Senior Manager Oracle Applications, Idea to Market (PLM)

Position Summary:

The Sr Manager – Oracle Idea to Market (PLM) will be a key leader in driving the success of Ventura Foods’ Oracle Fusion initiatives, with primary responsibility for the Idea to Market track (PLM) domain. This role will oversee the system architecture, implementation, operations support, and ongoing optimization of PLM processes, ensuring they are tightly aligned with the Oracle Fusion platform, connected custom products and solutions, and Ventura Foods’ business processes. The position also carries responsibility for managing platform customizations, extensions, and integrations to ensure seamless connectivity with other critical business functions, enabling growth, efficiency, and operational excellence.

The role will manage and mentor a team of managers, analysts, and developers, building capabilities and fostering growth. The Sr manager will drive the team and project deliveries towards success and act as both an architect and a hands-on functional expert, designing and delivering scalable, innovative solutions across PLM modules. This role will be a hands-on product techno-functional lead, creating system solutions, such as and not limited to, defining Idea-to-Market-related module configurations, setups, workflows, interfaces, integrations, and other Oracle technical and functional system development and administration responsibilities for application management. This role will also be responsible for all connected custom applications supporting the PLM processes.

In addition, the Sr Manager – Oracle Idea to Market will serve as a product manager for PLM, shaping the product roadmap to align with Ventura Foods’ vision, industry best practices, and emerging technology advancements. By collaborating closely with business stakeholders and IT leaders, this role will translate business needs into robust, efficient, and user-friendly Oracle solutions, ensuring the Idea to Market platform consistently delivers measurable value to the organization through its various commercialization and innovation capabilities.

Major Duties and Responsibilities:

Projects Delivery and Governance. Applications Techno Functional Leadership:

• Execute and deliver organizational initiatives & projects.
• Assess, plan, track, govern and deliver PLM and cross-functional initiatives on time and within budget, ensuring adherence to organizational standards and performance objectives.
• Own the full lifecycle of the Idea to Market (PLM) track products, including implementation, enhancements, maintenance, architecture, operations, and performance management.
• Own, lead and be able to hands on configure, guide, solution PLM modules and related technical architectural system solutions. 
• Lead, manage, and mentor a team of application managers, analysts and developers involved in the design, configuration, development, and support of Oracle PLM applications.
• Establish governance and guidelines for PLM product management, including system design standards, security requirements, development practices, DevOps adherence, deployment planning, and operational support.

Business & IT Engagement:

• Partner with business stakeholders to understand requirements, recommend solutions, and design strategic roadmaps for PLM systems and related functions.
• Ensure alignment of the PLM product roadmap with the broader organizational IT and business vision.
  Communicate status, challenges, risks, and successes effectively to senior leadership, business users, and key stakeholders.

Coaching & Mentoring:

• Define performance standards for the team, conduct periodic evaluations, and provide constructive feedback.
• Mentor and coach team members to support professional growth, aligning individual aspirations with organizational needs.
• Develop and deliver training programs to strengthen technical and functional expertise, teamwork, and continuous learning within the team.

Platform Operations & Optimization:

• Oversee the entire application lifecycle for 'Idea to Market' (PLM) and related cross-functional systems, ensuring reliability, scalability, and security.
• Review and evaluate SaaS product updates. Validate, test & deploy periodic releases and any required oracle patches. 
• Assess impacts, and implement new features and fixes to support evolving business requirements.
• Stay current with emerging technologies, recommending and implementing improvements that optimize platform performance and align with industry best practices.

Documentation, Compliance & Data Governance:

• Ensure creation, maintenance, and accuracy of all relevant PLM documentation, including architecture diagrams, technical designs, workflows, and training materials.
• Able to use and adapt various project implementation methodologies and tools, like and not limited to - Agile, SAFe, CI/CD, AIM, and Jira.
• Enforce data governance policies and ensure compliance with organizational, regulatory, security, and privacy standards.
• Oversee adherence to change management, compliance frameworks, and corporate IT policies across the PLM platform.

Education and Experience:

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Human Resources, or a related field (required).
• Implementation Experience: Proven track record with Oracle Fusion implementations, including at least three end-to-end projects and two full-cycle implementation covering PLM process areas (required).
• ERP Knowledge: 12+ years of experience with Oracle ERP products, with strong understanding of platform functionality, cross-functional integrations, and hands-on expertise in PLM process cycles.(required).
• Fusion Experience: 5+ years of experience specifically with the Oracle Fusion platform, including functional and technical capabilities.(preferred - if no fusion experience, EBS R12 is required).
• Leadership: 5+ years managing teams in an ERP environment (required), preferably within Oracle Fusion PLM track.
• Technical Skills: Experience with PlSql, OCI, VBCS, Redwood UI (preferred).
• Certifications:
  • Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Foundations (preferred)
  • Oracle Product Lifecycle Management Certified Implementation Professional. (preferred)

Knowledge and Skills:

Oracle Fusion 'Idea to Market' (PLM) Expertise:

• Advanced, hands-on experience in Oracle Fusion implementation, development, and maintenance.
• Advanced, hands-on experience in techno functional configurations of the platform - like not limited to as listed below.
  • System configurations, Workflows, Concept creation, Scoring, Feasibility analysis, Product classifications, Item structures, Templates, Item publishing, Attribute groups, Costing prototypes, Cost rollup, Quality test plans, Pricing setups, Customer product mapping, Order enablement, BOM management, ECO workflows, Revision controls, Approval rules (BPM), Cross functional integrations with PPM, R&D, Sourcing, Finance etc, and other oracle system administration/functional responsibilities.
  • Deep functional knowledge of the Idea to Market (PLM) process oracle setups and associated modules and be able configure them ground up, including and not limited to:
    • Oracle Product Development, Product Hub, Quality Management, Oracle Innovation Management.
    • Oracle Procurement, Cost Management, Sourcing.
    • Oracle Supply Chain Planning, Order Management, Pricing.
    • Oracle PPM

Technical Skills:

• Proficiency in Oracle platform extensions, modifications, and customizations (ex:PL/SQL, VBCS, Redwood UI. etc.,).
• Solid understanding of data architectures, management, reporting, and analytics, including OTBI, BI Publisher, and FBDI.
• Experience with systems integration using Oracle Integration Cloud (OIC), SOAP/REST APIs, with exposure to MuleSoft preferred.

Implementation Methodologies:

• Strong expertise in AIM methodology, OUM, and SDLC practices.
• Skilled in applying best practices, hybrid models, and Agile/SAFe frameworks to deliver projects effectively.
• Demonstrated success in leading and delivering full lifecycle Fusion projects — from requirements gathering to deployment, adoption, and ongoing optimization.
• Able to use, and apply tools like Jira, Visio, Lucid, Confluence to create user stories, architectures, vision boards, technical and functional designs etc.,

Program & Vendor Management:

• Track record of leading cross-functional teams, consultants, and SI partners to deliver successful outcomes.
• Experience in managing vendors, evaluating new products and platforms, and overseeing solution adoption.
• Skilled in drafting and managing RFPs, SOWs, and contracts; facilitating vendor assessments and partner selection.

Leadership, Communication & Continuous Learning:

• Strong leadership and people manager skills with proven ability to mentor, coach, and scale teams, particularly in Oracle Fusion HCM modules.
• Effective collaborator, able to influence stakeholders and drive consensus across business and IT teams.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with comfort engaging executives, business partners, and technical staff.
• Ability to stay ahead of Oracle Fusion and HCM innovations, proactively piloting and adopting new features.
• Strategic mindset with a focus on aligning platform capabilities to evolving business needs.
• Passion for continuous improvement and learning, with a current focus on emerging technologies within enterprise IT.