Senior Manager, Programs

Overview Job ID : Location : Birmingham : Trinity Park : Bi, LRQA - London - Moorgate Position Category : Management Position Type : Employee Regular About The Role The Programs business leads LRQA’s efforts to develop tailored solutions for large corporate clients, fostering deep, strategic relationships. These bespoke solutions, which range from managing fully outsourced Responsible Sourcing Programs to interim, geographically, or topically targeted support often drive the creation of new services that can be scaled across LRQA. With Programs frequently serving as the foundation for broader offerings, the role demands a strong customer focus and a solutions-driven mindset. While leveraging LRQA’s existing capabilities, solutions are shaped by each client\'s unique processes, culture, and risk profile. We are now seeking an experienced and detail-oriented TBD to join our Advisory Programs team. This role will be responsible for overseeing a select number of Programs engagements in the EMEA region, as well as onboarding and managing new outsourced Programs clients, ensuring a smooth transition from program design to full implementation. In addition, the TBD will be supporting the business with developing new Programs opportunities. The ideal candidate will bring deep expertise in human rights, supply chain management, and audit programs, with a proven track record of implementing, managing, or supporting human rights due diligence (HRDD) programs for multinational companies Key Job Responsibilities – Overview Manage and Oversee Select Program Clients in Europe Lead and manage a portfolio of key Program clients across EMEA and UK and Ireland, ensuring their needs are met through tailored solutions. Oversee delivery performance, ensuring programs run efficiently, meet KPIs, and stay within budget. Build strong client relationships to drive satisfaction, retention, and growth opportunities. Manage and support the client-facing team, ensuring a high standard of service and client focus. Support Program Opportunities Across EMEA and UK & Ireland Partner with EMEA teams to identify, shape, and support new Program opportunities aligned with LRQA’s growth strategy. Contribute to business development efforts by enabling colleagues, primarily in the Commercial and Consulting teams, to sell Program solutions. Support the standardization of pricing, delivery models, and operational processes in collaboration with regional leadership. Onboard New Program Clients and Teams Lead the onboarding of new Program clients, including the development of customized engagement models. Recruit, onboard, and manage new team members aligned to client requirements. Establish clear process flows, reporting structures, and meeting cadences to ensure seamless integration and ongoing delivery excellence. Ensure a smooth transition from sales to delivery, maintaining a consistent client experience. Key Job Responsibilities - Details Manage and Oversee Select Program Clients in Europe Act as the lead program manager for a portfolio of key Program clients across Europe, overseeing implementation, stakeholder coordination, and ongoing service delivery. Oversee delivery performance across assigned clients, ensuring programs run efficiently, meet KPIs, comply with SLAs, and remain within budget. Serve as a trusted advisor to clients on responsible sourcing, sustainability, and human rights risks in complex, global supply chains. Build and maintain strong client relationships to drive satisfaction, retention, and strategic growth opportunities. Manage outsourced and embedded delivery models, ensuring effective audit scheduling, supplier engagement, remediation support, and consultative guidance. Supervise and support client-facing teams to ensure consistency, high-quality service delivery, and client-centric problem-solving. Contribute to cross-functional efforts to enhance consistency in quality of service delivery across Program clients. Support Program Opportunities Across EMEA and UK&Ireland Collaborate with EMEA leadership and commercial teams to identify and shape new Program opportunities aligned with LRQA’s growth strategy. Support business development efforts by advising sales teams on program design, solution tailoring, and strategic positioning. Provide subject matter expertise during proposal development, client presentations, and scoping discussions. Assist Head of Programs in developing standard operating models for pricing, resourcing, delivery, and client onboarding to promote efficiency and scalability across regions. Onboard New Program Clients and Teams Lead the onboarding of new Program clients by developing tailored engagement plans, meeting cadences, and communication frameworks. Conduct onboarding meetings and cross-functional workshops with clients and internal stakeholders to align on scope, expectations, and success metrics. Support development of client-facing materials such as guidance documents, training content, FAQs, and escalation protocols to support consistent delivery. Oversee recruitment, onboarding, and capability development for new team members aligned to specific client needs. Ensure smooth handover from commercial to delivery teams, maintaining continuity and consistent client experience throughout. Business Development & Proposal Support Contribute technical expertise and insights during proposal and pitch development for prospective Program clients. Participate in introductory and scoping calls with potential clients, advising on strategy, risk-based priorities, and sourcing landscape challenges. Collaborate with commercial, delivery, and subject matter teams to define scope, pricing structures, resourcing plans, and delivery models. Support the creation of case studies, capability statements, and value propositions that demonstrate LRQA’s experience and impact in responsible sourcing and human rights programs. Required Qualifications Minimum of years of experience in sustainability, responsible sourcing, human rights, or supply chain management. Experience managing a social audit program on the brand / retail side, or support the implementation from a service provider side including planning, execution, and follow-up on remediation. Demonstrated knowledge of common audit methodologies such as SMETA, BSCI, SLCP, and familiarity with global labor standards. Hands-on experience with human rights due diligence programs, ideally for multinational clients or within complex supply chains. Strong client-facing project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple stakeholders and competing priorities. Ability to effectively collaborate with clients and internal colleagues across the globe. Excellent written and verbal communication skills; capable of simplifying complex topics for diverse audiences. Fluent in English; additional languages a plus. Based in EMEA, UK&I and able to travel occasionally. Preferred Qualifications Experience with regulatory frameworks (, EU CSDDD, UK Modern Slavery Act, French Duty of Vigilance Law). Familiarity with global supply chain structures and procurement practices. Consulting, audit delivery, or assurance background is a strong asset. Strong analytical and reporting skills; experience with program dashboards or audit management systems is a plus. Certification or coursework in sustainability, human rights, supply chain, or project management (, SA, PMP, ISO , etc.). Pre-Employment Checks If you are successful in securing a role with us, you will be subject to pre-employment checks, depending on the legal requirements and practices in your country of employment. If eligible these checks will include right to work, identification, verification of employment history, education, and criminal records where permitted by local law. All checks will be conducted in accordance with applicable privacy and data protection regulations. We will involve the third party supplier to run the background checks as needed and your data will be retained for a period as needed for the purpose of recruitment. To the extent to be permitted by the applicable local law, your data may be stored outside of your employment country dependent on our operation structure. Your application of this role will constitute as your consent on this paragraph. #J-18808-Ljbffr