Portfolio and Project Manager - Performance Coatings Innovation

Shape the Future with Us.

 

At Lubrizol, we’re bringing to life the chemistry behind clean water, efficient transportation, reliable infrastructure, critical medicines, and the products people rely on every day through science, sustainability, and a culture of inclusion.

 

As part of our global team, you’ll be empowered to make a real impact—on your career, your community, and the world around you.

 

Location: Brecksville, OH to start, and transitioning to Wickliffe, OH in 2028.

As Lubrizol approaches its centennial in 2028, our Wickliffe campus will become the unified home of Lubrizol’s global headquarters, integrating Lubrizol’s Brecksville site capabilities and employees to the Wickliffe campus. 

 

Job Type: Full-time. Collaborate in person 4 days each week, with 1 flexible remote day.

 

How You’ll Make an Impact

As a Portfolio and Project Manager for our Performance Coatings Group, you will be at the forefront of our innovation, leading high-impact projects from concept through commercialization while advancing sustainable solutions across our portfolio. In this highly visible role, you’ll collaborate with global, cross-functional teams to shape strategy, define value, and navigate risk in a fast-paced, matrixed environment. You’ll make critical decisions, drive alignment, and transform complex ideas into commercially successful solutions that deliver measurable business results and long-term growth.

 

In This Role You Will:

Portfolio Management

• Define and manage the R&D innovation portfolio roadmap aligned with corporate strategy and growth priorities.
• Establish portfolio governance frameworks including prioritization, stage-gate processes, and investment decision criteria.
• Evaluate, select, and balance projects based on value, risk, resources, and strategic fit.
• Continuously monitor portfolio performance using KPIs and adjust priorities as needed.

Project Execution & Delivery

• Lead end-to-end project management of innovation initiatives (concept through commercialization).
• Ensure projects adhere to timelines, budgets, quality standards, and scope.
• Apply structured methodologies (Agile, Stage-Gate, Hybrid) tailored to innovation environments.
• Proactively identify risks and implement mitigation strategies.

Innovation Enablement

• Partner with R&D, Product, Engineering, and Business stakeholders to incubate and accelerate new ideas.
• Support ideation, feasibility analysis, prototyping, and scaling of innovations.
• Foster a culture of experimentation and continuous improvement.

Stakeholder & Cross-Functional Coordination

• Act as the central point of coordination between R&D, Marketing, Manufacturing, Finance, and external partners.
• Communicate portfolio health, project status, and strategic insights to senior leadership through monthly innovation reviews.
• Facilitate decision-making through quarterly portfolio reviews with executives.

Financial & Resource Management

• Manage portfolio budgets, investment planning, and ROI tracking.
• Optimize resource allocation across projects (people, capital, technology).
• Develop business cases and track value realization for innovation initiatives.

Process & Governance Excellence

• Establish best practices for project and portfolio management.
• Be a change agent to drive best practices and discipline through influence in a matrixed organization

 

Required Qualifications that Enable Your Success

• Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry or a related technical discipline.
• 5+ years of experience in project/portfolio management within R&D, innovation, or product development environments
• 5+ years of experience leading or operating within a global, matrixed organization, collaborating across cross-functional and geographically dispersed teams.
• Strong leadership, organizational, and communication skills, with the ability to deliver clear, effective presentations.
• Change management mindset with the ability to bring clarity to ambiguity.
• Financial acu