Senior Program Manager, Food & Beverage - U.S.

DNV Business Assurance is seeking to fill the role of Senior Program Manager, Food & Beverage. This position can be remote from anywhere in the Continental U.S..

The Senior Program Manager, Food & Beverage is accountable for the technical governance, delivery integrity, and business performance of assigned Food & Beverage certification schemes within DNV Business Assurance North America, including SQF and COSTCO programs.

Serving as the primary technical authority for the Local Unit, the role ensures full alignment with DNV Global Technical Hub requirements, applicable accreditation standards (including ISO/IEC 17021 and ISO/IEC 17065), and scheme owner expectations. The position provides strategic technical leadership across auditors, operations, sales teams, and customers, while supporting accreditation readiness, resource planning, and continuous competence development.

The role holds overall accountability for the operational profitability and technical integrity of the Food & Beverage certification portfolio in North America.

What You'll Do:

Scheme and Technical Governance

• Hold overall technical responsibility for all assigned Food & Beverage certification schemes within the Local Unit, including SQF and COSTCO.

• Act as the Local Unit focal point for interpretation and implementation of requirements issued by the Global Technical Hub, including globally managed Food & Beverage schemes such as FSSC 22000 and BRCGS.

Auditor Leadership and Technical Decision-Making

• Provide line management for a team of:
  • Approximately 6 full-time auditors
  • ~25 contracted auditors
  • SQF technical reviewers and supporting roles
    (~30 resources in total)
• Act as a senior technical escalation point for:
  • Interpretation of standards and scheme rules
  • Audit findings and technical nonconformities

  • Technical rejections and corrective action assessment

• Contribute to or oversee technical reviews, certification decisions, and risk evaluations, in accordance with scheme and accreditation rules.

Operational, Sales, and Customer Technical Support

• Support Operations and Sales teams by providing authoritative technical guidance on:
  • Scheme eligibility and scope
  • Certification pathways
  • Interpretation of standards and requirements

• Engage directly with customers, as needed, to provide clear, accurate technical clarification that supports confidence in DNV certification outcomes.

Auditor Qualification, Competence, and Development

• Support onboarding and authorization of new auditors, including:
  • Qualification and scope approvals
  • Scheme-specific authorization and maintenance
• Provide ongoing technical coaching, guidance, and consistency support to auditors.
• Deliver or support annual training programs, including:
  • Scheme and standard updates
  • Industry and regulatory developments
  • Technical consistency and calibration activities

Accreditation and External Oversight

• Support and participate in witness audits and oversight activities, as required.
• Actively support Accreditation Body assessments (e.g., ANAB), including activities related to ISO/IEC 17065.

Key Interfaces

• Global Technical Hub
• Food & Beverage Auditors (Full-time and Subcontract)
• Operations and Sales Teams
• Customers
• Accreditation Bodies (e.g., ANAB)
• Scheme Owners (e.g., SQF, COSTCO)