Manager - Project Management Office (PMO)

Manager – Project Management Office (PMO)

Location: Pune

Department: Operations / Founder's Office

Experience: 5–10 Years

About Frido

At Frido, we are building products that solve everyday discomfort through thoughtful design, engineering, and deep consumer understanding. As a fast-growing consumer brand in ergonomic and mobility products, execution excellence across hardware development, sourcing, manufacturing, and cross-functional coordination is critical to our growth journey.

We are looking for a hands-on PMO professional to drive execution across hardware programs, product launches, sourcing, operations, and cross-functional initiatives. This role is ideal for someone who has worked in manufacturing, consumer durables, automotive, engineering, industrial products, furniture, footwear, or hardware-led businesses — and understands how physical products move from concept to scale.

Role Overview

The Manager - PMO will be responsible for driving high-priority projects across product development, supply chain, vendor coordination, manufacturing timelines, and business-critical operational initiatives.

The ideal candidate should have strong experience in program management for physical products, be highly structured, execution-focused, and comfortable working in a fast-paced founder-led environment.

Important: This is not an IT/SaaS PMO role. Candidates with predominantly software project management backgrounds will not be considered.

Key Responsibilities

1. Program & Project Governance

• Drive end-to-end execution of strategic projects across operations and hardware functions.
• Create structured project plans with clear timelines, milestones, ownership, dependencies, and risk tracking.
• Ensure timely delivery of product, sourcing, and operational initiatives.

2. Cross-Functional Coordination

• Work closely with product, sourcing, supply chain, quality, manufacturing, finance, and leadership teams to ensure alignment.
• Drive accountability across stakeholders and remove execution bottlenecks.
• Facilitate weekly review mechanisms and progress tracking.

3. Hardware/Product Development PMO

• Monitor timelines related to new product development (NPD) and hardware execution.
• Coordinate with vendors, manufacturers, tooling teams, and external partners.
• Ensure smooth transition from concept → prototyping → production → launch.

4. Process Excellence

• Build scalable execution frameworks, dashboards, trackers, and SOPs.
• Improve project visibility and reporting mechanisms.
• Identify operational inefficiencies and implement corrective actions.

5. Risk & Escalation Management

• Anticipate project risks and proactively solve delays.
• Escalate critical dependencies and propose practical solutions.
• Ensure business continuity through structured planning.

Ideal Candidate Profile

We are specifically looking for candidates from:

✅ Hardware / Physical Product Businesses

✅ Manufacturing

✅ Consumer Durables

✅ Automotive / Auto Components

✅ Engineering / Industrial Products

✅ Furniture / Ergonomic Products

✅ Footwear / Product Operations

Preferred Background

• Experience in PMO, Program Management, Project Management, NPD PMO, Operations Excellence, or Manufacturing PMO
• Strong exposure to physical product lifecycle management
• Technical educational background from a TIER 1 - Engineering College/TIER 1 Business School preferred.
• Comfortable handling multiple stakeholders and ambiguity
• Strong Excel, project tracking, MIS, and execution rigor

Must-Have Skills

• Project Planning & Governance
• Cross-functional stakeholder management
• Manufacturing / Hardware program execution
• Vendor & supply chain coordination
• Risk management & escalation handling
• Process improvement & reporting dashboards
• Strong analytical and execution skills

KPIs / KRIs

• On-time completion of strategic projects
• Product launch adherence vs planned timelines
• Reduction in execution delays/bottlenecks
• Cross-functional closure rate of action items
• Project visibility and reporting accuracy
• Vendor and manufacturing milestone adherence

Why Join Frido

• Opportunity to build in a high-growth hardware/D2C brand
• Work directly on high-impact business initiatives
• High ownership and visibility with leadership
• Solve real execution challenges in physical products and manufacturing

Interested candidates must share their CVs via email to [Confidential Information] and [HIDDEN TEXT]. Along with your CVs, please include a brief paragraph about yourselves.