Program Manager

Job Description

Program Manager, Made-to-Order Engagement Rings

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

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Type: Contract, 12+ months

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Job Overview

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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.

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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.

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What You'll Do

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

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Required

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• Make-to-order, build-to-order, or configure-to-order experience. You've run or designed a personalization model, not only make-to-stock.
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• 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.
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• 10+ years leading cross-functional programs, largely in manufacturing, retail, or luxury.
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• A track record delivering multi-year, multi-system programs across several departments, with reporting to a steering committee.
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• 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.
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• Hands-on process and requirements skills. You can facilitate workshops, map business processes, and write requirements developers can build from.
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• Systems fluency across ERP, warehouse, planning, and retail selling tools, and comfort working with IT on integrations.
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• Consulting presence. You lead through influence without direct authority and are credible with executives from day one.
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• Strong communication skills and experience working with stakeholders across the US, Europe, and Asia.
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Nice to Have

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

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