Global

***Location: On-Site, Westborough MA***

Ascend Elements is a technology company commercializing the patented low-cost process for producing high quality cathode active materials from spent lithium-ion batteries. Founded with technology initially developed at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and with facilities in Massachusetts, Michigan and Georgia, we have built strong relationships throughout the electric vehicle supply chain. We are expanding out project and program management team to execute our plans for rapid growth in 2024 and beyond including our first cathode materials production facility in Kentucky.

The Director of the Program Management Office (PMO) reports to the CFO/COO. The Dir of the PMO is responsible for planning and overseeing major corporate projects that include R&D project teams with the vehicle OEMs, lithium-ion battery manufacturers, and battery active material producers. In addition, the role supports global strategy and business development activities.

Responsibilities:

• Design and implement a corporate stage-gate process for the corporate PMO.


• Oversee projects deliverables of direct reports to ensure outcomes consistent with expectations.


• Develop and maintain detailed project plans, project charters with scopes and objectives to track progress and oversee all institutionalization other critical project management tools.


• Push for critical focus on budget, scope, schedule, and critical paths within the PMO and Company.


• Prepare and maintain reporting tools to communicate project performance (e.g., weekly scorecard)


• Perform risk assessments and management to minimize project threats and optimize project opportunities.


• Coordinate internal resources and third parties for the execution of joint-development projects.


• Oversee PMO group of 5+ people with projects over $1bn.


• PMO tools experience – Project Charters, Schedule Budgets


• Define and update project RASIC charts.


• Cross-functional focus on accomplishing project goals on time within budget and scope.


• Seamless handoffs with focus on the critical path through proactive project plan monitoring, risk management, and cross-functional management of project issues with timely escalation to leadership as required.


• Use strong facilitation skills to lead regular project team meetings and apply consistent best practice for meeting agendas, actions, minutes, and other meeting documentation.


• Lead options planning, generate recommendations, alternatives, and tradeoffs to strengthen decision-making and optimize the project strategy.


• Establish and maintain relationships with internal and third parties/vendors/clients.


• Align team activities through tracking of meeting minutes, action items, etc.


• Ensure resource availability and allocation across all functions required.


• Monitor and track project progress.


• Manage change requests and negotiate new schedules and budget impact.


• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications and experience:

• BA/BS or higher degree in Chemistry, Materials Science, or Chemical, Mechanical, or applicable Engineering field


• Minimum of 10 (Ten) years program management experience in an automotive or chemicals industry.


• Experience with APQP is required.


• 10 years proven working experience in project management; PMP certification preferred.


• 10 years’ experience building and maintaining project plans, budget and resource forecasts, and project management documentation (key assumptions, risks, etc.).


• Solid organizational skills including attention to detail and ability multitask and run multiple projects at the same time.


• Proved meeting leadership and interpersonal skills.


• Excellent communication skills – written, verbal, and presentation skills required.


• Computer proficiency, including spreadsheets and presentations; experience with Microsoft Project is highly desirable.


• Physical and Environmental Requirements:
  
  
  
  • Capable of wearing task specific personal protective equipment including dust mask, respirator, safety shoes, gloves, and safety glasses/face shield
  
  
  • Capable of meeting OSHA standards for manual lifting guidelines: < 50lbs
  
  
  • While performing the duties of this job, it is required to stand, walk, and use hands to operate objects, tools, or controls; reach with hands or arms; climb, balance, stoop, kneel, or crouch when necessary for job activity.
  
  
  
  


• The employee is committed to and must support the EHS management process to obtain the ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 certification as well as participate in system standards and practices in its compliance and commitment to policies, objectives, operational controls, documentation, system guidelines, and others that the organization subscribes to as mandatory.


• Will participate in all EHS aspects, including reporting hazards, incidents, and injury/illness without fear of reprisal.


• Must attend an Environment, Health, and Safety Orientation program appropriate to their work environment.


• The employee must follow 6S step-by-step methodology to maintain orderly workspaces and resources thereby enhancing productivity and safety.


• Travel up to 50% may be required.

Ascend Elements is revolutionizing the production of lithium-ion battery materials by establishing a clean and sustainable supply chain using recycled feedstock. Its patented Hydro-to-Cathode™ technology directly synthesizes new cathode materials from spent lithium-ion cells more efficiently than traditional methods, resulting in reduced cost, improved performance, and lowered GHG emissions. The results are lower cost, better performance batteries with fewer discarded in landfill, a cleaner manufacturing process, and a truly sustainable closed-loop circular battery economy. Ascend Elements is taking the lithium-ion battery industry to a higher level.

We are currently hiring an SAP Business Analyst focused on Supply Chain and Extended Warehouse Management processes! In this role you will be responsible for working directly with business owners to develop an understanding of current requirements and future business needs for managing their function areas. This includes eliciting, analyzing, and evaluating current business practices, workflows and developing strategies to identify technology solutions needed to streamline and optimize business performance that positively impacts business ROI. The Business Analyst will act as the critical bridge between business leaders and users – and implement and support the systems that provide the capabilities that will support lean and efficient operations and provide leadership with the visibility to effectively manage and make proper business decisions.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Implements capabilities to manage warehouse and materials management business processes, including establishment & management of existing and new facilities, establishment and management of warehouse structure, master data, receipts of purchased and transferred materials, resource management, inbound processing, outbound processing, warehouse tasks, use of handling units, quality management integration, delivery and shipments to customers and transfers to other facilities, and physical inventory – all within a mixed mode, batch managed manufacturing context (Discrete & Process).


• Collaborates with Information Technology and Operational Technology groups in selecting, implementing, and supporting supply chain related hardware such as scanners, barcode label printers, document printers required to support the overall materials management design.


• Implements and supports transportation management solutions to optimize transportation planning, load consolidation and carrier selection – ensuring a seamless flow of goods from warehouse to transportation.


• Provide reporting and analytics to provide visibility and KPIs around core inventory management, order processing, warehouse task management and resource management to support data-driven decision making.


• Supports and participates in multiple projects to translate business needs to design, configure, document, and test software application solutions across multiple functional groups, focused primarily on SAP applications.


• Provides support for implemented solutions including post go live support, training, and full regression testing of solutions in support of upgrades.


• Understands SAP best practice business processes and uses the knowledge to develop consistent, implementable, and efficient business processes for the user base.


• Partners with business leadership/owners to Identify, create, and facilitate process improvements and possible opportunities for automation by conducting business and systems analysis and design at a complex level, focusing on quality improvement and data reliability.


• Work collaboratively with implementation partner functional and technical resources to ensure full understanding of implemented capabilities, trade-offs made, and justification for the choices made in implementation.


• Document system configuration.


• Assists in the design, development and deployment of user access and enterprise system security profiles.


• Facilitate development and delivery of training and training materials.

Education and Other Requirements:

• Bachelor in MIS or Business in the related business area discipline or equivalent experience.


• 5+ years’ experience as an SAP ERP Business Analyst, Implementation Consultant or similar discipline.


• Experience with SAP S/4HANA, S/4HANA Cloud, Embedded EWM, SAP Transportation Management, SAP Analytics Cloud and the broader SAP portfolio of supply chain-focused applications.


• Experience in several full lifecycle enterprise implementations.


• Strong oral and written communication & presentation skills; specifically, with end-users, internal and external technical individuals, and leadership teams.


• Experience troubleshooting issues, requirements gathering and solution design for enhancement requests, as well as implementing the solution via configuration, etc.

This is a remote opportunity with 25% travel to various production sites. Travel may increase for limited periods during go-live/post-go-live at our plants and warehouses.

APPLY TODAY!

Ascend Elements is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.