Senior Project Manager - CoE Lead

Job Description

Position: Senior Project Manager - CoE Lead

Job Description:

As the Senior Project Manager - CoE Lead, you will play a strategic leadership role within Forward Air's Center of Excellence, spearheading critical enterprise-level transformation initiatives. You will oversee a portfolio of high-impact projects and programs focused on innovation, operational efficiency, and change enablement across business lines. This includes designing and leading governance structures, facilitating best practices, and ensuring consistency in execution across functions. You will collaborate closely with senior executives, workstream leaders, and strategic partners to drive project outcomes, standardize processes, and cultivate a high-performance delivery culture. The ideal candidate is a strategic thinker with deep experience in enterprise program delivery, a strong background in change management, and a proven ability to lead cross-functional teams through complex transformation. You will bring exceptional organizational, influencing, and communication skills to guide Forward Air through its next phase of growth and innovation.

Core Responsibilities & Duties:

• Provide leadership and oversight for enterprise-level change management and project delivery initiatives sponsored by the CoE
• Drive cross-functional alignment on project scope, business goals, and key performance indicators (KPIs)
• Define, develop, and continuously improve CoE frameworks, toolkits, methodologies, and governance models
• Conduct executive-level impact assessments, business readiness analysis, and stakeholder engagement planning
• Measure and report on the effectiveness of change and communication strategies using formal KPIs and ROI analysis
• Serve as a trusted advisor to internal clients, facilitating strategic decisions on engagement, training, and communications
• Ensure enterprise alignment of change management goals with Forward Air's business strategy
• Champion best practices in project and program management across business lines and transformation initiatives
• Partner with key stakeholders and vendor teams on major systems and business process implementations
• Lead the creation and execution of enterprise communications and change strategies to support transformation efforts
• Deliver structured project plans and roadmaps; monitor risk, interdependencies, and escalation paths
• Administer communications activities related to change programs, including content creation, deployment, and tracking effectiveness
• Provide thought leadership to executive stakeholders on enterprise transformation, innovation, and culture change initiatives
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, knowledge sharing, and collaborative problem-solving within the CoE
• Perform other strategic duties as assigned

Qualifications:

• 7+ years of progressive experience in project management, change leadership, or transformation strategy roles
• Demonstrated success leading enterprise programs with multi-functional teams in a matrixed organization
• Strong knowledge of organizational change management (OCM) frameworks, business process design, and implementation methodology
• Project Management Certification (PMP, PgMP) and/or Change Management Certification (e.g., PROSCI) strongly preferred
• Proven experience designing and executing enterprise-wide communication and engagement strategies
• Familiarity with tools supporting program governance, portfolio management, and change enablement
• Superior verbal, written, and presentation skills; experience briefing C-level audiences
• Strong command of Microsoft Office Suite, Teams, SharePoint, and project management tools (e.g., Smartsheet, Asana, MS Project)
• Bachelor's degree required; Master's in Business, Organizational Development, or related field preferred
• Experience in freight, logistics, or supply chain industry is highly desirable

Skills:

• Strong executive presence and ability to influence at all levels of the organization
• Strategic thinking combined with strong attention to detail and delivery focus
• High adaptability and ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment
• Collaborative leadership style with strong stakeholder management and facilitation skills
• Deep commitment to continuous improvement, innovation, and organizational excellence

Forward Air is an Equal Opportunity employer.

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