Customer Project Manager

About the Role
We are looking for a Customer Project Manager (f/m/d) for our UPS production site. In this role, you will manage exciting projects in an international industrial environment, lead the respective project teams, monitor and control financial progress and budget, and be the main point of contact for our customers. You will accompany the projects from order to commissioning, support in technical questions, and actively contribute to developing our Solution Center Project Management Team.

Your Responsibilities
The Customer Project Manager is the primary customer contact person responsible for managing customer projects to ensure they are delivered within timeline, scope, and cost. This role also involves managing customer communication and acting as the customer focal point throughout project execution from the transfer stage from the Sales department to the project closure.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Customer Management:

• Point of contact for Project and Technical Communication with the customer during FAT.
• Responsible for customer inspections (PIM/FAT/Packing Inspection).
• Ensures that customer requests and questions are addressed or transferred to the project team if they cannot be answered immediately.
• Travel for Kick-off Meetings (KOM)/progress meetings depending on project requirements.

FAT Execution:

• Ensures systems are ready for FAT.
• Performs FAT with the Client on behalf of Outstation PMs.
• Ensures that Outstation PMs initiate FAT planning on time.
• Identifies and minimizes non-conformance costs (Punch Items and Re-FAT).
• Ensures proper closing of Punch Items.
• System Release if all pending items have been closed.

3rd Party Supplier (Sub Supplier) Management/Inspections:

• Attends FATs of 3rd party supplies at the supplier site on behalf of the Outstation team.
• Attends meetings and audits of 3rd party suppliers when required.

Communication and Coordination:

• Ensures targeted and full communication within the project team and with stakeholders on an international basis.
• Establishes key relationships within the factory.
• Effectively listens to others and communicates in a clear manner.

Project Execution (Planning, Steering & Controlling):

• Ensures Sales initiates the handover to execution and participates at Customer Kick-Off Meetings.
• Handles planning elements and milestones according to Customer Project Process in coordination with Project Planning, Operation, Engineering & Customer Service teams when necessary.
• Identifies and minimizes non-conformance costs.
• Leads and organizes status meetings for regular project status reviews with the project team if required; collaborates closely with the assigned Application Design Engineer.
• Monitors document submission status in cooperation with documentation teams.
• Ongoing monitoring of project status, early identification of discrepancies, and initiation of targeted measures/actions.
• Performs project close review (commercial, lessons learned, best practice).
• Ensures proper handover of the project to the Customer Service department.

Finance Management:

• Leads the project within the defined budget.
• Holds cost and margin responsibility for the project as defined at project start.
• Initiates invoicing according to project progress and follows up on payment status.
• Reviews initial project calculation and clarifies discrepancies.
• Participates in monthly project control reviews.
• Optimizes project profitability.
• Reviews final project performance.

Risk, Opportunity, and Claim Management:

• Identifies, assesses, and monitors all risk factors and opportunities throughout the project life cycle.
• Assesses contracts for claim-relevant significance; works closely with the Legal department for legal advice.
• Develops strategies for risk mitigation (elimination, reduction).
• Informs the customer, management, and project team about scope deviations.
• Identifies and mitigates external claims (defines costs and argumentation, prepares claims, and negotiates change orders) in collaboration with purchasing and Sales/Tendering.
• Identifies opportunities for additional business (defines costing, prepares offers, and negotiates change orders) in collaboration with purchasing and Sales/Tendering.

3rd Party Supplier (Sub Supplier) Management:

• Involves purchasing early in the project.
• Engages qualified subcontractors/partners in a timely manner.
• Leads commercial clarifications with the support of purchasing and procurement.
• Monitors subcontractor/partner performance rigorously, conducts timely escalation for qualitative shortfalls and cooperation issues, and initiates appropriate actions when discrepancies arise.

Leadership & Communication:

• Participates in internal project reviews and management information meetings regarding project status.
• Ensures targeted and full communication within the project team and with stakeholders on an international basis.
• Establishes key relationships within the factory.
• Actively listens and communicates effectively.
• Supports, trains, and coaches new team members based on processes.

Knowledge and Skills – Required

• Degree in Electrical Engineering.
• 5–7 years in the electrical industry.
• 5–7 years of project management experience in the systems/equipment business.
• Strong communication skills (situational adapted, sensitivity, politeness).
• Project Management skills (tools, methods concerning duties and responsibilities, knowledge of economics in project business).
• Fluent in English (written and oral).
• Ability to handle multiple projects in parallel.
• Experience in the Oil & Gas Industry.