Associate Program Manager

Associate Program Manager - Program Advisory & Collaborative Engagement (PACE)

As part of a leading multi-cultural, multi-national and remote global team in a fast-paced, complex environment, this role executes customer programs through all supplier engagement activities in support of department strategy while maintaining the highest customer satisfaction.

Job Responsibilities:

• Provide feedback on program scope of supplier engagement activities and timelines for required next steps (e.g., program activities: inherent risk, supplier training and acknowledgement, self-assessments, audits, corrective action plan management, etc.);
• Provide recommendations on program documentation and communication tools (e.g., risk-based process flows, RACI chart, internal/external training materials, supplier guidance documents, standardized external email communication templates, etc.);
• Provide recommendations on customer internal escalation protocols for effectively communicating and managing unresponsive suppliers or any identified critical issues, as needed;
• Execute work according to agreed customer program Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to drive continued customer confidence and the highest satisfaction levels;
• Manage the day-to-day tactical execution through quality-controlled processes and procedures, support suppliers with tactical questions;
• Onboard suppliers, maintain overall program status and performance data within the program database for any/all of the following program activities: Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) execution, tracking and scoring; Audit plan execution, tracking, critical escalation, scoring and resulting Focused Corrective Action Plan (CAP) Support; Supplier provided documentation validation according to customer and industry standard requirements;
• Support customer internal stakeholder training and education (e.g., Procurement, Buyers, Category Leads, Quality Assurance teams, etc.) during their onboarding and throughout processes where they are key to program success; Support external stakeholder training and education (e.g., Supplier, Business Partner, approved Audit Firm, etc.) throughout program activities to ensure their understanding of requirements;
• Establish strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders to facilitate the program;

Engage with other Program Managers promoting further development opportunities for the team and in support of overall department strategy;

• Raise awareness of any equipment needs to achieve customer program objectives;
• Promote greater collaboration and a spirit of engagement across the global team;
• Ability to follow direction and remain flexible, as needed, to succeed in meeting customer objectives;
• Complete special projects, as assigned, to support professional development and a maturing program;
• Seek senior team members for guidance, as needed, in order to succeed;
• Ensure alignment across the team to facilitate more consistency with a focus on building efficiencies in the daily operations;
• Provide ongoing recommendations, recognize ongoing potential opportunities and provide recommendations;
• Support annual or bi-annual customer program reviews covering key topics such as supplier performance and risk avoidance, program improvements, regional highlights/trends;
• Conduct regular trending and analysis reporting, monitoring customer program metrics to drive improved performance year over year;
• Present reports on progress to customer objectives and frequently communicate with supervisor on the overall health of customer programs identifying potential opportunities, issues, and best practices;
• Support customer program technology advancements, as needed, by providing business input to optimize effectiveness and efficiency;
• Provide outstanding customer support to avoid any potential negative service situations

Qualifications & Skills:

• Bachelor’s degree or 1 or more years of work experience in a related field preferred; Program management experience for brands/retailers preferred;
• Up to date on latest industry trends;
• Able to articulate trends clearly and confidently;
• Good understanding of processes or systems used by global brands/retailers to improve supplier performance;
• Ability to identify new business opportunities;
• Experience in supporting management objectives, analyzing data and/or processes to respond accordingly;
• Ability to link and apply previous experiences to current business processes to add value to customer programs;
• Ability to work in a complex global network structure as a remote employee with occasional direct oversight;
• Self-motivated "Make It Happen" attitude, passionate, independent, organized, cooperative, flexible, and creative;
• Strong consultative skills and excellent customer communications and solution prioritization;
• Ability to effectively interact and build relationships with various stakeholders;
• Excellent teamwork and interpersonal skills;
• Good conflict resolutions, critical thinking, problem-solving and decision-making skills;
• Ability to identify problems or inaccuracies and propose ideas how resolve or improve;
• Excellent spoken and written English and other language abilities, as specified;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with ability to articulate concepts and solutions at various levels;
• Strong working knowledge of MS Excel, Word, and PowerPoint is required;
• Ability to travel domestically and to nearby countries (less than 10%), rare international travel possible.