Program Manager, Strategic Customer Delivery

Program Manager, Strategic Customer Delivery

Remote | Eastern or Central Time Zones
Travel: Approximately 25–30%
Confidential Search

The Opportunity

Ashton North is conducting a confidential search for an experienced Program Manager, Strategic Customer Delivery to lead complex software implementations and strategic customer relationships within laboratory and scientific environments.

This is not a traditional Project Manager position.

We are looking for someone who understands the unique requirements of clinical, environmental, public health, life sciences, pharmaceutical, or other scientific laboratory environments and can combine that knowledge with strong Program Management, technology implementation, and customer leadership experience.

Experience with LIMS, LIS, laboratory informatics, or related laboratory technology is highly important to this search.

The successful candidate will serve as a trusted partner to strategic customers, leading complex implementations while building relationships across the entire customer organization, from laboratory and departmental users through senior leadership and the C-suite.

What You Will Do

• Lead complex, strategic customer software implementations from planning through successful delivery.

• Serve as a primary relationship leader and trusted advisor for key customers.

• Manage multiple projects, workstreams, dependencies, risks, resources, timelines, and customer expectations.

• Partner with laboratory, technical, operational, and business stakeholders to understand requirements and translate them into successful implementation strategies.

• Communicate effectively with everyone from laboratory professionals and departmental teams to CIOs, CTOs, COOs, and other C-suite executives.

• Build genuine, long-term customer relationships based on credibility, transparency, accountability, and trust.

• Identify implementation risks early and develop solutions before they negatively impact the customer.

• Work closely with internal Project Management, Product, Engineering, Technical, Sales, Customer Success, and leadership teams.

• Provide clear executive-level communication regarding project status, risks, priorities, decisions, and outcomes.

• Lead difficult customer conversations when necessary while maintaining strong relationships.

• Identify opportunities to improve implementation methodology, customer delivery, processes, and overall customer experience.

• Help customers navigate organizational and technology change associated with complex implementations.

What We Are Looking For

• Significant Project or Program Management experience leading complex enterprise software or SaaS implementations.

• PMP certification or a recognized Project Management, Agile, or Scrum certification is strongly preferred.

Examples may include PMP, PMI-ACP, Certified ScrumMaster, Professional Scrum Master, SAFe, or comparable credentials.

• Strong experience working within laboratory environments.

• Experience within clinical laboratories, environmental laboratories, public health laboratories, pharmaceutical/life sciences laboratories, scientific testing, healthcare, or related regulated laboratory environments is highly desirable.

• Experience with LIMS, LIS, laboratory informatics, laboratory software, or related scientific technology platforms is strongly preferred.

• Experience managing complex customer implementations involving multiple stakeholders, integrations, workstreams, and competing priorities.

• Demonstrated ability to manage strategic customer relationships beyond simply managing a project schedule.

• Strong executive presence with the ability to communicate confidently with customer executives and C-suite leadership.

• Ability to communicate equally well with laboratory users, technical teams, department leaders, business stakeholders, and senior executives.

• Experience translating complex technical information into language appropriate for nontechnical audiences.

• Strong understanding of project governance, risk management, change management, scope, resources, budgets, timelines, and implementation methodology.

• Experience working in regulated or compliance-driven environments is highly desirable.

The Person We Are Looking For

Technical and Project Management experience are important, but they are only part of what will make someone successful in this position.

We are looking for someone who is genuine, credible, approachable, and comfortable building relationships with people at every level of an organization.

You should be able to walk into a laboratory and build credibility with the people actually doing the work, then move into an executive meeting and confidently communicate with the customer''s senior leadership team.

The right person knows how to listen, ask good questions, understand what is really happening within a customer organization, and build trust over time.

You should also be comfortable delivering difficult news. When an implementation encounters challenges, we want someone who communicates early, takes ownership, presents solutions, and maintains the customer''s confidence.

Laboratory Experience Matters

We are specifically interested in candidates who understand the laboratory environment.

That experience could come from:

• Clinical or diagnostic laboratories
• Environmental or water testing laboratories
• Public health laboratories
• Pharmaceutical or biotechnology laboratories
• Clinical research organizations
• Life sciences
• Scientific testing laboratories
• Laboratory informatics
• LIMS or LIS software organizations

Candidates who began their careers within a laboratory or scientific environment and later transitioned into Project Management, Program Management, technology, or software implementation are particularly attractive.

Technology Experience

Experience with LIMS or LIS platforms is strongly preferred.

We are also interested in candidates who have led integrations between laboratory systems and other enterprise technologies, data platforms, instruments, ERP systems, healthcare systems, or customer environments.

Experience implementing enterprise SaaS solutions within regulated scientific environments is highly desirable.

Certifications

Candidates should hold a recognized Project Management or Agile certification.

PMP certification is particularly desirable.

Other relevant certifications may include Scrum, Agile, SAFe, PMI-ACP, or comparable Project Management credentials.

Location and Travel

This is a remote opportunity with approximately 25–30% travel based on customer and business needs.

Candidates should reside within the Eastern or Central Time Zones to support collaboration with customers and internal leadership.

Why This Opportunity Is Different

This role sits at the intersecti