Arway-Long Grove Confections is a private, family-owned, Chicagoland based business that has more than 70 years of history as a customer-oriented manufacturer of high-quality bulk and specialty gourmet confections. From chocolate enrobed pretzels to honey-toasted pecans...caramel cashew myrtles to double dipped peanuts...English toffee to chocolate covered raisins...Arway-Long Grove makes hundreds of items that help its customers delight consumers across North America.
Arway Confections opened in 1950 as a family-owned business with the concept of offering higher quality products than what was then available. The first product was Chocolate Pecan Caramel Patties. Sears Roebuck & Co., the largest retailer in the United States at the time, became Arway's first customer. Arway worked closely with Sears to develop quality standards for the candy industry which are still in effect today. Arway earned four "Symbol of Excellence Awards" for superior quality and dependable service. Sears became a loyal customer for the next four decades.
Arway learned early on that HIGHER QUALITY PRODUCTS + BETTER CUSTOMER SERVICE + COMPETITIVE PRICING = A LOYAL CUSTOMER BASE. This formula has worked for Arway throughout its history and remains central to Arway-Long Grove's approach today. The company has steadily grown and expanded its customer base from a single customer to serving hundreds of distributors, retailers, nut companies, baggers, catalogs, and marketing companies nationwide.
Long Grove Confectionery started as a retail business in the quaint, picturesque village of Long Grove, Illinois. The original Long Grove Confectionery, a retail shop and candy kitchen, was housed in a nostalgic replica of a red schoolhouse, which opened in 1975. The quality of its candy and the ability for visitors to view production through a beveled glass window had customers coming back regularly. After a successful ten years, Long Grove Confectionery had outgrown the kitchen, and moved its production to a 25,000 square foot facility in nearby Buffalo Grove. In 2001, the company increased its square footage to 85,000 square feet to meet the rising demand from its retail and wholesale customers. While the Long Grove Village still houses the retail store, the Buffalo Grove location is home to candy production, factory tours & and a factory outlet store.
In 2013 Arway Confections purchased Long Grove Confectionery, and the business celebrated 10 years together this summer.Arway-Long Grove operates two production facilities in Chicago (72,000 SF) and Buffalo Grove (85,000 SF) along with a stand-alone warehouse facility in Wauconda, IL (30,000 SF). The facilities are Safe Food Quality Institute (SQF), Kosher (CRC), Organic (Pro-Cert), and Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certified. The business employs 350+ associates and runs two shifts at both plants. The two plants offer a variety of production capabilities including enrobing, panning, copper kettle cooking, depositing, extruding, roasting and molding. Packaging capabilities allow for flexible assembly, bulk wrapping, flow wrapping and bagging along with a multitude of gift worthy packaging, special shapes, point-of-sale & shipper displays, and retail club packs.
THE POSITION
Title: Project Manager
Location: Buffalo Grove, IL (333 Lexington Drive) and Chicago, IL (3425 N. Kimball Avenue)
Reports to: President of Arway-Long Grove Confections
JOB OVERVIEW
The Project Manager for Arway-Long Grove Confections will play an integral role in the business, with responsibility for ensuring that the most important activities of the organization are progressing in an organized and disciplined fashion. The Project Manager will be responsible for establishing project requirements and timelines, and ensuring deadlines and budgets are on track. As the project hub, this individual will be critical to delegating tasks amongst team members depending on their skill levels or qualifications, motivating the team to satisfactory project completion and resolving any conflicts or complications that may arise during project execution.The breadth of projects under this person's purview will include new products but could span across many disciplines including capital investments and installations, maintenance projects, strategy, organizational development and company administration. The priority of certain initiatives within the organization will inform where the Project Manager's time is allocated. In addition to coordinating the efforts of the cross-functional team, the Project Manager will also have personal responsibilities within the day-to-day activities of the business. This is a new function within the company, and this individual has an opportunity to illustrate the value of project management to the business.
SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES
Coordinate with cross-discipline team members to make sure that all parties are on track with project requirements, deadlines, and schedules
Coordinate and lead planning sessions for project development and execution including weekly new products team meetings
Define project objectives and scope, identifying involvement of internal and external stakeholders
Create detailed schedule, project parameters, and budget expectations
Manage resource needs to maximize potential for successful execution of projects
Delegate project activities and duties in accordance with team members' strengths and experience
Establish effective project communication plans and ensuring their execution
Conduct risk analysis to reduce unforeseen obstacles and costs
Prepare status reports by gathering, analyzing, and summarizing relevant information
Measure performance and progress throughout project execution
Meet with project team members to identify and resolve issues
Facilitate any project changes to ensure that all parties are informed of the impacts on schedule and budget
Conduct post-project evaluation and identify successful and unsuccessful project elements for organizational learning
Provide thought-leadership on ways-of-working improvement opportunities
Manage client and other stakeholder expectations to maintain productive and engaged relationships
Execute other role duties as assigned
EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS
Bachelor's degree
Proven experience in project management. Project Management Professional (PMP) certification is a plus
Strong understanding of formal project management methodologies
Understanding of ERP implementation is a plus
Experience in food manufacturing business a is a plus
Strong planning and process management skills
Able to motivate and direct others
Prioritizes managing and measuring their work
Resourceful & creative problem solver
Knows how to navigate an organization
Action orientation and a drive for results
Change agent with energy, passion & enthusiasm for the work they do and sharing this with the team
Strong written and verbal communication skills
Proficiency with Microsoft Office suite
Additional Skills and Characteristics
Appreciates and exemplifies Arway-Long Grove Confections' family values
Is self-aware, empathetic, and willing to listen and learn
Appreciates diversity and actively works to foster a culture of inclusiveness
Energy, passion, and enthusiasm
WORK ENVIRONMENT
This position will be onsite at our Buffalo Grove, IL facility 5 days per week, with visits to our Chicago, IL based site on an as needed basis