Position Title: Director, Cleansing Category Project Management

Location: Clark, New Jersey

Department: Research & Innovation Project Management Office (PMO)

For more than one hundred years, L’Oréal believes that beauty needs Science. In a world now transformed by digital technology and the emergence of new scientific domains, we are confident in our ability to turn these opportunities into major innovations, closely linked to the new consumer expectations all over the world. Science & Technology are allowing us to invent safe, trustable, sustainable & responsible beauty products and experiences that will change people’s lives. 

L’Oréal Research & Innovation (R&I) has continuously invested upstream in its research with a high level of ambition. Our 4,100 L'Oréal R&I people are talented and highly skilled, located in major markets, working in a cooperative way, open to the world. L’Oréal, Research & Innovation is a vast, multidisciplinary, scientific community working in more than 30 specialized fields, spread out across the world in 21 research centers across 6 regional hubs, 14 evaluation centers, and 49 scientific and regulatory departments. Our employees represent over 60 nationalities and are united for one passion: to invent and perfect innovative, high-performance products for the well-being of all across the world.

To discover more on our scientific and technical functions at L'Oréal Research & Innovation, please check out our website

We are seeking a Director to join our Project Management Office in our Clark, NJ Research facility. This role is responsible for elevating Project Mode to a new level with your partners in R&I and to catalyze cultural change through the execution of L’Oréal’s innovation projects; learn and apply our consumer centric principles and tools of project management along with Design Thinking and Agile Co-Creation Sprints to pioneer efficient delivery of disruptive innovations to the market. You will take the opportunity to combine in one single job the missions of managing innovation projects from framing to conception to launch, while being a Project Mode entrepreneur to foster our new ways of working and elevate the impact of the PMO team in the whole organization.

 “Operations keeps the lights on, strategy provides a light at the end of the tunnel,

but project management is the train engine that moves the organization forward. – Joy Gumz

As a Director in our R&I Project Management Office team, your main responsibilities are:

• Lead R&I teams (Project Leader/Technical Contributors/Partners) through the delivery of complex projects utilizing project methodology & tools in the execution of innovation projects.
• Drive framing of project scope with all innovation partners and stakeholders, define the work plan/ resources, and create and manage project timelines, identify milestones report on cost and risks.
• Track project progress, identify alerts to communicate to Stakeholders, and drive scenario planning to bring to governance meetings.
• Manage cross functional project teams, animate team meetings, facilitate workshops and brainstorming sessions.
• Be the guarantor of effective risk management with the team: identification, assessment of criticality, and prevention / mitigation plans.
• Be an agent of change and continuously thrive to improve the way we are thinking and the way we are managing projects by contributing to the change in culture via coaching, training, communications applying the principles of organizational change management.
• Impact the Cleansing & Hygiene Category innovation teams beyond acting as a Project Manager, by supporting the Application Domain leaders in applying the principles of project mode to their entire ecosystem. Be the voice of project mode in steering committees, strategic innovation project meetings, Category Innovation days.
• Continuously improve the transformation process for innovations / technologies from other global teams to the NA R&I Development labs. Trial new ways of working and governance, manifest process changes and collaborate with your peers and Head of PMO to ensure adoption of best practices into the entire Innovation & Product Development ecosystem (US & Global).
• Collaborate with Application Domain Senior Project Leader, Development Lab leader, Portfolio Manager to ensure flawless progression of projects through milestones, including readiness of the project to be introduced to the Annual Innovation Pipeline and Senior Management reviews.
• Partner with the Cleanser & Makeup Remover Application Domain Leader to create upskilling plans for Project Leaders, to secure project delivery, and to complete project framing before resources are allocated, to create and manage a more robust Project Portfolio.
• Contribute towards PMO upskilling across NA R&I Project Leaders, process improvement initiatives as well as valorization of US PMO organization.
• Connect with your global PMO network for collaboration, upskilling, adoption of best practices.

To Succeed in this Position, You Have:

• Minimum of a completed bachelor’s degree in a science or engineering field is required; Project Management Professional (PMP) certification preferred.
• Minimum of 10 years of business experience in managing or leading complex or large-scale projects. Experience working in multi-disciplinary teams.
• Experience in the professional care / cosmetic industry and/or in Research & Innovation preferred.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, comfortable expressing a contrary point of view, able to push for timely decisions.
• Empathy and EQ.
• A thrive to challenge and improve the status quo.
• Authorization to work in the United States on a full-time, permanent, ongoing basis without the need for legal sponsorship now or in the future (required)

What's In It For You:

• Corporate Short-Term Incentives (Corporate Profit-Sharing Bonus, Individual Performance Bonuses based on level)
• Competitive Benefit Package (Medical, Dental, Vision, 401K, Pension Plan)
• Hybrid Work Policy (Up to 2 Days per week work from home for eligible roles, subject to manager approval)
• Flexible Time Off (Paid Company Holidays, Paid Vacation, Vacation Buy Program, Volunteer Time, Summer Fridays & More!)
• Access to Company Perks (VIP Access to L’Oréal’s Internal Shop for Discounted Products)
• Learning & Development Opportunities (Unlimited Access to E-learnings, Lunch & Learn Sessions, Mentorship Programs, & More!)
• Employee Resource Groups (Think Tanks and Innovation Squads)
• Access to Mental Health & Wellness Programs

Don’t meet every single requirement? At L'Oréal, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and innovative workplace. If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with the qualifications listed in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways! You may just be the right candidate for this or other roles!

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and take pride in a diverse environment. We do not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, marital or veteran status, medical condition or disability, or any other legally protected status.

If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete an application for a recognized disability under applicable law, please email [email protected]. Please note this email will only respond to specific requests for assistance completing the application as a request for accommodation for a disability. All others will not be considered.

Our Safe Together Plan: Your safety is our highest priority. We will proceed with caution and adhere to enhanced protection standards to ensure our sites are safe for all employees. We must all operate with the shared responsibility for each other’s health & safety in mind.