Programme Manager (m/w/d) in Leeds

STRONG, a company within the SKYWORTH group, is one of the leading European providers of digital reception equipment, networking products, and televisions. Our products are marketed to major retailers across Europe. The brand's ambition is to offer every household the best possible technological comfort. With this goal in mind, STRONG offers high-performance and reliable products and services through a wide range of affordable, simple, and effective technological solutions.

We are looking for an experienced senior Program Manager to be responsible for delivering products for exciting new consumer electronics solutions in the Digital TV and Connected Home sectors to meet the business requirements, to specification, quality & time.

• Working with the wider team to support new business negotiations with first-cut estimates and advice.
• Work with customer and wider team to ensure product requirements are clearly understood and agreed.
• Negotiations with suppliers and 3rd parties to ensure that they can support the plan (e.g., software vendors, external approvals).
• Prepare and manage all project documentation and plans.
• Responsibility for delivering products and services to agreed time-scales and the required level of quality, including the management of risk to ensure these objectives are made.
• Drive continuous development efficiency activities, continually searching for potential upside opportunities in schedule and product quality.
• Drive and co-ordinate assessment and resolution of any issues/problems that may arise in line with the schedule commitment.
• Work collaboratively with development partners.
• Develop, monitor and distribute project specific plans, capturing and reporting progress against project plans utilising project-based planning tools.
• Work in partnership with other functions in the wider team to secure necessary cross-functional input to projects and to secure necessary core technology, design and test inputs, ensuring that all milestones on the plan are achieved.
• Work with operations and technical team to ensure that volume manufacture starts smoothly and on time.
• Establish and monitor development targets and schedules to ensure timely completion within the required quality, continually questioning, challenging and checking of progress on tasks being performed by the team and third parties.
• Develop, manage, and report progress against objectives as appropriate.
• Manage stakeholders to ensure project meets business requirements.
• Manage customer & supplier relationships in partnership with the commercial owner.
• Continual monitoring, management and mitigation of existing and new risks throughout the project. Communication and escalation where necessary and appropriate.
• Employ continuous improvement, and drive consistency of process and tools aimed at improving the way that Skyworth manages projects.
• The Program Manager owns the content and the accuracy of the information (project plans, reviews, review of the reports & associated approvals, including ensuring actions are addressed accordingly).

• Successful track record of managing technology product development projects from concept to manufacturing, including customer facing experience.
• Effective management of large teams in an indirect management environment.
• Experience of planning and executing complex new product development projects with multi-disciplinary teams.
• Experience of stakeholder management (including customer management).
• Thorough understanding of the needs of “development to manufacture”, preferably in high volume production environment, in order to optimise time to market.
• Good interpersonal, communication, presentation and reporting skills, including report writing, organising/chairing meetings.
• Business awareness – sensitivity to product, project and corporate accountability.
• Experience of Consumer Electronics.
• Understanding of both hardware and software development disciplines.
• Project ownership, focussed on the project end result.
• Self motivated, pro-active, creative, results orientated and tenacious.
• Forward thinking and able to see “wood from the trees”.
• Delivers clear, direct and relevant communications.
• Challenging and questioning rather than accepting.
• Leads by example and proactively listens to project team.
• Experience of using project management tools, MS Project, Jira.

• A varied and challenging task in a well-coordinated team in an international environment.
• Work and life balance: flexible work hours and the option to work remotely.
• Good working atmosphere, short decision-making processes.
• Annual bonus awarded based on company and individual performance.