Global Technical Manager - Business Assurance, Certification

responsibilities: Provide senior-level contribution to the strategic direction of the Business Assurance Certification business. Act as lead advisor to business management on certification, accreditation, impartiality, technical governance, integrity and business risk matters. Maintain expert knowledge of core accreditation and certification requirements, including ISO/IEC 17021-1, ISO/IEC 17065 where applicable, IAF, EA and other relevant regional or product-specific requirements. Interpret external accreditation requirements and convert them into clear, practical and enforceable internal policies, procedures, tools and controls. Oversee global accreditation activities and support affiliates in maintaining, extending or defending local accreditations. Directly or indirectly support key Accreditation Body relationships and activities, including UKAS, ANAB, SAS and other local or product-specific Accreditation Bodies as applicable. Resolve technical, accreditation, operational and commercial conflicts across the network, balancing compliance, impartiality and business impact. Work with operations, sales, IT, product groups and regional teams to define core systems and ensure adoption of global best practice. Identify improvement opportunities in procedures, systems, governance controls, competence frameworks and technical support processes. Support development of new certification products and services by ensuring technical feasibility, accreditation alignment and operational readiness. Maintain responsibility for technical direction and leadership of specific certification products or schemes as required. Required profile - essential: Graduate-level qualification or equivalent professional experience in a relevant technical, scientific, engineering, management system, commercial or governance discipline. Minimum 10 years of relevant certification and/or accreditation experience, including significant management system certification experience in an accredited third-party certification environment. Substantial global or multi-region certification leadership experience. Experience limited to a single country, single affiliate, consultancy-only environment or narrow technical discipline is not sufficient for this role. Proven experience leading geographically dispersed and culturally diverse technical teams, including direct or matrix management of senior specialists across multiple countries or regions. Demonstrable track record of setting or enforcing technical policy, accreditation strategy, certification governance controls or network-wide requirements at regional or global level. Strong technical command of management system certification and accreditation requirements, including impartiality, competence, audit delivery, certification decision-making and Accreditation Body expectations. Credibility to engage with senior business leaders, Accreditation Bodies and technical experts, and to make well-reasoned decisions under pressure where there is commercial, accreditation or integrity risk. Commercial judgement sufficient to ensure compliant service delivery remains efficient, scalable and aligned with business objectives. Fluent written and spoken English, with the ability to communicate complex technical requirements clearly to senior leaders and operational teams. Required skills and behaviours: Senior technical leadership and sound professional judgement. Strategic outlook with the ability to translate technical and accreditation requirements into practical business solutions. High-impact influencing skills across a matrix organisation, including the ability to challenge senior stakeholders constructively. Strong people leadership, coaching and performance management capability for senior technical professionals. Ability to manage conflict, competing priorities and ambiguity without compromising certification integrity or accreditation compliance. Change management capability, including leading adoption of new systems, procedures and working practices across a global network. Innovation mindset and ability to challenge established practice where simplification, digitalisation or risk reduction is possible. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including executive-level briefing, external representation and clear policy drafting. Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications and willingness to work with digital certification, workflow and reporting tools. Flexibility to travel internationally as required by Accreditation Body, leadership, governance or network support activities. Desirable experience: Senior role within SGS, another global Certification Body or an Accreditation Body. Lead auditor, technical reviewer, certification decision-maker, trainer or scheme manager experience in accredited third-party management system certification. Experience implementing significant change to certification systems, competence frameworks, technical review processes, audit delivery models or accreditation governance. Experience leading or supporting digital transformation, automation, remote audit delivery or AI-enabled process improvement within certification or conformity assessment. Additional languages relevant to the SGS network or Accreditation Body engagement. We are SGS – the world's leading testing, inspection and certification company. We are recognized as the global benchmark for sustainability, quality and integrity. Our 99,600 employees operate a network of 2,600 offices and laboratories, working together to enable a better, safer and more interconnected world. At SGS, we have an open corporate and international culture. We offer a dynamic work environment in a leading global company. Our high professional standards and our sustainability approach guarantee you a future-oriented work environment. We invest in our employees for the long term and are committed to supporting your development within the company. Our business principles include: Integrity, Health, Safety &