R&D Manager, Color Projects and Factory

Job duties include contact with other employees and access to confidential and proprietary information and/or other items of value, and such access may be supervised or unsupervised. The Company therefore has determined that a review of criminal history is necessary to protect the business and its operations and reputation and is necessary to protect the safety of the Company's staff, employees, and business relationships.

1. PROJECT MANAGEMENT
* Incumbent oversees a Project Manager and is ultimately responsible for the defining and scoping of color delivery projects to support Sherwin Williams CBG customers. These customers include but are not limited to all Consumer Brands Dealers US (Lowes, Menards, Independent Dealers), the full network of Canadian Stores and Dealers, European Dealer network, and some degree of support for Latin America, Asia and Caribbean customers.
* Works with CBG Product Commercialization team, CBG Marketing, and Sales teams to prioritize color projects for all customers mentioned above. Works closely with Color Commercialization Manager in planning and utilization of lab resources to meet customer timelines.
* Ensures accurate and complete project scoping and timeline setting. Tracks team progress, advising and adjusting timelines and resources as needed and communicating those changes to all.
* Evaluates and recommends prioritization of full list of project requests. Tracks manpower and resource availability in relation to projects and priorities and communicates these to Marketing Directors and Managers. Has responsibility for identifying resource conflicts due to conflicting project needs, proposes solutions and gains approval to shift dates to achieve on time delivery.

2. TEAM MANAGEMENT
* Incumbent not only has oversight of the scoping of the color project requests as described above, but also has management responsibility for the data team consisting of 3-4 employees which support color formulas and color matching capabilities for the CBG customer outlets.
* Responsibilities for team management include, but are not limited to: project planning, objective setting, project communication, resource allocation, and problem solving and resolution.
* Incumbent also has management responsibility for the Factory Support function of the Color Team. In this capacity the manager has a Senior Group Leader as a direct report who is then responsible for a team of 8-9 employees. This team has a wide range of responsibilities from color standards, colorant qualification, and color hardware support. This team is also responsible for color software development (programming) and ongoing support of the proprietary software system used globally in our manufacturing facilities.

3. CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT & QUALITY
* Champions and drives continuous improvement programs and strategy within the team. Guides team to achieve set CI Project metrics.
* Proposes ideas for improvements to Associate Director and with approval leads the team to successfully see the improvement to fruition.
* Encourages team to identify improvement opportunities and to leverage developed improvements across the team and the wider R&D organization.
* Works with other teams outside of Color to design, develop and implement new tools and improvements.
* Drives ISO procedures and process compliance as well as safety policies and practices.

4. TEAM/INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT
* Sets team performance objectives which not only focus on delivering on business needs, but outline development opportunities to grow individual and team capabilities.
* Works with group leaders to outline development plans and cross-training for team and working with these group leaders, ensures training is carried out.
* Works with direct report group leaders to coach and develop them as leaders.
* May act as a mentor to other Group Leaders or Individual Contributors.
* Responsible for the development of a contingency and succession plan for the team, as well as regularly updating the plan and aligning training to develop the individuals to have the skills required to fill their future roles as defined in the plan.

5. STRATEGIC INITIATIVES
* Participates in strategy development by identifying and suggesting possible strategies. The incumbent in this role plays a part in the development of strategies revolving around color software, product and color alignment, color formula development processes, delivery of color formulas to the customer, as well as colorant platform transitions.
* Is an active member in the strategy setting and fulfilment of integration efforts.
* Guides team members to carry out the activities which drive the team towards fulfilling our strategies.
* Leads continuous improvement efforts which align with our strategic efforts.

BASIC QUALIFICATION:
* Must be legally authorized to work in the country for which you are applying for employment (without now or in the future needing sponsorship for employment work visa and/or permanent residence status).

FORMAL EDUCATION:
Required:
* Bachelor's Degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering, Math ("STEM") field

KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE:
Required:
* Must have at least 5 years of supervisory experience (project management or people management) within R&D or Quality
* Strong Project management experience in R&D field
* Experience in the paint or coatings industry
* Must be able to communicate in a clear, concise professional manner internally and externally to identify and build productive collaborations and partnerships.
* Ability to communicate technical data across divisions and functional groups

Preferred:
* Experience managing a color, coatings, or R&D lab
* Experience with color formula development and color system management.
* Experience with color software programs.

TECHNICAL/SKILL REQUIREMENTS:
Required:
* Proven project management skills
* Ability to plan resources and adapt to shifting priorities
* Strong communication skills both verbal and written, with the ability to communicate both up and down, as well as with peers on management team.

Preferred:
* Experience with color program management (color formula development and distribution)
* Basic understanding of Color Theory
* Experience with color delivery and software

TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS: 10%

Upon completion of construction, the individual selected for this role will primarily work at the new Sherwin-Williams Global Technology Center in Brecksville, Ohio. Construction is expected to be complete in 2025. Until then, the role will be based at Breen Technology Center, located at 601 Canal Road, Cleveland, OH 44113.