leadership.
• Review project financial performance at completion and identify opportunities to improve future project estimating and execution.
• Communicate project feedback and lessons learned to appropriate departments.

Competencies: To perform the job successfully, an individual must demonstrate the following:

• DEPENDABILITY AND RELIABILITY: Performs all duties and assignments whether or not supervision is present.
• COMMUNICATION SKILLS: Expresses ideas, information, and instruction in a positive and effective manner.
• TEAMWORK and COOPERATION: Works cooperatively with coworkers and supervisor. Acts as an effective team member with other employees through cooperation.
• JUDGMENT: Makes reasonable and appropriate decisions.
• ADAPTABILITY: Readily and effectively adjusts to changing ideas and activities.
• ROLE MODELING: Acts as a good role model for other employees.
• CREATIVITY: Shows imagination and innovation in solving problems.
• ATTENDANCE: Reliably reports for work as scheduled, works OT when requested.
• SAFETY: Follows all safety rules and works in a safe manner.
• PRODUCTIVITY: Produces an acceptable amount of work, of sufficient quality in an appropriate amount of time.

Requirements

Qualifications: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.  

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously while maintaining schedule, budget, and customer commitments.
• Ability to interpret project proposals, process flow diagrams, equipment layouts, and technical documentation.
• Ability to review project budgets, labor estimates, actual costs, margins, and change-order impacts.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to manage difficult customer conversations.
• Strong attention to detail, documentation, follow-through, and the ability to manage competing priorities.
• Familiarity with industrial automation, equipment manufacturing, bulk material handling, or related industries preferred.

Education/Experience: Bachelor’s degree or 5 years of related project management experience; or equivalent combination of education and experience preferred.

Computer Skills: To perform this job successfully, an individual should have knowledge of Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Outlook, and TEAMS. This position will use the ERP and CRM system daily to perform work.

Reasoning Ability: Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of variables in situations using logical reasoning. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.

Math Ability: Ability to calculate and work with project quantities, percentages, sales tax, costs, revenue, margins, and other basic financial information. Ability to calculate change order values and update total contract value based on approved changes. Ability to review project financial information and identify significant variances from estimates.

Language Ability: Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals. Ability to write routine reports and correspondence. Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees of the organization.
 

Certificates and Licenses: Valid Driver’s License.

Travel: Approximately 20% travel is required for training, customer job site visits, and other business-related activities. Travel may include destinations throughout North America by automobile, commercial airplane, or company airplane, with occasional overnight stays.

Work Environment and Physical Demands: The work environment characteristics and physical demands described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The employee may be required to spend time in industrial plants in proximity to equipment, processes, products, and chemicals. Certain personal protective equipment is required when in the plant or on a construction site.

Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to stand; sit and talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to walk; use hands to fingers, handle, or feel and reach with hands and arms. Communicate by talking, listening, and writing.