Program Manager

Program Manager, Made-to-Order Engagement Rings

Location: Whippany, NJ (hybrid, minimum 3 days/week onsite)

Type: Contract, 12+ months

Job Overview

This is a high-visibility, enterprise-wide transformation with a target go-live of Q3 2027. It spans Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Retail, Product, Legal, Finance, and IT. The end-to-end business process map is underway.

Our client is looking for a seasoned Program Manager who can step in on day one and lead it. You'll keep a large cross-functional team aligned on requirements and build a realistic plan across many systems, workflows, and IT teams.

What You'll Do

• Own the program plan. Build the preliminary timeline that the steering committee is waiting for, then manage it through go-live.
• Run governance. Lead 7 working groups, present to the Project Committee, maintain the decision log, and drive biweekly decision sign-off.
• Drive requirements. Complete the end-to-end business process map, then lead detailed business requirements that IT can build from.
• Align business and IT. Make sure every process stage has a named business owner, a named IT owner, and a clear system plan.
• Manage risks and escalations. Track risks and dependencies, and escalate decisions that working groups can't resolve.
• Coordinate key decisions across workstreams:
• Diamond supply: stone storage, reservation, and tariff impacts
• Manufacturing: agile line setup and DDMRP planning
• Retail: the in-store selling journey and Client Advisor tools
• Product: styles, SKUs, master data, and pricing
• Legal and compliance: returns policy and international shipping
• Serve as the single point of contact for leadership and operating teams.

What You Bring

Required

• Make-to-order, build-to-order, or configure-to-order experience. You've run or designed a personalization model, not only make-to-stock.
• A luxury or high-value product background. Jewelry or watches are ideal; other luxury goods or high-value products with serialized components are also relevant.
• 10+ years leading cross-functional programs, largely in manufacturing, retail, or luxury.
• A track record delivering multi-year, multi-system programs across several departments, with reporting to a steering committee.
• Supply chain and manufacturing knowledge, including pull-based planning and DDMRP, critical-inventory control, lead times and service levels, and international shipping of high-value goods.
• Hands-on process and requirements skills. You can facilitate workshops, map business processes, and write requirements developers can build from.
• Systems fluency across ERP, warehouse, planning, and retail selling tools, and comfort working with IT on integrations.
• Consulting presence. You lead through influence without direct authority and are credible with executives from day one.
• Strong communication skills and experience working with stakeholders across the US, Europe, and Asia.

Nice to Have

• Retail rollout and change management across a store network, including training and phased launches
• Product master data, bills of material, and SKU and pricing setup
• Returns policy and compliance work across countries, including EU regulations
• PMP or another program management certification

Systems Environment

• JD Edwards EnterpriseOne (E1), the core ERP across nearly every workstream
• Blue Yonder / APS (planning)
• Anaplan (pricing)
• Manhattan Active WM (warehouse)
• IBM Sterling (order management)