Project Management and Portfolio Intern

Job Summary

Do you enjoy turning complex data into clear business decisions while collaborating with teams across R&D, Commercial, and Operations? Join our Strategic Enablement & Innovation Team at IFF, where we lead the end-to-end portfolio across R&D, Commercial, and Operations for the Food Biosciences business. As a Project Management and Portfolio Intern, you will own recurring portfolio and pipeline processes and contribute analysis and recommendations that guide decision‑making across functions and regions. This is a hands‑on role for someone who can take a loosely defined request, figure out what decision it supports, and deliver accurate, decision‑ready work with minimal supervision. This internship offers a unique opportunity to work closely with senior leaders and cross‑functional teams, gaining hands‑on experience in project management, data analysis, and strategic planning.

Where You'll Make a Difference

• Compile the monthly commercial pipeline review end‑to‑end: data extraction, quality checks, reconciliation against prior versions, and drafting the key messages.
• Maintain R&D stage-gate project records and dashboards for the governance meetings and proactively flag inconsistencies such as closed or terminated projects, projects moving stages, missing data, or conflicting sources.
• Lead quarterly regional and portfolio deep dives to identify gaps, overlaps, and opportunities, and present findings and recommendations to stakeholders.
• Provide project management support and analysis to strategic projects and business cases (e.g., market sizing, scenario analysis, financial assumptions).
• Partner with cross‑functional teams (e.g., R&D, Applications, Marketing, Commercial, Operations) to gather and validate project data, including data mapping across systems such as Salesforce and SAP.
• Capture decisions and action items in governance meetings and follow up with owners through to closure.
• Document processes and keep work handover‑ready so it carries on smoothly after the internship.

What Makes You the Right Fit

• Currently pursuing or recently completed a Master’s degree in Business, Operations, Supply Chain, Data Science, or a related field.
• Strong analytical and organizational skills.
• Proven ability to work independently, manage several deliverables with competing deadlines, and ask clarifying questions up front.
• Proficiency in Excel and PowerPoint; familiarity with project management and data visualization tools (e.g., Power BI) is a plus.
• Experience with Salesforce or SAP is a plus.
• Strong attention to detail: you check your own work, reconcile numbers across sources, and explain any differences before sharing.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to present findings clearly and concisely to senior stakeholders.
• Ability to connect data to business context and answer "so what?" with clear insights and recommendations.
• Interest in innovation, project management, portfolio strategy, operations and supply chain, sales, and cross‑functional collaboration.
• Interest in food science, biotech, or B2B ingredients is a plus.
• Proficient in English, both written and spoken

What Success Looks Like

• By month 3: independently delivers the monthly pipeline review with minimal rework.
• By month 6: owns quarterly deep dives and proactively raises data issues and insights.
• By month 12: has contributed to at least one strategic project or business case and documented processes for handover.

What You’ll Gain

• Real‑world experience in global project and portfolio management.
• Exposure to strategic decision‑making and data‑driven planning.
• Mentorship from experienced leaders across functions.
• Opportunity to contribute to impactful projects with visibility across the organization.

How Would You Stand Out?

• Experience with Power BI or other data visualization and reporting tools.
• Knowledge of Salesforce, SAP, or other enterprise business systems.
• Interest or exposure to food science, biotechnology, ingredients, or related B2B industries.

Why Choose Us?

• Gain real‑world experience in global project and portfolio management.
• Work closely with senior leaders and highly experienced cross‑functional teams.
• Develop valuable skills in business analysis, strategic planning, and stakeholder management.
• Contribute to projects that influence business decisions and innovation priorities.
• Receive mentoring and professional development opportunities throughout the internship.
• Build a strong foundation for a future career in project management, strategy, operations, or business leadership.

At IFF, we believe that your uniqueness unleashes our potential.