INNOVATION PROGRAM MANAGER

INNOVATION PROGRAM MANAGER

United States Cold Storage Inc - 3.3 Camden, NJ Job Details Full-time $120,000 - $140,000 a year 15 hours ago Benefits 401(k) Tuition reimbursement Life insurance Qualifications Project team coordination Program management Operations management Automation Customer service Data reporting Improving operational efficiency 3 years Change management Performance Improvement (PI) Updating inventory records Scope management Workshop facilitation Senior level AI Cross-functional collaboration Cross-functional team management Leadership Communication skills Project stakeholder communication Stakeholder relationship building Cross-functional communication Stakeholder management

Full Job Description Job Title:

Innovation Program Manager Who We Are :

USCS is driven to advance, innovate and serve companies seeking the best service, facilities, and logistics in the cold chain. We are employee-focused, an equal employment opportunity employer and would love to have you join our team.

The Job Details:

The Innovation Program Manager is responsible for driving both innovation initiatives and administrative transformation efforts across warehouse and support functions. In addition to managing pilots and the enterprise innovation pipeline, this role leads change initiatives within administrative and customer-facing workflows—leveraging new technologies and process redesign to improve efficiency, accuracy, and customer experience. This role is well suited for an individual who operates comfortably between operations, technology, and change management. The Program Manager will extend existing work in areas such as driver check-in/check-out and apply similar transformation principles to broader warehouse administrative functions and customer service processes. The position is highly cross-functional, focused on creating structure, prioritization, and momentum across both innovation pilots and operationally focused transformation initiatives.

Responsibilities:

Administrative & Customer Service Transformation Lead change initiatives within warehouse administrative and customer service functions, including but not limited to: Driver check-in/check-out and yard-facing processes (ie Vector) Customer service workflows (order status, exception handling, communication touchpoints) Warehouse administrative activities (documentation, billing triggers, data capture, reporting) Identify and quantify pain points across administrative processes, partnering with Operations, Customer Service, IT, and CI/IE teams. Leverage emerging technologies (automation, workflow tools, AI-enabled solutions, self-service platforms) to simplify and standardize administrative work. Design future-state processes, define change impacts, and support rollout planning and adoption. Ensure solutions balance operational efficiency, employee experience, and customer experience. Innovation Intake & Evaluation Manage the end-to-end innovation intake process, including problem definition, value hypothesis, feasibility assessment, and strategic alignment. Facilitate intake sessions with Engineering, IT, Product, Operations, Customer Service, and CI/IE teams. Maintain a centralized inventory of all active, pending, and historical innovation and transformation initiatives. Stage-Gate Governance Support building and operating the enterprise stage-gate model (Explore Assess Pilot Scale Sustain). Prepare materials, coordinate gate reviews, document outcomes, and ensure entry/exit criteria are met. Distinguish between exploratory innovation pilots and operational transformation initiatives while maintaining consistent governance rigor. Pilot & Transformation Project Management Design and manage structured pilots and transformation initiatives with defined success metrics, scope, and evaluation plans. Coordinate cross-functional teams, schedules, blocker removal, and documentation. Facilitate retrospectives and scale / standardize / sunset recommendations. Innovation Workshops & Change Enablement Design and facilitate workshops focused on administrative simplification, customer experience improvement, and technology-enabled change. Partner with Engineering, Data, IT, and Operations to identify high-value themes (automation, AI, workflow digitization, quality, service reliability). Translate workshop outputs into actionable pilots, transformation projects, or roadmap items. Cross-Functional Collaboration Act as a central connector across Operations, Customer Service, IT, Engineering, Data, CI/IE, and Business stakeholders. Facilitate working groups and alignment sessions between technical teams and frontline administrative users.

What We Are Looking For:

The Ideal candidate will have or be able to complete the below qualifications.

Qualifications:

3-7 years of experience in program management, operations transformation, innovation, PMO, or related fields. Demonstrated experience leading change initiatives in operational or administrative environments. Strong understanding of process improvement, workflow design, and technology-enabled transformation. Ability to impose structure on ambiguous problems and drive work from concept through execution. Strong facilitation, communication, and stakeholder management skills. Comfort working with frontline operations, customer service teams, and technical partners. Experience with pilot design, experimentation, or operational rollouts preferred.

The Job Specifics:

Location and Department:

Camden, NJ Reports To:

Andrew Pavlicin -

Director Innovation & Transformation Travel Amount:

Minimum Job Type, EEO, and Job Code:

Standard Salaried/Hourly, Semi-Monthly/Biweekly Paid:

Salaried Bi Weekly Salary Range:

$120,000- $140,000 What's In It for

You:

We are a great company with great people. Full-time employees not under contract are offered: 401K and Educational Assistance after 1 year. Blue Cross Blue Shield is available after 30 days of service, if elected. Company Life Insurance. A variety of additional benefits and perks.