Job Title : Program Manager - Thermal Products
Function/Department : Product Engineering/Thermal
Reports to : Thermal Program Management director, Italy
Work location : Suzhou, CN
Company Overview
Vertiv, a global organization with 31,000 employees and a turnover of 8 billion USD, designs, builds and services critical infrastructure that enables vital applications for data centers, communication networks, and commercial and industrial facilities. We support today’s growing mobile and cloud computing markets with a portfolio of power, thermal and infrastructure management solutions.
Vertiv is publicly traded at NYSE (VRT) with Global Headquarters in Westerville, Ohio, USA and regional hubs in China, India, Philippines and Italy.
Job Summary
The Program Manager will be part of the China PMO team, which manages the development and production of Thermal management products in China but serving the entire Asia market.
This role is particularly focused on Chiller products, serving the Data Center industry.
The Program Manager is responsible and accountable for the management of projects aimed at new products development, to the customization of existing products upon specific client requests (Engineered to Order) or for products transfer from region to region from inception to product launch, coordinating the efforts of all involved departments (engineering, product management, manufacturing engineering, operations, procurement, quality, order fulfillment, logistics, service, marketing, sales and other cross-functional groups) to the successful completion of the project.
The Program Manager has no direct reports but will manage people indirectly. The Program Manager is responsible for projects scope, schedule and budget. Program Manager is also driving the team to achieve the objectives of product costs and Time to Market.
Program Manager must maintain continuous alignment of program scope with Company strategic business and other organizational objectives, make recommendations to modify the program to enhance effectiveness, highlight any possible situation hindering achievement of program results and elaborate a recovery plan.
The context in which the Program Manager operates is characterized by complex relationships in an international and multicultural environment, typical of large organizations.
The Program Manager therefore must be able to navigate complexities, foster relationships, and maintain communication with stakeholders at multiple levels, including those external to the organization.
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Lead end-to-end project management for new product development, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and objectives.
- Ensure the projects are managed in accordance with the Corporate NPDI (New Product Development and Introduction) Process,
- Develop and execute project plans, including timelines, milestones, and resource allocation, while effectively managing risks and dependencies.
- Drive cross-functional collaboration and foster a culture of teamwork to achieve project deliverables and meet aggressive deadlines.
- Work with management of different operating functions to identify and obtain required resources to adequately staff projects.
- Facilitate effective communication and collaboration between various stakeholders, including engineering teams, operations, product offering and executive leadership.
- Track and report on project progress, budget utilization, and key performance indicators (KPIs) to stakeholders and senior management.
- Identify and proactively mitigate risks and issues that may impact project timelines, scope, or quality.
- Foster a culture of continuous improvement, driving innovation and efficiency in the product development process.
- Collaborate closely with the Product Management team to define product requirements, specifications, and ensure alignment with customer needs and with the Engineering team to develop and validate solutions which are compliant with the requirements set, at a competitive product cost.
- Initiate and complete post-launch product analysis and feedback collection to inform future iterations and enhancements.
QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, or related field (Master degree preferred).
- Minimum 3 years’ experience as a Project/Program Manager, leading projects or programs in a structured organization
- Excellent knowledge of the English language, both written and spoken
- Good communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to effectively engage and influence stakeholders at all levels.
- Excellent leadership and influencing skills, with the ability to motivate and guide cross-functional teams towards a common goal.
- Strong problem-solving and decision-making abilities, with a proactive and solution-oriented mindset.
- Good Project management skills, PMP certification strongly preferred.
- Proficiency in project management tools and software (e.g. MS Project, Smartsheet)
- Understanding of the product development lifecycle, from concept ideation to commercialization.
- Availability to travel up to 20% of the time, mainly within China, occasionally in other regions.
- Experience in the HVAC sector is preferred.
- Experience working with Agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban) is a plus.
