Inventory Project Manager Jobs in Chicago, IL (NOW HIRING)

The Supply Chain and Inventory Project Manager serves as the dedicated PMO resource for Supply Chain and Inventory initiatives across the Lanco Group of Companies. As a Supply Chain PM, you will be responsible for driving project execution, accountability, governance, and continuous improvement across all Supply Chain, Procurement, Logistics, Inventory Management, Distribution, Transportation, Strategic Sourcing, Supplier Development, and Operational Excellence initiatives.

This role serves as the central coordinator for all Supply Chain project activities utilizing JIRA as the primary project management platform, ensuring ownership, action management, delegation, accountability, and timely execution of all strategic and tactical initiatives.

In addition, this position will support the identification, evaluation, and implementation of emerging technologies, AI-driven solutions, and automation opportunities designed to enhance supply chain performance and integrate with Epicor ERP and associated business systems.

The ideal candidate possesses a strong combination of project management expertise, supply chain knowledge, process improvement experience, technology aptitude, and organizational leadership skills.

This is an onsite position in Homewood, IL. No remote.

What you will do:

• Establish and manage the Supply Chain PMO framework across all Lanco companies.
• Assist with strategic alignment of Subject Matter Experts to support project activities as necessary.
• Serve as the functional owner and administrator of Supply Chain project execution within JIRA.
• Keep project documentation up to date within project repositories in a centralized location.
• Coordinate project management and documentation for enterprise-wide Supply Chain and Logistics initiatives from concept through implementation.
• Facilitate meetings between Supply Chain initiatives within Lanco operations, Manufacturing, Engineering, Finance, IT, Sales, and Executive Leadership teams – when applicable.
• Facilitate project prioritization and resource allocation across all company’s Purchasing Departments.
• Facilitate and nurture a working environment driven by accountability for all team members within any given project.
• Ability to create project plans from external SOW’s and internal team task breakdowns.
• Ensure that the scope, business case, objectives, and success metrics for projects are well defined, understood, measured, and reported effectively.
• Define KPI for measuring resource capacity, project valuation, cost, risk, status, and performance.
• Understand the interdependence between technology, operations, and business needs.
• Monitor project status, milestones, risks, dependencies, and issue resolution activities.
• Ensure ownership is clearly assigned for all tasks and deliverables.
• Ensure that cross-functional team leaders have a clear understanding of deliverables within time and budget.
• Create workflows, dashboards, sprint boards, and project roadmaps.
• Conduct project postmortems, continuous improvement sessions and project retrospectives.
• Partner with the Lanco Technology team in evaluating emerging Supply Chain AI technologies and software solutions.
• Partner with Corporate MIS and PMO teams to evaluate integration opportunities with Epicor ERP.
• Build business cases and ROI models for proposed technology investments.
• Coordinate pilot programs and proof-of-concept testing.
• Establish implementation roadmaps for approved solutions.

What we are looking for:

• 5 to 7+ years of project management experience on progressively more complex projects.
• Bachelor’s degree preferred but not required. CAPM or PMP certification and or applicable coursework completed.
• Experience managing projects that span enterprise-wide product development involving cross-functional teams in both business, operations, and technical domains.
• Proven track record of successful delivery of multiple projects simultaneously, building appropriate processes and tools.
• Demonstrated working experience as Scrum Master with exposure to project management tools such as Microsoft Project, JIRA, Clickup, Basecamp and or Monday.com. 
• Excellent oral and written communication and interpersonal skills are absolutely required.
• Strong relationship building/partnering skills and the ability to work with varying levels of stakeholders.
• Demonstrated knowledge and usage of standard project management concepts, practices, and procedures.
• Thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced environment where you must take on multiple responsibilities and do what it takes to get things done.
• Experienced in combining the best of Agile and Waterfall practices (Hybrid approach to Project Management).
• Strong understanding of Procurement, Strategic Sourcing, and Logistics.
• Ability to influence stakeholders across all organizational levels.

Work Environment

Office-based role with controlled conditions and moderate noise. Occasional travel may be required based on business needs.

Compensation/Benefits

We offer a collaborative environment focused on innovation and continuous improvement. The salary range for this role is $70,000 to $120,000, with final compensation based on experience, education, skills, and location. Benefits include medical, dental, vision, life insurance, PTO, and a 401(k) plan.

Commitment to Excellence

At Lanco, our people are our strength. We are committed to a safe, collaborative, and continuously improving workplace guided by our core values: Live Safe and Secure | Build Relationships | Be Reliable | Be Proactive | Celebrate Change

Equal Employment Opportunity

Lanco is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, religion, age, disability, military status, genetic information, or any other protected category under applicable law.