Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Lely is seeking a highly accomplished Program Manager to lead a critical growth initiative within North America. The role is responsible for coordinating a large-scale, cross-functional strategic development program, managing execution plans, schedules, resources, budgets, risks, validation activities, and stakeholder alignment across North American and global teams.
Responsibilities
- Lead execution of the large-scale dairy program within the strategic vision, objectives, and governance framework established by strategic leadership
- Translate strategic direction into detailed execution plans, workstream objectives, milestones, and measurable deliverables
- Develop and maintain the integrated master program plan across all participating workstreams
- Act as the bridge between development teams, partner farms, Business Teams, and North American stakeholders to ensure coordinated execution
- Coordinate program resources and identify capability gaps, making recommendations for resourcing decisions
- Drive accountability for deliverables, timelines, and dependencies across all participating functions
- Ensure alignment between North American execution activities and global program objectives
- Own and maintain the integrated master program schedule, including dependencies, critical paths, and resource requirements
- Establish and maintain operating rhythms, reporting structures, and program controls
- Prepare and facilitate stage-gate reviews and executive reporting packages
- Ensure all required evidence, documentation, and recommendations are available for go/no-go decisions
- Monitor scope, schedule, budget, resource utilization, and program performance
- Administer change control processes and assess impacts to scope, timing, cost, and risk
- Escalate strategic trade-offs and decision points to strategic leadership
- Build and maintain strong working relationships with stakeholders across Lely North America and Lely International to ensure alignment, transparency, and program momentum
- Serve as a key connector between strategic leadership, Business Teams, development teams, partner farms, and external stakeholders
- Coordinate activities across technical, operational, product development, digital, commercial, and Business Team workstreams
- Facilitate collaboration and issue resolution among multiple teams and stakeholders
- Surface conflicts, resource constraints, and strategic trade-offs requiring leadership decisions
- Ensure information flows effectively between development teams, partner farms, Lely Centers, and Business Teams
- Maintain strong working relationships with development partner farms, external vendors, consultants, and implementation partners
- Coordinate day-to-day program activities with external stakeholders
- Manage progress, deliverables, and communications within agreed program structures
- Ensure field validation activities are executed effectively and lessons learned are integrated into program planning
- Serve as the primary operational liaison between the Program and development partners
- Manage the program budget, forecasting process, and financial tracking mechanisms
- Monitor expenditures and provide variance reporting and recommendations
- Maintain the program risk register, including mitigation plans, owners, and escalation paths
- Identify operational, technical, financial, and execution risks and drive mitigation activities
- Escalate strategic risks and investment decisions to strategic leadership
- Provide regular program performance reporting to leadership
- Lead field validation efforts with development partner farms and stakeholders
- Gather operational feedback and validation data
- Translate field learnings into actionable recommendations for Business Teams and Proposition Management
- Ensure customer and stakeholder feedback is incorporated into development priorities where appropriate
- Support, but do not own, commercialization planning and market launch decisions
Skills
- Bachelor's degree in business, Agriculture, or a related field, with:
- 7–10+ years of experience leading complex cross-functional programs, projects, or business initiatives
- Demonstrated success delivering large-scale programs involving multiple stakeholders, workstreams, and dependencies
- Experience coordinating technical, operational, commercial, and development activities in complex environments
- PMP or equivalent program/project management certification required
- Demonstrated expertise in program governance, planning, execution, and risk management
- Excellent program and project execution capabilities
- Strong organizational planning and coordination skills
- Ability to deliver results in complex and ambiguous environments
- Skilled at stakeholder communication and issue escalation
- Strong collaboration and relationship-building abilities
- High degree of accountability and follow-through
- Ability to bridge multiple teams, functions, and external partners to achieve program objectives
- Sound judgment regarding when to make decisions independently and when to escalate matters for leadership direction
- Strong financial acumen, including budget management, forecasting, and resource planning
- Exceptional stakeholder management and executive communication skills
- Ability to balance strategic thinking with hands-on execution
- Comfortable interpreting technical concepts and connecting them to business outcomes
- Approximately 30% travel required, both nationally and internationally
- Experience working within matrixed or global organizations preferred
- Agile, Lean Six Sigma, or similar methodologies are highly valued
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