Innovation Program Manager - Golf Pride

Eaton\u2019s IS GOLF Pride US division is currently seeking a Innovation Program Manager - Golf Pride. This is a Full Time onsite role based at our Pinehurst, NC headquarters! Relocation benefits are available from within the United States.\n\nFor five generations, Golf Pride\u00ae has been the global leader in golf grips. Throughout our history, Golf Pride\u00ae has believed in the importance of developing the best performing, most innovative grips for the world\u2019s best golfers and amateurs alike. As the only brand that touches every golfer, we are obsessed with the connectedness of the hands to the club and this inspires every Golf Pride employee in everything we do. Combine that passion with the resources of Eaton, a $20B global leader that powers businesses worldwide, and it makes for an exciting place to work \n\nThe expected annual salary range for this role is $97000 - $143000 a year. This position is also eligible for a variable incentive program.\n\nPlease note the salary information shown above is a general guideline only. Salaries are based upon candidate skills, experience, and qualifications, as well as market and business considerations. \n\n## What you\u2019ll do:\n\nWe are seeking an Innovation Program Manager to own, in close partnership with Commercial Product Management and Lead Design Engineering, the front end of new product innovation for Golf Pride\u2013branded products sold through major retail partners and direct-to-consumer channels. This role is the single-point owner for front-end standard work, portfolio management, and program delivery, while working in shared leadership with Product and Engineering to ensure concepts progress on time, at target cost, and aligned to the overall business plan. \n \nThis role works day-to-day with Commercial, Innovation, and Operations teams to plan, manage, and deliver the front end of the Golf Pride innovation pipeline.\n\nWhy This Role Is Special \n\u2022 Lead retail-focused innovation programs from the GIC in Pinehurst, working hands-on and in close partnership with Commercial Product Managers, Design Engineering, and Operations leaders \n\u2022 Define and implement how front-end innovation is managed, including standard work, governance, and portfolio cadence \n\u2022 Work across functions and regions to align priorities, timelines, and decisions, proactively anticipating issues and coordinating resolutions to keep programs aligned to the product strategy and business plan \n\u2022 Play a direct role in evolving the Golf Pride product portfolio, influencing what advances into development and ultimately reaches the market \n\u2022 Operate with explicit backing from senior leadership to drive alignment, decisions, and accountability in ambiguous environments \n \nThis role is well suited for a program leader who enjoys building structure, driving clarity, and leading peers through early-stage uncertainty.\n\nPrimary Focus \nThe Innovation Program Manager is accountable for front-end innovation delivery and functional excellence, shared with Commercial Product Management and Engineering, with primary focus on: \n\u2022 Establishing and maintaining standard work for ideas, concepts, and early prototype development \n\u2022 Managing the front-end innovation portfolio, including prioritization, resourcing, and pacing \n\u2022 Ensuring consumer- and customer-led concepts are validated and ready for efficient handoff to downstream development teams\n\n## Key Responsibilities:\n\nProgram \u0026 Portfolio Management \n\u2022 Own the front-end innovation portfolio, including project intake, prioritization, pacing, and governance, in partnership with Commercial Product Management to ensure alignment to product strategy and business priorities \n\u2022 Facilitate structured reviews and decision forums with Product and Engineering leaders to ensure concepts meet strategic, consumer, technical, timing, and cost criteria \n\u2022 Balance desirability, feasibility, timing, and business impact across the portfolio \n \nAuthority, Alignment \u0026 Accountability \n\u2022 Operate with borrowed authority from senior leadership to drive execution of growth plans \n\u2022 Put structure in place, hold peers and leaders accountable, and escalate when necessary to maintain progress, while reinforcing shared ownership and alignment to the agreed product plan \n\u2022 Lead cross-functional and senior stakeholders confidently through periods of ambiguity \n \nCross-Functional \u0026 Global Integration \n\u2022 Serve as the primary integrator across Commercial, Innovation, Operations, and external partners, actively coordinating dependencies, sequencing work, and resolving friction to keep teams aligned and moving together \n\u2022 Partner with APAC-based development and manufacturing teams to align early-stage innovation with downstream execution \n\u2022 Ensure clean handoffs to manufacturing-site Program Managers for development, industrialization, and ramp-up \n \nProcess Excellence \u0026 PMO Integration \n\u2022 Develop, document, and continuously improve standard work, tools, and governance for front-end innovation \n\u2022 Partner closely with the Head of PMO to ensure alignment with enterprise NPD processes and systems \n\u2022 Support PMO-led initiatives that improve speed, decision quality, and delivery predictability across the innovation pipeline \n \nHow This Role Fits Within the PMO \nThis role is part of a broader, integrated PMO model: \n\u2022 The Head of PMO owns end-to-end NPD processes, systems, and overall program delivery \n\u2022 The Innovation Program Manager (this role) focuses on excellence and delivery from idea through consumer-validated prototypes, working in close partnership with Product Management and Engineering before formal handoff \n\u2022 Manufacturing-site Program Managers lead development, industrialization, and launch following handoff \n \nTogether, this ecosystem ensures innovation flows seamlessly from insight to impact.\n\n## Qualifications:\n\nBasic (Required) Qualifications: \n\n * Bachelor\u2019s degree from an accredited institution\n * 5+ years of program or project management experience\n * Must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. without company sponsorship now and in the future \n \n\n\n\n\nPreferred:\n\n * 10+ years of relevant program or portfolio management experience\n * PMP or equivalent certification\n * Program Management experience in performance-driven consumer products or golf\n * Deep familiarity with stage-gate systems, portfolio governance, and collaboration tools (e.g., Teams, Jira, Wrike, Workfront)\n * Passion for building structure that enables creativity\n * Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams and influence without direct authority\n * High confidence operating in ambiguity and driving clarity\n * Strong analytical, organizational, and communication skills\n * Proficiency with Microsoft Office and project/portfolio tools (e.g., Project, Teams, SharePoint, Excel)\n * Approximately 10% domestic/international travel and occasional off-hours calls\n\n\n\nWe are committed to ensuring equal employment opportunities for all job applicants and employees. Employment decisions are based upon job-related reasons regardless of an applicant\u0027s race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, marital status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other status protected by law.\n\nEaton believes in second chance employment. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction history will be considered regardless of their arrest or conviction history, consistent with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, the California Fair Chance Act and other local laws.\n\nYou do not need to disclose your conviction history or participate in a background check until a conditional job offer is made to you. After making a conditional offer and running a background check, if Eaton is concerned about conviction that is directly related to the job, you will be given the chance to explain the circumstances surrounding the conviction, provide mitigating evidence, or challenge the accuracy of the background report.\n\nTo request a disability-related reasonable accommodation to assist you in your job search, application, or interview process, please call us at 1-800-836-6345 to discuss your specific need. Only accommodation requests will be accepted by this phone number.\n\nWe know that good benefit programs are important to employees and their families. Eaton provides various Health and Welfare benefits as well as Retirement benefits, and several programs that provide for paid and unpaid time away from work. Click here for more detail: Eaton Benefits Overview. Please note that specific programs and options available to an employee may depend on eligibility factors such as geographic location, date of hire, and the applicability of collective bargaining agreements.\n