Johannesburg: R & D Project Manager (8 Month Contract)

R&D Project Manager | Gauteng | Contract (8 Months) Drive innovation from concept to launch. Lead structured delivery in a fast-paced FMCG environment where timelines, governance and cross-functional collaboration matter. This role is central to coordinating and facilitating projects through the full lifecycle, ensuring that every phase is delivered in line with established innovation and governance processes. You will work across R&D, Marketing, Manufacturing and Category teams to keep projects on track, on time and fully compliant with stage gate requirements. Reporting into the R&D Marketing Director, you will take ownership of project coordination, critical path management, reporting and stakeholder alignment. This is an opportunity for a disciplined, solutions-focused project professional who thrives in structured environments and enjoys enabling teams to deliver commercially successful new product development initiatives. Our client is a well-established FMCG organisation with a strong innovation pipeline and a reputation for bringing quality products to market. The environment is collaborative, performance-driven and focused on continuous improvement. What You’ll Do Coordinate and facilitate projects from conception through to launch, ensuring adherence to the innovation and governance process Support the Project Lead by chairing and coordinating project meetings including scoping sessions, brainstorming workshops and monthly reviews Develop, manage and distribute detailed critical path schedules, including tasks, milestones, dependencies and resource allocation Apply management by exception principles, escalating risks and challenges to the appropriate decision makers Manage scope and schedule changes, adjusting critical path schedules and work breakdown structures to maintain delivery timelines Maintain and update project documentation, templates and gate approval packs Compile and distribute project dashboards, registers, status reports and related documentation Ensure project management disciplines are embedded, including RAID logs, change logs and prioritisation frameworks Support capability building initiatives and provide ongoing guidance to project team members What You Bring 3–5 years’ experience in project management within an FMCG environment Exposure to NPD or marketing-led project environments Strong understanding of formal project management processes and governance Proficiency in project tools such as MS Project and Excel Excellent organisational, facilitation and stakeholder management skills Ability to identify cross-functional dependencies and manage competing priorities Strong problem-solving capability and a proactive, structured working style What Success Looks Like Projects delivered on time and in line with governance requirements Accurate, timely and insightful reporting Clear visibility of cross-organisational dependencies and risks Well-maintained project documentation and audit readiness High levels of stakeholder alignment and collaboration across functions