Interim Project Manager - Concept Development

at  DS Smith

About us
DS Smith are a leading provider of sustainable packaging solutions, paper products and recycling services in more than 30 different countries. It’s a very exciting time to join, as we have committed to investing in our future across our strategic growth enablers within Innovation (R&D), Sustainability and Digital & Data.
About the role
We are looking for an experienced Project Manager (PM) within our Group Innovation Concept Development Team on a fixed term 12-15 month maternity cover basis.
The Group Innovation team at DS Smith was established in 2019, with the mandate to initiate, develop and support the deployment of breakthrough, next-generation packaging innovations that can deliver significant value to our customers and the company.
As the Project Manager, you will work within the Concept Development phase of the Innovation process at the very front end of our Innovation Stage Gate model.

Within Concept Development we have 2 workstreams:

• Insight: the collection and extrapolation of real insights, identifying future challenges and needs, enabling the development of breakthrough innovations.
• Ideation: The formulation of ideas and concepts (includes problem cleaning, concept generation, refining/filtering and validation)

As the successful candidate you will be add structure, ensure process is followed and report on activities that happen within these two workstreams to ensure that team efficiency is maximised.
You will use your prior project management skills to will work closely with the Product Development Director and multi-disciplinary teams of Creatives, Engineers, Machine Systems Specialists, Commerical, Testing Lab specialists etc, so a good generalist knowledge background would be helpful.
The team is based at the brand new, state-of-the-art Group Innovation and R&D facility in Redditch, Birmingham. The role is hybrid, with the flexibility to work from home as well as regularly visiting the facility. (Travel Expenses covered)

Coordination of activities within the Ideation phase of concept development to include:

• Facilitation of ideation workshops within the concept/product/technical teams
• Structuring the workshops, noting actions for individuals, sharing actions/next steps
• Following up on individual’s progress to ensure projects run to time, flagging any problems or blockers that might prevent this
• Diary Management -booking meetings/workshops
• Creating suitable project trackers/gantts to aid in tracking of project progress
• Building “Sprint” process plans and KANBANs
• Working with external consultants and specialists coordinating relevant workstreams
• Coordinating the creation of any presentation material/collateral required to communicate concepts at different stages of the process (with the support of a visual communication specialist)
• Reporting of activity within Concept Development, including creation of any reporting material, matrices and presenting updates at meetings/events

About you

• A proven track record of successfully managing projects/processes (SPRINTS in particular would be helpful)
• Experience running/facilitating workshops and meetings requirement
• Some knowledge of the FMCG or Packaging industry would also be helpful but not a requirement
• IT literate: - Sound knowledge and experience of Microsoft applications, Excel, Word, Powerpoint, etc. Highly organised, structured and coordinated
• Flexible and comfortable with multi-tasking
• Agile in their mindset, i.e. comfortable with ambiguity and frequent changes in project direction or priority as and when required
• A team player, creating a collaborative, productive environment
• Confident communication skills, comfortable working with multidisciplinary teams
• Open to travel as and when required

“To fulfil our purpose of redefining packaging for a changing world, we aim to build a diverse, motivated, and engaged workforce. Our goal is to create a culture of inclusion where everyone is treated fairly, differences are valued, and everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed.
Our people come from diverse backgrounds, bring different perspectives, ideas and experiences to generate unique solutions focused on present and future sustainability challenges. We welcome all candidates to apply, even those not meeting all criteria.

Please refer the Job description for details