ECE Kinaxis Extension Lead

Assignment until end of 2028

Location: Preferred VEG or

Technical Hub locations: HAG, SLO, Porici, Mechelen

Functional Hub locations: POZ, Media City, Bucharest

Cluster HQ and ECE HQ SLO, HAG, VEG, Unterhaching, Barcelona, WAW, Dublin

We are seeking a Senior Delivery Lead to provide end-to-end project leadership for extending our Kinaxis planning solution across Mars legacy multi-sales markets. Operating with a high degree of autonomy within the broader Odyssey programme, you will drive seamless integration with existing European blueprint markets while safeguarding business continuity.

What will be your Key Responsibilities?

Project Leadership & Delivery Accountability

• Take end-to-end accountability for the successful delivery of the Kinaxis Extension, from project planning through testing, deployment, stabilization and transition into operations.
• Own and drive the integrated project delivery plan, ensuring effective sequencing of interdependent activities across Business, DT and market teams, with clear milestones, responsibilities and critical paths.
• Proactively challenge delivery assumptions, commitments and timelines, driving corrective actions and milestone replanning in agreement with the Programme PMO and Programme Lead.
• Anticipate and manage critical dependencies, resource constraints, delivery risks and issues, facilitating resolution and timely escalation.
• Maintain a holistic view of project progress and ensure consistent execution against agreed scope, quality, timing and readiness objectives.

Cross-Functional Leadership & Integration

• Act as the primary integration point across Business Owners, DT teams, Programme PMO, Change Management and market stakeholders.
• Leverage the expertise of functional leads and subject matter experts to understand technical and business dependencies, challenge assumptions and translate individual workstream plans into an integrated execution roadmap.
• Influence and align stakeholders without direct hierarchical authority, navigating competing priorities and driving accountability for delivery commitments.
• Identify and resolve cross-functional gaps, overlaps and conflicting priorities to ensure effective collaboration and timely decision-making.
• Manage interdependencies between the Kinaxis Extension and parallel solution development activities within the broader Odyssey programme.

Testing, Deployment & Market Readiness

• Play a leading role in the cross-functional orchestration of User Acceptance Testing (UAT), Parallel Run, Cutover and Nurture phases, working in close partnership with the DT PM/PMO.
• Ensure effective sequencing and coordination of business and technical activities, including testing preparation, issue resolution, deployment readiness and stabilization.
• Consolidate market readiness assessments, outstanding dependencies and critical risks to support informed deployment decisions.
• Ensure alignment between technology readiness, business readiness and change management activities, while respecting functional ownership of deliverables.
• Drive cross-functional issue resolution throughout deployment and nurture to support successful adoption and transition into business-as-usual operations.

Blueprint Integration & Business Continuity

• Ensure effective integration of Mars legacy multi-sales markets into the existing European Kinaxis blueprint landscape.
• Coordinate cross-market dependencies and regression testing requirements with relevant Business and DT teams to safeguard existing Kinaxis operations.
• Anticipate and mitigate potential impacts on existing blueprint markets, business processes and system performance.
• Promote a consistent and scalable approach to market integration, supporting future enhancements and solution evolution.

Project Governance & Performance

• Own project-level governance, ensuring effective tracking of milestones, deliverables, actions, risks, issues and critical dependencies.
• Maintain an accurate and up-to-date Project Health Dashboard, consolidating progress, delivery status, key risks and required decisions across workstreams.
• Lead weekly project governance calls, ensuring structured agendas, clear meeting minutes, documented decisions and rigorous follow-up of actions through to closure.
• Consolidate Business, DT and market updates into clear, actionable project reporting, proactively highlighting deviations, blockers and mitigation plans.
• Drive accountability for action closure, challenging owners on overdue commitments and escalating unresolved issues when required.
• Partner with the Programme PMO to ensure consistent reporting, alignment with Odyssey governance standards and visibility of cross-project dependencies.
• Capture lessons learned and drive continuous improvement of project delivery and governance practices.

What are we looking for?

• University degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Engineering, Information Technology or a related discipline.
• Recognized project management certification (PMP, PRINCE2 or equivalent) is desirable.
• Additional qualifications in supply chain planning, digital transformation or enterprise planning solutions are advantageous.
• Project Leadership: Proven experience leading complex, cross-functional transformation projects with end-to-end delivery accountability.
• FMCG Environment: Experience operating in large, multinational FMCG organizations, with an understanding of supply chain complexity and operational priorities.
• Business & DT Acumen: Strong understanding of supply chain planning processes, business operations and enterprise technology implementations.
• Multi-Market Deployment: Experience managing large-scale system rollouts across multiple markets, including deployment readiness and stabilization.
• Testing & Deployment Leadership: Proven experience orchestrating User Acceptance Testing (UAT), Parallel Run, Cutover and post-deployment Nurture phases across Business and DT teams.
• Integrated Delivery Management: Demonstrated ability to sequence interdependent activities, manage critical paths and align multiple workstreams.
• Matrix Organization Leadership: Proven ability to influence without authority, challenge functional experts and drive accountability across teams.
• Stakeholder Management: Experience engaging senior leadership, Business Owners, DT teams and external partners to resolve competing priorities.
• Programme Environment: Experience operating within complex transformation programmes, navigating governance structures and cross-project dependencies.
• Kinaxis Knowledge: Familiarity with Kinaxis or comparable supply chain planning solutions is highly desirable but not mandatory.

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