Accreditation Manager

Description:

The Accreditation Manager will play a key role within the Certification Division, overseeing the administrative requirements of MRAG Americas’ various accredited certification schemes. Currently, MRAG Americas holds ISO 17065-consistent accreditations to audit and assess companies for conformance with the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and Responsible Fishery Management (RFM) Fisheries Standards, as well as the MSC, RFM, and Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) Chain of Custody Standards. We will also soon be adding the FISH Standard for Crew, a social accountability standard for fishing vessels, with potential for more accreditations in the future. This role is essential in ensuring MRAG Americas continues to meet the accreditation requirements for all schemes while maintaining a high level of quality assurance and control. The Accreditation Manager will coordinate with our accreditation bodies, including the American National Accreditation Board (ANAB) and Assurance Services International (ASI), collaborate with internal teams, and participate in both internal and external audits.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Maintain and update Quality Management System (QMS) documents (including policy manuals, procedures and protocols, assessor handbook, checklists and internal templates) in accordance with MRAG Americas policy changes, certification scheme updates and corrective action responses;
2. Organize and participate in internal audits of program operations, including updating internal audit procedures as needed;
3. Assist with the tracking of required timelines and due dates for all assessments, announcements, non-conformance responses, client notifications, etc.;
4. Assist with tracking qualifications and training of assessors (staff and contractors);
5. Work with assessment teams and managers to determine the root causes of non‐conformances (internal or external), analyze the extent of the issues within the QMS, and develop and implement corrections and corrective actions with regard to non‐conformances;
6. Coordinate Accreditation Body activities, including liaising with ASI and ANAB, and managing MRAG Americas’ response to non‐conformances in the Accreditation Bodies’ databases;
7. Work on developing and implementing documents and policies for any new accreditations as needed;
8. Implement and manage the MRAG Americas conflict of interest procedure across all schemes;
9. Track all certification scheme updates, work with Certification Division staff to update all templates to reflect changes, and notify clients and contractors of new scheme documents;
10. Maintain and update the Terms of Reference for external MRAG committees; and
11. Schedule and coordinate meetings with internal and external committees on a regular basis.

Qualifications:

1. Bachelor’s degree;
2. Experience working with and managing ISO Accredited Schemes (ISO 17065 and 19011 preferred);
3. Experience with the Marine Stewardship Council, Aquaculture Stewardship Council and/or the Responsible Fisheries Management Schemes preferred (not required);
4. Excellent communication skills, attention to detail, and the ability to work remotely and asynchronously with Team members; and
5. Previous job experience in quality management systems or quality control preferred. 

Benefits:

This position includes health coverage consisting of company-paid base health insurance, long-term disability, and life insurance for you. Details of available plans will be provided separately. There are also optional employee-paid health insurance add-ons to cover family members, vision, and dental insurance, and an optional 401(k) retirement plan. The position also includes paid vacation, sick and personal time, as well as 12 paid federal holidays each year. 

Additionally, after 12 months of employment, employees become eligible for up to four weeks of paid parental leave following the birth of an employee’s child or their adoption of an infant child. MRAG Americas will provide an additional eight weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave following the four weeks of paid leave. 

How to apply: Interested applicants should submit their resume and a cover letter detailing their relevant experience and qualifications to Michealene Corlett (michealene.corlett@mragamericas.com) and Jennie Harrington (jennie.harrington@mragamericas.com) by May 9, 2025. Interviews will be scheduled for the week beginning May 12, 2025.