Innovation Project Manager

McDonalds is proud to be one of the most recognized brands in the world, with restaurants in over 100 countries that serve 70 million customers daily. We continue to operate from a position of strength. Our updated growth strategy is focused on staying ahead of what our customers want and realizing further growth potential. Our relentless ambition is why McDonalds remains one of the worlds leading corporations after almost 70 years. Joining McDonald's means thinking big and preparing for a career that can have influence around the world.

At McDonalds, we see every day as a chance to create positive impact. We lead through our values centered on inclusivity, service, integrity, community and family. From support of Ronald McDonald House Charities to our Youth Opportunity project and sustainability initiatives, our values keep us dedicated to using our scale for good: good for our customers, people, industry and planet. We also offer a broad range of outstanding benefits including a sabbatical program, tuition assistance and flexible work arrangements.

We are enjoying the flexibility of a hybrid work model, in which employees spend part of their week connecting with co-workers in our state-of-the-art headquarters. Located in the booming West Loop of downtown Chicago, it's set up to be a global hub that cultivates collaboration:

• Take a class at Hamburger University
• Sample future items in our Test Kitchen
• Utilize the latest technology to connect with your team around the globe

We are an equal opportunity employer committed to the diversity of our crew members, staff, operators, and suppliers. We promote an inclusive work environment that creates feel-good moments for everyone.

Job Summary

This is an exciting, highly visible role within the Strategy, Innovation, and Planning team. As an Innovation Project Manager, you will play a pivotal role in our Agile transformation and support the Director of Product Portfolio Management as well as Innovation Mission Teams in unlocking step changes in Customer and Employee experience across the McDonalds system.

Key Responsibilities

Your expertise will be instrumental in promoting a culture of continuous improvement, efficiency, and innovation. You will:

• Use your deep knowledge of the design thinking and Agile frameworks / methodologies to help teams and the organization at large understand how to practice agility
• Support the innovation leads in creating an environment that fosters high-performing teams
• Collaborate with teams at all levels of the organization and facilitate the adoption of standard intake, prioritization, and innovation processes

Youll be invaluable to one or more highly cross-functional Innovation teams by helping them self-organize, focus on outcomes, and be accountable to rapid progress. You will:

• Support the work progress of one or more innovation teams, depending on the size and complexity of the problems to be solved
• Support innovation leads, as a leader and advocate for iterative de-risking methods, in executing agile best practices, promoting self-organization, and driving toward high-functioning teams
• Empower innovation teams to achieve incremental milestones by holding them accountable and assisting with removing barriers to teams progress
• Manage tactical aspects of each with agility, including timelines, meetings, budget updates, and other required coordination to ensure work progresses at an appropriate pace

You will provide strategic support to the Director of Product Portfolio Management by:

• Supporting operationalization of the Customer and Restaurant Product Portfolio Intake and Prioritization process, identifying tools and leading change management and communication efforts
• Executing the Customer and Restaurant Product Portfolio Intake and Prioritization process with a particular focus on work that generates the most business value for McDonalds as part of overall organizational strategy
• Support development of proactive and comprehensive communications of intake and prioritization decisions to necessary teams across the McDonalds system to enable rolling planning

Basic Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years participating in and managing complex projects and/or agile teams using iterative de-risking approaches. Understands product operating models, agile, design thinking and innovation frameworks.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to effectively communicate sophisticated concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences at all levels of the organization
• Strong ability to adjust and adapt to changing needs by employing relevant frameworks in a flexible way to match the culture and needs of each team
• Ability to be a team player and collaborate with a variety of stakeholders at all levels and functions within the organization
• Knowledge and understanding of McDonalds internal processes
• Experience participating in complex initiatives
• Bachelors Degree in related field or equivalent work experience required

Preferred Qualifications

• 8+ years managing complex projects, programs and/or agile teams using iterative de-risking approaches.
• Demonstrated ability to create lightweight structure where there is significant ambiguity while leading and influencing to drive the change forward
• Experience with strategic intake and prioritization processes designed to drive business value within customer facing technology portfolios in large organizations
• Experience with financial planning and budgeting within large organizations
• Proficient understanding of a variety of customer facing business problems and technologies used to solve them
• Demonstrated ability to lead through change, advocate for and influence agile innovation models

McDonalds is an equal opportunity employer committed to the diversity of our workforce. We promote an inclusive work environment that creates feel-good moments for everyone. McDonalds provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities as part of the application or hiring process or to perform the essential functions of their job. If you need assistance accessing or reading this job posting or otherwise feel you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process, please contact mcdhrbenefits@us.mcd.com. Reasonable accommodations will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

McDonalds provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to sex, sex stereotyping, pregnancy (including pregnancy, childbirth, and medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding), race, color, religion, ancestry or national origin, age, disability status, medical condition, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, protected military or veteran status, citizenship status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

Nothing in this job posting or description should be construed as an offer or guarantee of employment.