Associate Product Manager New Grad Jobs in Michigan

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Are you looking for a new opportunity? Knape & Vogt is looking for a New Product Development Project Manager to join our industry leading Marketing team! Enjoy excellent pay and incentives at a company where you will be recognized and rewarded!

Knape & Vogt Manufacturing Company has been based in Grand Rapids for over 125 years. We are a global leader specializing in the design, manufacture and distribution of functional hardware, office and healthcare ergonomics and storage-related components for original equipment manufacturers, specialty distributors, hardware chains and major home centers.

• Benefits including Medical/Dental/Vision plus many more
• Competitive Pay
• Generous Paid Time Off
• Paid Holidays
• 401K with Company Match
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Employee Discount Programs
• Bonus and Merit opportunities

• Manage multiple concurrent NPD projects from concept through commercialization
• Develop, implement, and maintain comprehensive NPD project plans, schedules, milestones, critical paths, dependencies, and deliverables
• Work with Product Managers and cross-functional stakeholders to establish project scope, objectives, requirements, timing, and key deliverables
• Translate NPD objectives into clearly defined project activities, ownership, and timelines
• Coordinate NPD activities across Product Management, Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Quality, Finance, Marketing, Sales, and other functional areas
• Track project deliverables and ensure assigned activities are progressing according to committed timelines
• Hold cross-functional team members accountable for deliverables, commitments, and milestone dates
• Identify risks, resource constraints, dependencies, and schedule impacts early and facilitate mitigation or recovery plans
• Manage the project critical path and proactively communicate activities or decisions that could impact overall project timing
• Facilitate NPD meetings that drive decisions, establish clear next steps, assign accountability, and maintain project momentum
• Escalate unresolved issues, resource constraints, and timing risks when necessary
• Ensure projects consistently follow Knape & Vogt's established NPD process and required project documentation
• Evaluate project progress and recommend adjustments when necessary to achieve NPD objectives
• Maintain disciplined project execution while applying an agile mindset when priorities, requirements, or business conditions change

• Partner closely with Product Managers throughout the NPD lifecycle to translate product strategy, market requirements, and business objectives into executable project plans.Support Product Management in advancing priority product initiatives through the NPD process
• Provide project insights, timing implications, risk assessments, and cross-functional input that help inform product development decisions
• Maintain alignment between product objectives, technical development activities, manufacturing requirements, and commercialization timing
• Support Product Managers in evaluating project feasibility, timing, dependencies, and resource requirements
• Ensure project execution supports Product Management's commercialization plans and market objectives
• Coordinate with Marketing resources as needed to ensure NPD timing and product development milestones support downstream commercialization activities
• Maintain visibility across the NPD portfolio to help Product Management and Marketing understand project timing, competing priorities, resource constraints, and potential business impacts

• Serve as the central communication point for assigned NPD projects
• Provide clear, concise, and timely project status updates to Product Management, cross-functional teams, and leadership
• Maintain visibility into overall project health, critical path, milestone completion, schedule variance, risks, dependencies, resource constraints, and key decisions.
• Clearly communicate what is on track, what is at risk, what decisions are required, and who owns the next action.
• Develop and maintain standardized NPD dashboards and executive-level status reporting
• Report project issues together with recommended solutions, recovery plans, and potential business impacts
• Maintain current project documentation, meeting notes, decisions, action items, and accountability

• Support the continued development and improvement of Knape & Vogt's NPD process
• Identify opportunities to improve NPD speed, consistency, accountability, communication, and cross-functional execution
• Apply Stage-Gate, Agile, or hybrid project management practices appropriately within the NPD environment.
• Serve as the subject matter expert for Microsoft Planner as the NPD project management platform, establishing standardized project structures, workflows, schedules, and reporting
• Develop and maintain NPD project templates, tools, documentation, and best practices
• Establish consistent practices for critical path management, risk tracking, issue resolution, status reporting, and project governance
• Support visibility into the overall NPD portfolio, including project priorities, resource needs, timing conflicts, and dependencies

• Work Experience: Minimum of five (5) years of project management experience, with demonstrated experience managing or supporting New Product Development initiatives in a cross-functional environment. Experience working closely with Product Management, Marketing, Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and other functional stakeholders. Demonstrated experience managing multiple concurrent product development projects, including project schedules, critical paths, milestones, dependencies, risks, and deliverables.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business Administration, Product Management, Engineering, Operations, Project Management, or a related field
• Computer Skills: Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Planner and Microsoft 365 tools, including Teams, Excel, PowerPoint, and SharePoint; demonstrated ability to develop and maintain project plans, schedules, dashboards, and reporting tools.