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

All locations
  • Houston, TX, United States
  • Phoenix, AZ, United States
  • Chalfont, PA, United States
  • Cincinnati, OH, United States
  • Austin, TX, United States
  • Columbus, OH, United States
  • Dallas, TX, United States
  • Detroit, MI, United States
  • Medford, MA, United States
  • Newark, NJ, United States
  • Oakland, CA, United States
  • Oak Brook, IL, United States
Business:
Business Assurance
Position type:
Full Time
Contract type:
Permanent Employee
Job ID:
6552
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Overview

About us

We are the independent expert in assurance and risk management. Driven by our purpose, to safeguard life, property, and the environment, we empower our customers and their stakeholders with facts and reliable insights so that critical decisions can be made with confidence.

As a trusted voice for many of the world’s most successful organizations, we use our knowledge to advance safety and performance, set industry benchmarks, and inspire and invent solutions to tackle global transformations.

About the role

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)

What we offer
  • Generous paid time off (vacation, sick days, company holidays, personal days)
  • Multiple Medical and Dental benefit plans to choose from, Vision benefits
  • Spending accounts – FSA, Dependent Care, Commuter Benefits, company-seeded HSA
  • Employer-paid, therapist-led, virtual care services
  • 401(k) with company match
  • Company provided life insurance, short-term, and long-term disability benefits
  • Education reimbursement program
  • Flexible work schedule with hybrid/remote opportunities
  • Charitable Matched Giving and Volunteer Rewards through our Impact Program
  • Volunteer time off (VTO) paid by the company
  • Career advancement opportunities

Benefits may vary based on position, tenure, contract, or grade level.*

DNV is an Equal Opportunity Employer and gives consideration for employment to qualified applicants without regard to gender, religion, race, national or ethnic origin, cultural background, social group, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, age or political opinion. Diversity is fundamental to our culture and we invite you to be part of this diversity.

DNV is a proud equal-opportunity employer committed to building an inclusive and diverse workforce. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, or business need, without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status. DNV is committed to ensuring equal employment opportunity, including providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with a disability. US applicants with a physical or mental disability who require a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process may contact the North America Recruitment Department (hrrecruitment.northamerica@dnv.com). Information received relating to accommodations will be addressed confidentially

For California, Washington, New York, Washington, D.C., Illinois, and Maryland: “DNV provides a reasonable range of compensation for this role. The actual compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors, including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, and specific location. For the states of California, Washington, New York, Washington, D.C., Illinois, and Maryland only, the starting pay range for this role is $120000 - $150000 annual (USD).

Deadline to apply: May 24, 2026

About you

What Is Required:

  • Bachelor’s degree or higher in food science, food technology, agriculture, biology, quality, or a related discipline.
  • 5 years of experience with Food & Beverage certification schemes, including SQF and customer-driven programs (e.g., COSTCO), within an accredited certification body.
  • 5 years of working knowledge of ISO/IEC 17021 and ISO/IEC 17065, with demonstrated ability to apply accreditation and scheme requirements to audit planning, review, and certification decision-making.
  • Demonstrated experience leading and managing a mixed resource model, including full-time auditors, subcontract auditors, and technical reviewers.
  • Proven capability to act as a senior technical authority, providing sound judgment on:
    • Interpretation of standards and scheme rules
    • Audit findings and nonconformities
    • Corrective action evaluation and technical rejections
    • Certification and risk-based decisions
  • Strong written and verbal English communication skills, with the ability to provide clear, authoritative technical guidance to internal and external stakeholders
  • Travel approx. 10% domestically.
  • We conduct a pre-employment background and drug screening.

*Immigration-related employment benefits, for example visa sponsorship, are not available for this position*

Benefits

Please note, benefits may depend on your contract type, please confirm with your recruiter.

Profit Share

You’ll be part of our global profit share scheme that means we all share in our success as a business. If we profit, so do you. This will be part of our Total Compensation approach each year and depends on our year-end results.

Personal Development

You’ll have a lot of opportunities to learn and grow. Whether it’s building your network, having resources to plan and realise your career goals or enjoying genuine freedom to satisfy your curiosity, we’ll make sure you’re always growing and developing.

401(k)

DNV provides the option for eligible employees to enroll in our professional managed 401(k) plan. We’ll match up to a percentage of employee elected investment, which will become fully vested after a few years.

Healthcare and more

You’ll have multiple medical plans to choose from including Dental, Vision, RX plans, AD&D, Critical Illness, ST/LT Disability, Paid Parental Leave, Virtual TalkSpace Therapy.

Additional benefits

ID theft protection, generous PTO accrual including paid volunteer time off, company paid holidays, discounted pet insurance, dollar-for-dollar charitable donation matching, Dollars for Doers, additional vacation hours purchase plan, commuter benefits, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), tuition reimbursement.

Values-led organization

Our values show a commitment to employees and the community they serve. These serve a guiding light on our journey to fulfill our Purpose of safeguarding life, property, and the environment. Driven by these Values, you’ll have the opportunity to give back through not only charitable matched giving, but through direct support to community organizations and as a mentor to students in underserved communities.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

At DNV, our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is not only an ethical choice, but also a business decision.

Diversity, fairness, and a sense of belonging are a source of strength for our people, our business, and our customers, and help us to deliver on our purpose, vision, and values.

Learn more
Transcript

Business Assurance is a unit of DNV where we are working with our customers towards verifying them if they are compliant with some particular rules. We are responsible for scheduling audits. We need to assign the right person with the right competences to conduct such an audit. And we are analysing and improving their processes. But sometimes we need to register some findings like observation, opportunity for improvement, or even non-conformities. I verify our clients' system management by observing them, how they work, how they produce. It's very interesting because we are delivering some additional information for our customers, what they cannot see or discover in their own systems. My work life as an auditor is completely different than employees who are working from the office every day. Because usually I'm travelling to our customers that are located in a different part of our country. Almost every week I work with different people in different companies. So if you like travel, if you are well organized, DNV can be for you.

Working here

Since 1864 we’ve been dedicated to safeguarding life, property and the environment. Today we remain at the forefront of new technologies and techniques to help our customers transform for a more sustainable future.

At DNV you can expect to deliver career and industry defining work. You’ll be given the time to build your network, the resources to support your development, and the freedom to satisfy your curiosity and desire to learn.

Learn more

Application Process

FAQs

Welcome to our Frequently Asked Questions page. We’ve put together answers to the questions we’re asked most often to help you find the information you need quickly and easily. Whether you're curious about our recruitment process, benefits or career growth and development, you should find the information below.

How can I find job openings that fit my skills and interests?

Explore our official job search page where you can use filters such as job type, location, and department to find roles that best match your qualifications and career aspirations.

What’s your application process like?

You can apply directly through our careers page by submitting your CV and any other documents we require (i.e. university diplomas/transcripts; visas; previous employment reference letters). Make sure your application is fully completed, and you tailor it to the specific job listing. 

Is your recruitment process designed to be inclusive and accessible?

Yes, it is. We're an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all candidates. We’re happy to support your need for any adjustments during the application and hiring process. Share the details of what you need within your application.

What types of interviews might I undergo?

Depending on your role, our interview process may include initial phone screenings, video conferences, and in-person interviews, focusing on both your technical abilities and our shared values. You can ask your recruiter specifically about the interview process for your role. 

How long does the hiring process typically take from application to decision?

The timeline can vary but we make every effort to reply to each candidate as soon as possible and keep everyone up-to-date with where they are in the recruitment process.

How do I know if a recruitment contact is legitimately from your company?

Official communication will come from our verified company email addresses. Carefully check any suspicious looking emails and if you have any doubts, don’t engage.

Are there any fees involved in your recruitment process?

No, we do not charge any fees at any stage of our recruitment process. All applications and interviews are free of charge, we will never ask you to pay any fees or make any payments – please be wary of any requests for payment as these are likely scams.

What should I do if I suspect a job scam?

If you encounter suspicious job postings or recruitment practices, do not provide personal information and contact your recruiter as soon as possible. We take these matters seriously. We will never ask you to pay any fees or make any payments part of our recruitment process.

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Disclaimer

Please beware of recruitment scams that pretend to be from DNV or its employees. We will never ask you to pay any fees or make any payments as part of our recruitment process.