Certification and Compliance Sr Specialist

SUMMARY OF POSITION

The Certification & Compliance Senior Specialist is responsible for leading the strategy, governance, and execution of the company’s global certification and customer compliance programs. This role owns the full lifecycle of certifications (e.g., FSC, SFI, PEFC and other regulatory or customer-driven requirements) and ensures alignment with evolving regulatory frameworks and business priorities. The role serves as a cross-functional leader, driving alignment across operations, sourcing, sales, R&D, and external partners to ensure compliance while enabling market access and customer growth.

This individual operates with a high degree of autonomy, managing complex, multi-stakeholder initiatives and influencing outcomes without direct authority.

• Own and continuously evolve the global certification and compliance program, including strategy, governance, and roadmap development.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives to ensure alignment with regulatory, customer, and sustainability requirements.
• Identify emerging regulatory trends and proactively assess business risk and opportunities, advising leadership on impacts.
• Establish KPIs and dashboards to track certification performance, risks, and compliance status across the organization.

• Lead end-to-end management of Forestry Chain of Custody certifications (FSC, SFI, PEFC) and expansion into new certification schemes.
• Drive standardization and optimization of certification processes globally, improving efficiency, scalability, and audit readiness.
• Oversee audit strategy and execution, including preparation, coordination, and issue resolution across internal teams.
• Maintain executive visibility into certification status, risks, and remediation plans.

• Translate customer compliance requirements into actionable internal standards and processes.
• Partner with Sales and Marketing teams to enable market access and support customer growth through certification readiness.
• Review and interpret customer contracts to assess risk and ensure alignment with certification and regulatory obligations.

• Serve as the central point of accountability for certification and compliance across functions, ensuring clear ownership and follow-through.
• Influence and guide stakeholders (Operations, Procurement, Sales, R&D) to meet compliance requirements and deadlines.
• Lead cross-functional working groups and project teams to deliver compliance initiatives.

• Identify and lead initiatives to improve systems, tools, and workflows related to certification and compliance.
• Develop and maintain governance frameworks, documentation standards, and internal controls.
• Lead training and capability-building efforts across the organization.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, Engineering, Environmental Science, Sustainability or related field.
• Master’s degree or additional certifications in sustainability, product stewardship, ISO or Forestry Lead Auditor is a plus.

• Advanced project and program management capabilities, including ability to manage multiple complex initiatives simultaneously.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and influence without authority.
• Strong analytical skills with ability to translate regulatory requirements into business processes and risk insights.
• Experience developing dashboards, metrics, or reporting frameworks to support decision-making.

• Proficient in using regulatory compliance software, environmental databases, and standard office applications (e.g., Microsoft Office).
• Exceptional communication skills, both written and verbal, to communicate regulatory requirements, compliance issues, and technical information clearly to various stakeholders.
• Abi…