Operations Project Manager
- Hiring from
- United States
- Work type
- Remote
- Posted
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About Us
We are a global climate technologies company engineered for sustainability. We create sustainable and efficient residential, commercial and industrial spaces through HVACR technologies. We protect temperature-sensitive goods throughout the cold chain. And we bring comfort to people globally. Best-in-class engineering, design and manufacturing combined with category-leading brands in compression, controls, software and monitoring solutions result in next-generation climate technology that is built for the needs of the world ahead.
Whether you are a professional looking for a career change, an undergraduate student exploring your first opportunity, or recent graduate with an advanced degree, we have opportunities that will allow you to innovate, be challenged and make an impact. Join our team and start your journey today!
Position Summary
The Operations Project Manager will lead and support cross-functional projects within the Operations functions of Copeland, including Manufacturing Operations, Procurement, Supply Chain, Logistics, and Operational Excellence. This role is responsible for translating business priorities into structured project plans, coordinating execution across functions, managing risks and dependencies, and ensuring projects deliver measurable improvements in safety, quality, customer delivery, cost, inventory, and productivity.
The successful candidate will serve as a central coordinator among plant operations, engineering, quality, procurement, planning, logistics, finance, information technology, external suppliers, and service providers. This role is designed for a candidate who combines practical operational knowledge, strong analytical skills, and disciplined project execution in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
Key Responsibilities
Project Planning & Governance
- Lead small to medium operational projects, or defined workstreams within larger programs, from initiation through closeout
- Develop project charters, scope statements, work breakdown structures, schedules, budgets, resource plans, and measurable success criteria
- Maintain action, risk, issue, decision, dependency, and change-control logs; ensure owners and due dates are clear and current
- Establish project governance, meeting cadence, stage-gate reviews, and concise status reporting for sponsors and stakeholders
- Monitor schedule, cost, scope, benefits, and resource performance; escalate variances with fact-based recovery recommendations
- Capture lessons learned and transition completed deliverables to process owners with documented controls and sustainment plans
Stakeholder & Change Management
- Coordinate cross-functional teams and facilitate effective working sessions, readiness reviews, and steering committee updates
- Build productive relationships with plant leadership, functional teams, suppliers, carriers, and other external partners
- Communicate project status, decisions, risks, and trade-offs clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences
- Use practical change-management methods to assess stakeholder impacts, prepare communications and training, address resistance, and reinforce adoption
- Create a culture of accountability by following up on commitments and driving actions to closure
Project Management Reporting
- Develop dashboards and analyses to support decisions, and monitor readiness
- Define baseline performance, target outcomes, KPI ownership, and benefit-realization tracking before implementation
- Protect confidential information and follow applicable cybersecurity, data governance, and records-management requirements
Operations Functions Support
- Manufacturing Operations
- Support production readiness, capacity expansion, equipment installation, facility changes, product transfers, new product introductions, and manufacturing ramp-up initiatives
- Assess constraints affecting throughput, capacity, takt time, cycle time, yield, changeover, and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE)
- Partner with Environmental, Health and Safety and Quality teams to ensure project deliverables comply with site requirements and do not compromise safe work practices or product quality
Procurement
- Coordinate sourcing and procurement workstreams, including requirements definition, supplier selection support, purchase-order milestones, tooling, samples, qualifications, and delivery readiness
- Track critical supplier commitments, lead times, capacity, quality, cost, and recovery actions that may affect project objectives
- Ensure supplier changes and project decisions are documented and communicated to affected planning, engineering, quality, and operations teams
- Supply Chain and Logistics
- Lead or support initiatives that improve on-time delivery, inventory turns, freight performance, warehouse throughput, and end-to-end material flow
- Support Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP), demand and capacity planning, and scenario analysis for changing volume or product-mix assumptions
- Evaluate warehouse, transportation, distribution, packaging, material flow, and inbound/outbound logistics capabilities; identify capacity gaps and corrective actions
Operational Excellence
- Lead or support Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, value-stream mapping, 5S, standard work, visual management, and waste-reduction initiatives
- Facilitate structured problem-solving using methods such as A3, DMAIC, 5 Whys, fishbone analysis, Pareto analysis, and root cause/corrective action
- Develop current-state and future-state process maps; define countermeasures, implementation plans, control plans, and benefit-tracking methods
- Identify opportunities to improve productivity, quality, throughput, lead time, inventory, cost, and process reliability
- Promote process standardization and adoption through stakeholder engagement, training, documentation, and change management
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, Operations Management, Logistics, Business, or a related field; equivalent relevant experience may be considered
- Minimum one (1) year of experience in project coordination or project management within manufacturing, procurement, supply chain, logistics, operational excellence, engineering, or a related environment
- Experience developing and maintaining project plans, schedules, action trackers, risk and issue logs, status reports, and executive-ready summaries
- Working knowledge of manufacturing operations or some combination of the following: procurement, production planning, inventory management, logistics, warehousing, supplier management, or continuous improvement
- Experience working with cross-functional teams and influencing stakeholders without direct authority
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to organize large data sets and translate findings into actions
- Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including pivot tables, lookups, charts, and data analysis; proficiency in PowerPoint, Word, and Teams
- Experience with project management tools such as Microsoft Project, Planner, Smartsheet, Cora or equivalent
- Familiarity with ERP/MRP systems such as Oracle or SAP
- Clear written and verbal communication, effective meeting facilitation, and strong attention to detail
- Ability to manage multiple priorities, adapt to changing requirements, and maintain execution discipline under deadlines
- ·Ability to travel to manufacturing sites, suppliers, warehouses, or distribution centers as project needs require
Preferred Qualifications
- 2 – 5 years of experience in project coordination or project management within manufacturing, procurement, supply chain, logistics, operational excellence, engineering, or a related environment
- Experience supporting a plant expansion, equipment installation, production transfer, new product introduction, supplier transition, warehouse change, or manufacturing ramp-up
- Hands-on experience with Lean tools, Kaizen events, value-stream mapping, standard work, or structured root cause analysis
- Experience building Power BI dashboards, working with Power Query, or using advanced Excel data models
- Experience with AI tools, such as Microsoft’s CoPilot
- Experience with change management, benefits realization, or process-control plans that sustain improvements after project closeout
- Experience working with global suppliers, international supply chains, or multi-site manufacturing networks
- Understanding of basic financial concepts such as capital versus expense, business cases, payback, return on investment, purchase price variance, and cost savings validation
- Knowledge of quality and operational systems such as ISO 9001, IATF 16949, or environmental, health and safety requirements relevant to the business
- Bilingual English/Spanish or other language capability relevant to the operating network
Preferred Certifications
- Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) or Project Management Professional (PMP)
- Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or equivalent continuous improvement certification
- ASCM/APICS CPIM, CSCP, or CLTD, depending on the role emphasis
- Prosci Change Management certification or equivalent
Our Commitment to Our People
Across the globe, we are united by a singular Purpose: Sustainability is no small ambition. That’s why everything we do is geared toward a sustainable future—for our generation and all those to come. Through groundbreaking innovations, HVACR technology and cold chain solutions, we are reducing carbon emissions and improving energy efficiency in spaces of all sizes, from residential to commercial to industrial.
Our employees are our greatest strength. We believe that our culture of passion, openness, and collaboration empowers us to work toward the same goal - to make the world a better place. We invest in the end-to-end development of our people, beginning at onboarding and through senior leadership, so they can thrive personally and professionally.
Flexible and competitive benefits plans offer the right options to meet your individual/family needs: medical insurance plans, dental and vision coverage, 401(k) and more. We provide employees with flexible time off plans, including paid parental leave, vacation and holiday leave.
Together, we have the opportunity – and the power – to continue to revolutionize the technology behind air conditioning, heating and refrigeration, and cultivate a better future. Learn more about us and how you can join our team!
Our Commitment to Inclusion & Belonging
At Copeland, we cultivate a strong sense of inclusion and belonging where individuals of all backgrounds, and with diverse perspectives, are embraced and treated fairly to enable a stronger workforce. Our employee resource groups play an important role in culture and community building at Copeland.
Work Authorization
Copeland will only employ those who are legally authorized to work in the United States. This is not a position for which sponsorship will be provided. Individuals with temporary visas such as E, F-1 with OPT or CPT, H-1, H-2, L-1, B, J or TN, or who need sponsorship for work authorization now or in the future, are not eligible for hire.
Equal Opportunity Employer
Copeland is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, color, religion, national origin, age, marital status, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, disability or protected veteran status. We are committed to providing a workplace free of any discrimination or harassment.
If you have a disability and are having difficulty accessing or using this website to apply for a position, please contact: copeland.careers@copeland.com
About Us
With $5B of global revenue, Copeland is a leading provider of compression products, electronics, software, and solutions across many applications within Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration (HVACR), where macro and regulatory trends towards environmental sustainability, leads to changes in HVACR technology. Other products include other heating applications, food service and retail, transportation, and healthcare/life sciences. This new business also has a solution portfolio that manages, monitors, and controls refrigeration units in the commercial setting, as well as software solutions that measure and monitor temperature conditions of refrigerated goods in transit, where there is a greater emphasis on energy management/sustainability solutions globally.
