Assistant Director Project Management Jobs in Tennessee

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Astec is a global, environmentally focused infrastructure and manufacturing company of asphalt road building and aggregate processing. Our mission is to design and build the most innovative products for the industries we serve. Leveraging innovative solutions and technologies, we serve customers all over the world.

ABOUT THE POSITION

The Director of the Project Management Office (PMO) is the senior leader responsible for leading, establishing, scaling, and governing the company’s project, program, and portfolio management capabilities.  This role ensures that all key operational and strategic initiatives are executed with discipline, transparency, and measurable business impact. The Director leads the PMO team, sets enterprise project standards, and ensures focus on critical cross-functional organizational strategic objectives. This position will lead and develop Program Managers and their project teams in the areas of Business Operations, Manufacturing Operations, New Product Development, and large customer order projects, ensuring they align with Astec strategic plans and initiatives. 

Key Activities & Responsibilities

·         Define and implement the enterprise PMO governance framework, including methodologies, standards, and reporting structures.

·         Partner with senior leadership to prioritize the strategic project portfolio and ensure alignment with corporate goals.

·         Serve as the enterprise authority on project execution, risk management, and escalation pathways.

·         Oversee all major cross‑functional programs, including operational excellence, digital transformation, capacity expansion, new product development, and large ETO orders.

·         Guide and support the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) members in the development and management of Strategic Business Plans (SBP) and associated projects. 

·         Ensure that projects are proceeding according to milestones, meeting targets and expectations, and adhering to established operating parameters; negotiates changes in project resources and focus as necessary to achieve objectives and timelines.

·         Responsible for the development of KPIs to facilitate analysis and reporting of performance against budgets, plans, and strategic objectives.

·         Improve project delivery performance—on‑time, on‑budget, and within scope—through coaching, governance, and continuous improvement.

·         Establish PMO processes for intake, prioritization, resource allocation, and change control.

·         Drive consistent use of project management methodologies (Waterfall, Agile, hybrid) based on project type.

·         Organize cross-functional input (ex., Engineering, Finance, Operations, Sales, Marketing) for all strategic projects, ensuring key stakeholders have alignment and agreement on strategic projects.

·         Develop and execute cadenced project communications (project status, action items, achievements, risks) to ensure transparency of, and accountability to, the project plans.

·         Lead the development and ongoing management of the site and group level Strategic Program (Project) Management portfolio.  Facilitate and implement project rankings systems based on identified business criteria. 

·         Commitment to consistently adhere to Astec’s core values, mission statement and vision statement.

To be successful in this role, your experience and competencies are:

·         Requires a bachelor’s degree in an Operations, Engineering, or other technical discipline and 10+ years of directly related experience.  A Master’s Degree in business is highly desirable.

·         Expert level of Project Management tools and techniques; Current PMI certification highly desirable (PMP, OTI, PgMP, SCRUM).

·         Superior analytical, problem identification, and problem resolution skills.

·         Experience in Organizational Change Management (OCM).

·         Ability to have critical conversations with, and hold accountable, senior members of the management staff.  Comfortable challenging all levels of the organization in the best interests of Astec.

·         Varied exposure and understanding of cross-financial business processes in the areas of Operations, Engineering, Sales, and Product Management.

·         Experience with and demonstrated success in project delivery and use of Project Management tools and Methodologies.

·         Experience in forging strong partnerships throughout the organization, influencing leaders, and supporting and training teams without direct authority.

·         Strong understanding of milestone management and ability to set expectations to the organization.

·         Ability to bring together cross-functional groups and gain consensus.

·         Strong verbal, written and presentation skills, as well as the ability to effectively communicate with all types of staff, including technical, professional, and Executive Management.

·         Flexibility to rapidly adjust to shifting priorities and deadlines.

·         Ability to work independently with minimal supervision.

·         Must be able to solve problems at both a strategic and functional level.

·         Strong interpersonal skills and communication skills are required.

·         Ability to effectively speak publicly and make presentations is required.

Supervisor and Leadership Expectations

·         Lead and develop a team of project managers, program managers, and analysts.

·         Build enterprise project management capability through training, certification pathways, and best‑practice sharing.

·         Foster a culture of accountability, transparency, and disciplined execution.

Our Culture and Values

Employees that become part of Astec embody the values below throughout their work.

·         Continuous devotion to meeting the needs of our customers

·         Honesty and integrity in all aspects of business

·         Respect for all individuals

·         Preserving entrepreneurial spirit and innovation

·         Safety, quality and productivity as means to ensure success

WORK ENVIRONMENT  

Manufacturing Environment

Shop manufacturing environment exposures include exposure to moving mechanical parts, machinery, tools and equipment, vibration, fumes or airborne particles, motorized vehicles, welding and machining operations, outside weather conditions and exposure to the risk of electric shock.  The employee may occasionally be exposed to varying levels of dirt, dust, toxic or caustic chemicals, very warm and/or very chilly temperatures.  The noise level in the shop can be very loud at times consistent with an industrial assembly facility and may require hearing protection. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, Astec does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, gender (sex), sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, citizenship status, a person’s veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law or executive order.