Temporary Operations Manager Jobs in Itasca, IL (NOW HIRING)

Temporary position (1099)

Hours- Expected 30-40 hours per week (fluctuates based on business needs)

At Curion, We Connect Brands to People. Our expertise and passionate pursuit of insights enable our clients to make informed decisions that drive meaningful impact. Our vision? Advancing the way brands connect to people to build a better future. Our core values: Integrity, Resiliency, Accountability, Curiosity, and Collaboration.

The Project Manager works collaboratively with a variety of client teams to coordinate sensory and consumer research projects to ensure successful implementation and deliverables that meet industry and company standards.

Key responsibilities: manage the day-to-day tasks necessary to carry out the research project, coordinate and facilitate all research and operational activities, including oversight of recruiting, survey programming, procurement, creating project execution documents and holding briefing calls with cross functional teams.

Primary Responsibilities

Collaboration on study creation, execution and revision of customized project work plans and milestones as appropriate, to meet changing needs and requirements of client to ensure that each study is handled effectively, efficiently and to all client specifications:

• Prioritize and oversee multiple projects at once from start to finish
• Effective application of Curion methodology and enforcement of project standards
• Collaborate on the development of project documentation including screeners and questionnaires, protocol, moderator/execution script, respondent instructions, and all other relevant field support documentation
• Attendance at study kick-off meetings with all invested parties
• Create project execution protocol instruction documents
• Schedule and conduct all recruiting and execution briefings
• Review study questionnaire program
• Oversee fieldwork and data collection
• Act as escalation contact for recruiting and fielding issues
• QC check data files, summary charts/tabulations, and verbatims and coded open-end responses
• Proof reading of research findings to present results
• Updating Director, Strategic Product Insights of study progress, anticipated problems and suggested resolutions
• Ensuring project documents are complete, current, and stored appropriately
• Maintenance of official files

Other Responsibilities

• Arranging of client visits and accompanying hospitability, ensuring that Curion is represented with the utmost professionalism and commitment to quality
• Coordination of national/international study execution as needed
• Assisting on departmental special projects as requested
• Supporting all other departmental functions on an as-needed basis

Primary Accountabilities

• Managing of day-to-day operational aspects of a project
• Responsible for controllable on time, error free and on budget project fulfillment
• QC of all internal project execution processes

Qualifications and Experience

• 3+ years’ experience in Project Management with research supplier or manufacturer
• Sensory experience on either client or supplier side
• Food/Beverage, QSR, or HBA experience preferred
• Quality-focused with attention to detail and accuracy
• Ability to prioritize and execute tasks in a high-pressure environment
• Adept at using Microsoft resources including Teams, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, and Word
• Aptitude for learning new technologies and proprietary tools and platforms
• Experience with Project Management platform, i.e., Asana
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively, verbally and in writing
• Ability to coordinate, influence and work well with internal cross functional groups
• Ability to travel up to 15 percent

Education

• BA/BS in Social Sciences, Business, Market Research, Management Science, Food Sciences, Sensory Sciences, Mathematics, or Statistics
• Master’s degree a plus

For the Temporary Project Manager, we offer a starting hourly pay range of $28.00-$35.00 based on the qualifications and experience of each individual. This is a temporary position, deemed non-exempt for overtime purposes, and, therefore, is subject to overtime compensation.

Curion is committed to equal opportunity in the terms and conditions of employment for all employees and job applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, gender identity or gender expression, national origin, disability or veteran status.

About Curion:

Curion specializes in delivering impactful insights to the world’s top CPG companies, helping them develop winning, repeatedly purchased products. Curion’s deep data-driven product insights, sensory expertise, and state-of-the-art consumer centers enable them to uncover responses to critical client objectives. With over five decades of experience in the product testing industry, Curion is dedicated to guiding clients with their proprietary XP Xperience Performance platform, connecting brands to consumers at every step.

An innovator in the industry, Curion recently developed a groundbreaking benchmarking product testing method, the Curion Score™, which has become a trusted and sought after tool within the industry. As one of the largest product and consumer insights companies in the U.S., Curion has built a reputation for excellence and trust among the world’s leading consumer brands. Curion’s commitment to innovation and expertise, coupled with a passion for delivering actionable insights, makes Curion a valuable partner for companies looking to develop and launch successful products.