Program Manager Life Science

East Coast Warehouse & Distribution; Elizabeth (NJ); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

East Coast Warehouse & Distribution seeks a seasoned Risk Assessment & Transportation Compliance lead in New Jersey. You will own lane risk assessments, identify operational risks, and develop contingency plans to keep transportation moves compliant and reliable.

You will coordinate with multiple teams to manage risk, lead cross-functional initiatives, and support GDP/compliance audits, ensuring continuous improvement and customer satisfaction.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in supply chain or related field.
• 5+ years in international logistics, 3PL, or regulated supply chain operations.
• Experience managing customer relationships in a logistics environment.
• Ability to lead across multiple functions without direct authority.
• Strong understanding of warehouse operations, drayage, and OTR trucking.
• Experience with CAPA, 8D, 5 Whys or similar root-cause methodologies.
• Knowledge of GDP/GxP and temperature-controlled logistics; willing to complete ECW GDP/QMS training.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Proficiency with WMS/TMS platforms and Excel.

Responsibilities

• Own documentation and implementation of Lane Risk Assessments for new transportation lanes.
• Identify risks such as weather, congestion, capacity, customs, seasonality, and carrier issues.
• Develop actionable contingency plans for lane risks and ensure readiness by operations teams.
• Coordinate with transportation, customer service, quality, and other teams for lane risk mitigation.
• Ensure compliance with Lane Risk Assessment guidelines and refresh assessments periodically.
• Lead cross-business-line coordination to align warehouse ops, drayage, OTR, customer service, and quality.
• Support audits, GDP requirements, and quality programs across customer programs and lanes.
• Monitor end-to-end customer performance and identify opportunities for service improvement and profitability.

Skills

Customer relationship management

Cross-functional leadership

CapA/8D/5 Why

GDP/GxP knowledge

WMS/TMS proficiency

Excel and reporting tools

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Logistics, Business, Life Sciences, or related field, or equivalent experience

Tools

WMS/TMS platforms

Excel

Job description

Lane Risk Assessment & Transportation Compliance — Mandatory

• Own the documentation and implementation of Lane Risk Assessments for all new transportation lanes prior to launch.
• Identify potential risks and failure points within each lane, including weather, congestion, capacity, customs, seasonality, carrier availability, handling requirements, and other operational risks.
• Develop actionable contingency plans for identified risks and ensure those plans are understood and executable by operational teams.
• Coordinate with transportation, customer service, quality, and other relevant teams to ensure lane-specific risks are appropriately addressed.
• Ensure transportation moves comply with established Lane Risk Assessment guidelines.
• Periodically review and refresh existing lane assessments as part of ongoing risk management and continuous improvement.
• Proactively identify changes in network conditions that could increase transportation risk and recommend mitigation strategies.

Cross-Business-Line Leadership & Operational Integration

• Lead cross-business-line coordination for LS accounts, ensuring alignment across Warehouse Operations, Safeway Drayage, Safeway OTR, Customer Service, Quality & Compliance, SLS, and other supporting functions.
• Drive accountability across functional teams for customer commitments, service recovery, CAPA actions, strategic initiatives, and operational performance.
• Establish and maintain effective communication rhythms across business lines to ensure timely escalation, decision-making, and execution.
• Identify operational interdependencies and proactively address gaps that could affect customer service, quality, compliance, or business continuity.
• Facilitate regular cross-functional touchpoints to identify emerging risks, coordinate priorities, and resolve issues before they become customer-impacting.
• Ensure consistent communication, documentation, and hand-offs between customers and internal teams.
• Serve as the central integrator when customer requirements span multiple business lines, geographies, or operating models.
• Resolve cross-functional conflicts and competing priorities by aligning teams to customer requirements, quality standards, operational realities, and business objectives.

Quality, Compliance & Audit Support

• Support customer, global freight forwarder (GFF), and certification body (e.g., SGS) audits in partnership with the LS Quality team.
• Maintain customer quality agreements and ensure operational adherence to GDP requirements across all customer touchpoints.
• Partner with Quality & Compliance to identify and address quality risks associated with customer programs, transportation lanes, warehouse operations, and service delivery.
• Complete ECW GDP awareness and QMS/CAPA training upon hire and maintain knowledge as quality programs and regulatory requirements evolve.
• Promote a strong quality and compliance culture across all business lines supporting LS customers.
• Ensure appropriate documentation and operational records are maintained to support audit readiness and customer confidence.

Customer & Business Performance

• Monitor end-to-end customer performance across warehouse, drayage, OTR, customer service, and other applicable business lines.
• Identify trends and opportunities that can improve customer experience, operational efficiency, service reliability, and program profitability.
• Use customer and operational data to support fact-based decision-making and continuous improvement.
• Partner with Sales and operational leadership to identify opportunities for account expansion, improved service offerings, and long-term customer retention.
• Support development of customer-facing materials, business reviews, improvement plans, and strategic program updates.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Logistics, Business, Life Sciences, or related field, or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of experience in international logistics, 3PL, supply chain operations, or account/program management, ideally within Life Sciences, healthcare, or a regulated industry.
• Demonstrated experience managing customer relationships in an operational or logistics environment.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and influence across multiple business functions without direct authority.
• Strong understanding of warehouse operations, drayage, and over-the-road (OTR) trucking processes.
• Experience with root cause analysis and corrective action methodologies (CAPA, 8D, 5 Whys, or similar).
• Working knowledge of GDP/GxP and temperature-controlled logistics requirements, or the ability to complete ECW GDP and QMS training upon hire.
• Excellent communication, presentation, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills; comfortable presenting to customer executives and leading QBRs.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple accounts, strategic initiatives, escalations, and competing priorities simultaneously.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze complex operational issues, establish priorities, and drive resolution across multiple stakeholders.
• Proficiency with WMS/TMS platforms, Excel, and business reporting tools.

Preferred

• Experience in Life Sciences, pharmaceutical, healthcare, or cold chain logistics.
• Familiarity with GxP, temperature-controlled, or regulated shipping requirements.
• Prior experience building or managing risk assessment frameworks for transportation networks.
• Experience managing complex, multi-modal, multi-site, or geographically dispersed logistics programs.
• Dangerous Goods/Hazmat familiarity (IATA and DOT 49 CFR awareness), including experience with Class 5, 8, or 9 freight.
• Experience with air freight import/export operations, including ULD handling and airport transfer processes.
• PMP, Six Sigma, or related certification.