Columbia Distributing is one of the nation’s finest beer, cider, wine, spirits, and non-alcoholic beverage distributors since 1935. With our primary hubs are located in Kent, WA and Canby, OR, we distribute some of the best known brands in the beverage business. Today Columbia Distributing employs nearly 3,000 people and covers more than 135,000 square miles across Oregon and Washington.
We were named “2015 Beer Wholesaler of the Year” by the leading beverage business trends magazine Market Watch. Columbia Distributing has also been named the winner of Beverage Wholesaler Magazine’s "Best Workforce Development Award" for 2025.
Our success is based on the deep-rooted tradition of delivering quality products, timely service and a genuine concern for customers’ needs. This is achieved by providing ongoing, sustainable opportunities and growth for our employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders and communities. This national recognition is a powerful reflection of the effort we’re putting into developing our people, investing in leadership growth, and building a culture of continuous improvement. It’s also validation that what we’re doing internally is being noticed and celebrated across our industry.
For more information on Columbia Distributing and career opportunities, please visit www.coldist.com.
The Senior Project Manager (PM) leads complex, high-visibility projects with a high degree of independence, applying and modeling best practices across the project lifecycle
Projects span a broad range of business contexts including operational changes, process improvements, technology implementations, supplier or brand acquisitions, and facility or infrastructure changes. The PM serves as the central hub of project activity: facilitating alignment among cross-functional teams, managing stakeholder relationships, surfacing and mitigating risk, and ensuring that leaders and sponsors have accurate, timely information to support good decisions throughout the project lifecycle.
Primary Responsibilities
- Manage a portfolio of concurrent projects or lead complex, multi-phase programs, maintain visibility across interdependencies, shared resources, and competing priorities without loss of delivery quality on any workstream.
- Independently leads scope definition and charter development with executive sponsors and key stakeholders to define scope, objectives, success criteria, and change management needs.
- Constructs and drives comprehensive project plans and determines the most appropriate methodology to use.
- Provide informal coaching and peer review to Project Managers and Project Coordinators, sharing expertise to elevate team capability
- Negotiate clear expectations with vendors, enforce contractual accountability, and escalate performance gaps with recommended resolution paths.
- Facilitate project team meetings, working sessions, and decision points, creating conditions for productive dialogue, shared ownership, and clear accountability across functions.
- Build and maintain a stakeholder engagement plan; identify stakeholder interests, concerns, and influence levels early and maintain consistent, tailored communication throughout the project.
- Serve as the primary point of contact for project communication and provide regular, structured status updates to sponsors, stakeholders, and leadership that are accurate, transparent, and actionable.
- Develop and maintain a proactive risk register; identify, assess, and track risks and issues throughout the project lifecycle and drive mitigation and contingency planning with the appropriate team members.
- Manage project ensuring impacts are clearly documented and decisions are made at the appropriate level.
- Monitor and report on project performance against baseline scope, schedule, and budget using clear metrics and project dashboards; escalate variances with recommended corrective actions.
- Manage vendor and supplier deliverables by clearly communicating expectations, tracking performance, and holding parties accountable to contractual commitments.
- Produce accurate and thorough project documentation including charters, RACI documentation, decision logs, action trackers, bug trackers and lessons learned that support continuity and organizational learning.
- Adapts and optimizes methodology to fit project complexity.
Key Competencies
- Facilitation & Stakeholder Management -- Skilled at bringing cross-functional groups together to build consensus, resolve conflict, and move work forward. Able to identify stakeholder motivations and navigate competing priorities with diplomacy and transparency. Builds trust at all levels of the organization.
- Communication Proficiency -- Exceptional verbal and written communication skills. Able to tailor messaging to audience, whether presenting to executives, running a working session with operational teams, or drafting a project status report. Produces clear, concise, and accurate communications consistently.
- Risk Management -- Proactively identifies threats and opportunities across the project environment. Skilled at facilitating risk conversations with teams and leaders, developing mitigation strategies, and maintaining visibility into risk status throughout delivery.
- Project Management -- Strong command of project management fundamentals: scope definition, scheduling, budgeting, resource planning, and change control. Demonstrated track record of delivering projects on time and within budget while managing complexity and ambiguity.
- Business Acumen -- Understands how Columbia Distributing operates as a beverage distribution business and how projects connect to operational goals, customer outcomes, and company performance.
- Personal Effectiveness -- Organized, accountable, and composed under pressure. Able to manage multiple priorities simultaneously and maintain accuracy and quality in project reporting and documentation. Exercises sound judgment and escalates effectively.
People Management
This role leads cross-functional project teams without direct authority, building alignment and accountability through strong relationships, clear communication, and disciplined process. The Senior Project Manager is expected to develop productive working relationships with operations, sales, IT, finance, and administrative leadership across the company.
Work Environment
This role operates primarily in an office environment with occasional travel to distribution facilities, warehouse locations, or vendor sites.
Physical Requirements
- Bend/stoop/crouch/squat/use arms/wrists/hands/grasp throughout shift.
- Climb stairs/ladder occasionally
Expected Hours of Work
This is a full-time position, days/hours of work vary, and may include weekends.
Required Education and Experience
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience
- Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM), Scrum or other project management certification required
- 5+ years of project management experience, including demonstrated experience managing cross-functional projects
- Expert at navigating competing stakeholder priorities and driving alignment across complex, cross-functional teams.
- Proven track record managing risk across complex, high-visibility initiatives
- Expert with both waterfall and agile project delivery approaches
- Advanced proficiency with project management tools such as MS Project, Smartsheet, or equivalent
Preferred Education and Experience
- Experience working in distribution, supply chain, logistics, or a similarly operational environment preferred
- Change management training or certification (e.g., Prosci or Kotter)
Compensation
- Actual compensation packages are based on a wide array of factors unique to each candidate, including but not limited to skill set, years and depth of experience, certifications, and specific location.
- Employees (and their families) are eligible for medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance. Employees are able to enroll in our company's 401k plan. Employees are also eligible for 80 hours of vacation every year and 7-8 days of paid holidays throughout the calendar year (depending on location).
- Hired applicant may be eligible for incentives/ bonuses/ annual bonuses.
Classification: Exempt
Reports to: Manager of Project Delivery
Benefits
Paid Vacation and Sick Days Holiday Pay Competitive Health Insurance Plans 401(k) with company matching Short-Term Disability and More Benefits may not be available for positions covered under active CBA, seasonal, or part-time.
AAP/EEO Statement
Columbia Distributing is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, protected veteran status, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
