The R&D Project Manager is responsible for day-to-day management including but not limited to managing projects through the NPD Stage Gate process – Initiate, Plan, Execute, and Close.
The R&D Project Manager will implement project management tools, dashboards, and metrics to successfully facilitate and deliver on the NPD project portfolio within Fluid Solutions South (FSS) of Watts Water Technologies, Inc.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES:

Project Management:

Lead new product development efforts utilizing the Stage Gate process from concept to post-launchEnsure key stakeholders/team members follow a structured and repeatable process from ideation, business case/commercial specification, engineering/production validation, to market launch and post-launch close outFacilitate creation of project plan with required budget, resources, detailed project schedule, defining critical milestones, aligned with Stage Gate deliverablesEnsure project scope, schedule, and required resources are clearly defined and aligned across all stakeholdersDevelop resource plan to meet project timeline, work closely with functional managers to allocate required resources to achieve milestones on timeWork well with others, highly organized and detail-oriented, meet deadlines and strive to stay within budgetIdentify project risks/issues and develop contingency plans to mitigate impact on schedule or scope throughout project lifecycleSchedule and lead all required project gate review meetings with gatekeepersFacilitate and share lessons learned to ensure proliferation of knowledge and best practices implementation across the organizationPerforms other duties and responsibilities as assigned or needed

NPD Process Management:

Develop and maintain project KPIs for schedules, budget and resource allocation. Provide periodic updates to drive common understanding of status and to expose improvement opportunitiesDevelop and maintain resource management capability to support Marketing, Engineering, and Operations organizations in balancing project priority and workload constraintsAssist in improving organization’s ability to manage multiple projects on schedule and under budgetFacilitate periodic NPD/VAVE project and gate reviewsAssist in the Idea Generation process including facilitating periodic core team reviewsPerforms other duties and responsibilities as assigned or needed

EDUCATION:

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or Business or equivalent experience

QUALIFICATIONS:

5+ years of experience and at least 2 years of progressive Program/Project Management experience or equivalent combination of education and experience –Mechanical, Energetic and Electrical engineering preferredProven track record in managing new product development, introduction and product life cycleProficient with Project Management Office tools – WBS, Logic Network, Gantt Chart, Agile methodologyComputer efficiency – Intermediate level in MS office, Project, Visio, Adobe AcrobatProject Management Professional (PMP) certification is a plusExcellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to effectively discuss both commercial and technical aspects of a project to all stakeholders, including executive level communicationExcellent facilitation, problem solving, and conflict resolution skillsExcellent planning, organization, time management, and structured thinking skillsAbility to perform on a strategic and tactical levelKnowledge of both theoretical and practical aspects of product development, project management and ability to lead teams in execution of these methodologiesBroad professional experience in product development, operations, sales, engineering and marketing areas are a plusAbility to Inspire, mentor/coach and build a high performance cross-functional teams in a matrix organizationPortfolio, Schedule and Resource Management tools experience