Open Position

Standards & Certification Program Manager

📍 Remote (U.S.) 📄 Contract or Part-Time 👤 Reports to Founder

About AGSI

The American Grill Service Institute (AGSI) is building the first serious, defensible professional credentialing system for the grill cleaning and grill service trade.

Grill service technicians are trusted with gas systems, fireboxes, high-heat components, and safety-critical judgment—yet the industry has historically had no independent, exam-based way to define what “professional” means. AGSI exists to change that.

Mission To elevate grill service into a respected skilled trade by establishing credible standards.
Vision A future where professionalism is verified, consistent, and defensible across the industry.

Why This Role Exists

AGSI is launching technician certification first, and building toward company credentials that recognize businesses for how they operate—not just whether they have talented people.

The Standards & Certification Program Manager will help operationalize AGSI’s standards and translate them into practical, business-friendly pathways. Your work will make certification feel achievable and clear without ever lowering the bar.

"This is not a marketing role. It’s not customer support in the traditional sense. It’s standards + systems + calm leadership."

The Problem You’ll Help Solve

Many strong grill service companies operate with “tribal knowledge”—great work, but inconsistent documentation and safety practices that aren't written down.

  • Standardizing quality checks that currently happen "by feel"
  • Structuring training that is currently informal
  • Removing the owner's fear that certification is "red tape"

Your job is to build a pathway that makes certification feel straightforward while remaining rigorous.

What You’ll Do

Standards & Program Development

  • Refine AGSI standards for certification and company credentialing.
  • Turn standards into clear checklists, templates, and frameworks.
  • Build documentation that small service businesses can actually use.

Company Certification Pathway Design

  • Create a "pathway" from current state to certifiable service location.
  • Develop low-friction ways for companies to demonstrate compliance.
  • Build structured approaches for safety controls, QA, and tech oversight.

Owner-Facing Guidance

  • Speak with business owners to help them understand requirements.
  • Frame professionalization as operational clarity—not red tape.
  • Help owners make excellence repeatable and verifiable.

Who You Are

You thrive at the intersection of standards and real-world operations. You can walk into a messy-but-good business and help it become structured without killing what makes it work.

Systems Thinking You can turn chaos into clean, logical processes.
Plain Language You explain requirements without unnecessary jargon.
Calm Authority You reassure owners while holding the line on standards.
Practical Empathy You respect that owners are busy and seasonal.

Success in 90 Days Looks Like:

  • A clear, scannable "Company Certification Pathway" draft.
  • A starter kit of templates and checklists ready for field use.
  • Owner-facing FAQs that reduce fear and increase clarity.
  • A tighter backend flow for handling applications.

How to Apply

Send a short note, your resume/LinkedIn, and (optionally) an example of a process or checklist you've built to:

Subject: Standards & Certification Program Manager — [Your Name]