Senior Programme Manager (Vision4ce IPT Lead) in Horsham

Role Purpose: Reporting to the Programme Director, the Senior Programme Manager will be accountable for the successful execution of the Vision4ce Portfolio to contracted time, cost, quality and regulatory requirements. This portfolio encompasses both development projects and standard production. These will span the various stages of the project/programme lifecycle, including design, development, build and complex delivery activities across multiple countries. The Programme Manager will lead the IPT by promoting a culture of trust, openness, and effective team working, and will work closely with IPT Engineering and Operations Leads to ensure the IPT is aligned, any challenges/opportunities are understood and conflicting priorities resolved. This is a vital leadership position within the organisation, contributing to the ongoing growth of the business and strengthening of our relationship with our customers.

Portfolio Responsibilities:

• Governance & Leadership: Provide leadership across the portfolio, ensuring alignment with organisational objectives, customer requirements and working with other IPT Engineering and Operations leads to ensure quality and regulatory standards. Ensure clear progress reporting in agreed format (set by PMO) and KPI tracking (both those set by customer and internal). Delegate responsibility for reporting to sub-IPTs as appropriate, and present portfolio version of this to Senior Leadership as per the governance structure and cadence. Chair IPT reviews, driving accountability, milestone adherence (for both internal and external deliverables), and performance improvement.
• Stakeholder & Customer Engagement: Serve as primary point of contact and/or route for escalation for senior internal stakeholders, customers (as agreed with Sales depending on phase of work) and external partners. Manage strategic relationships with customers and end users (in conjunction with Sales) and suppliers (in conjunction with Supply Chain) to ensure effective communication, compliance and collaboration. Work with Product Managers and Sales to translate customer requirements into actionable portfolio strategies and ensure clear communication of priorities to project teams.
• Planning & Execution: Schedule – responsible for ensuring a robust portfolio schedule that balances the demands of all the workstreams in the portfolio and the available resources. Identify interdependencies and resolve conflicts to maintain delivery adherence. Scope – monitor scope across the portfolio, ensuring any scope creep is analysed and prosecuted via the correct change methodology (e.g. technically, financially, commercially). Prioritisation - Responsible for prioritisation within the portfolio and escalating to the Programme Director where clashes cannot be resolved or the risk to delivery increases. Change - oversee change control process across the portfolio, ensuring impact on cost, schedule and scope are fully assessed and communicated. Resources – ensure the development and maintenance of a portfolio plan and associated resource allocation. Review all resource needs with relevant IPT leads and ensure they agree forecasted load with their functions. Ensure feedback is given to all functional leads on the performance of their people within the IPT.
• Risks, Issues & Opportunity Management: Lead the identification, assessment and mitigation of portfolio risks and issues, ensuring effective collaboration across all team members and functions as required. Champion opportunity management initiatives aimed at improving efficiency, capability and commercial performance. Issue resolution – resolve operational issues in a coordinated manner across the portfolio and escalate strategic decisions to the Programme Director. Ensure all items are tracked across the portfolio and fed into the financial system as appropriate.
• Financial Management & Forecasting: Own portfolio-level budgeting, forecasting and cost-control activities. Monitor actual versus planned financial performance across all portfolio aspects, ensuring early visibility of deviations and implementing recovery strategies where required. Support pricing strategies, business cases and investment appraisals for future programme phases or new bids.
• Compliance & Quality Assurance: Ensure contractual requirements across the portfolio are clearly understood, along with how they will be tracked/tested/assured. Ensure portfolio activities comply with the relevant standard, export controls, safety regulations, security protocols and organisational policies. Drive adherence to audits, engineering reviews, operational reviews and quality assessment to maintain robust product integrity and compliance. Ensure that a standard 8D process is used to problem solve and feedback is shared widely across all IPT’s/Functions.
• Integrated Team Coordination: Drive collaboration across multidisciplinary teams including engineering, supply chain, operations, quality, commercial, and programme management. Establish clear communication protocols across the various interfaces (e.g. within the IPT, IPT/across the business, IPT/customer, IPT/other Stakeholders); ensure correct messaging and alignment across the portfolio. Facilitate information flow, remove blockers, resolve conflicts and ensure teams have the direction, tools, and resources needed to succeed. Promote a culture of integrated delivery, continuous improvement, and shared accountability. Carry out lessons learned activities ensuring any salient lessons are shared across other IPTs and functions. Ensuring timely review of resource needs and coordinating with the relevant functional heads through the standard governance process.
• Business Winning & Bids: Work with Sales to secure the pipeline for the IPT and support any early sales opportunities as necessary. Manage, track and encourage Sub-IPT Leads to work with customers to build and win organic growth opportunities. Foster early involvement in bids of all interdisciplinary input, managing resources to accommodate this. Work alongside Bid Manager to compile all aspects of the bid and sign off the project delivery aspects prior to approval by SLT. Active participation in the latter part of the bid/contract process to ensure that the contract will be deliverable once accepted. Carry out correct kick-off process to induct the project into the portfolio once contract is accepted.

Site Responsibilities:

• Health, Safety & Environment (HSE): Act as the accountable leader for site HSE performance. Ensure compliance with all statutory, regulatory, and company safety requirements. Promote a proactive “zero harm” culture. Lead incident investigation and risk reduction activities.
• Quality & Compliance: Ensure compliance with customer, industry, and regulatory quality standards (e.g. ISO 9001, AS9100, ISO 14001, GMP, or sector-specific requirements). Own audit readiness and performance (internal, customer, and regulatory). Drive root-cause problem solving and corrective actions.

Skills & Experience:

• Experience in working with and managing international stakeholders.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and communication management, including strong commercial acumen.
• Recognised project management qualification.
• Experience of leading and guiding high performing teams to operate within an agile, fast-paced and collaborative working culture.
• Experience of working and delivering within a continuous improvement environment coupled with a personal drive for continuous improvement.
• Background in engineering development, particularly of complex systems and projects ideally within a defence or aerospace industry.
• Maintain personal ability to travel within UK and abroad as required (driving licence, passport etc).

Personal Attributes:

• Leadership and interpersonal skills.
• Strong presentation skills.
• Active listening skills and analytical skills.
• Ability to develop strategies and organise tasks.
• Working in a fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrates our company values of Teamwork, Integrity, Excellence and Courage.
• A flexible, conscientious, and diligent attitude.
• A resilient and adaptable approach.

Work life balance:

• 37.5 hour working week.
• Lunchtime finishes on a Friday.
• Hybrid / flexible working arrangements.
• 28 days annual leave.
• Christmas closure.
• Holiday purchasing scheme.

Benefits:

• Group pension plan – matched contributions up to 6%.
• Income protection scheme.
• Private Medical Insurance.
• Employee Assistance Programme gives you and your family access to 4 key services including remote GP service, second opinion, mental health pathway service and physiotherapy consultations.
• Life assurance policy, including bereavement counselling and probate helpline.
• Company shares incentive plan and save as you earn scheme.
• Electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme.
• Wellbeing initiatives, including access to wellbeing app and the addition of mental health support for all employees.
• Regular sports and social activities.
• Reward platform (high street discounts, employee benefits, health and wellbeing offerings).
• Recruitment referral bonus scheme.
• Excellent learning & development opportunities.

Security Clearance Requirements: Due to the nature of our business, our staff need to be able to obtain UK Security Clearance as a mandated requirement. Therefore, if successful, you will need to provide proof of identity, employment history and right to work in the UK, along with proof of UK residency for at least five years.