Programme Manager

General Dynamics Mission Systems engineers a diverse portfolio of high technology solutions, products and services that enable customers to successfully execute missions across all domains of operation. With a global team of more than 13,000 top professionals, we partner with the best in industry to expand the bounds of innovation in the defence and scientific arenas. In the UK, we are leading the way in avionics and communication systems. Given the nature of our work and who we are, we value trust, honesty, alignment and transparency.

We’re entering an exciting period of growth and are looking to strengthen our Programme Management capability with experienced Programme Managers who can help us successfully deliver existing commitments while supporting the next phase of the business.

This is an opportunity to join a technically complex environment where Programme Managers play a central role in bringing together engineering, customers, partners and suppliers to deliver sophisticated solutions for the defence sector.

You’ll take ownership of a portfolio of projects and programmes, working across the full delivery lifecycle from bids and initial planning through development, integration and delivery. With exposure to Tactical Communications and complex engineering programmes, you’ll have the opportunity to work on challenging projects where effective programme leadership really matters.

We are particularly interested in Programme Managers who enjoy creating structure around complexity, building strong relationships and bringing cross-functional teams together to deliver.

As a Programme Manager, you will be responsible for the successful management and delivery of multiple projects across the organisation, working across both existing programmes and future business opportunities.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Leading a portfolio of low to medium complexity projects, with opportunities to take on increasingly complex programmes as our business grows.
• Managing projects across the full lifecycle, from bid and initial planning through development, integration, delivery and close-out.
• Driving the successful delivery of complex engineering projects within the Tactical Communications domain.
• Leading and coordinating multidisciplinary engineering and cross-functional teams to achieve programme objectives.
• Building effective working relationships with customers, partners, subcontractors and suppliers across the defence industry.
• Ensuring projects are delivered to agreed time, cost, quality and performance requirements.
• Maintaining strong programme governance, including planning, financial control, risk and opportunity management, reporting and performance metrics.
• Proactively identifying and managing programme risks, dependencies and delivery challenges.
• Managing project budgets and maintaining effective financial and commercial control.
• Overseeing subcontractor and supplier performance as part of the wider delivery programme.
• Contributing to competitive and non-competitive bids, helping to shape deliverable, commercially robust solutions for future customer requirements.
• Planning and delivering projects in both traditional Waterfall and Agile/SAFe environments.
• Providing clear programme reporting and communicating progress, priorities and challenges to key stakeholders.

We’re looking for an experienced Programme or Project Manager who is comfortable operating in a complex engineering environment and can combine strong delivery discipline with excellent stakeholder leadership.

Ideally, you will bring:

• Proven experience managing complex, multidisciplinary projects within defence, communications, engineering or a similarly regulated environment.
• Strong knowledge of project and programme governance, planning and control.
• Demonstrable experience leading projects of medium to high complexity.
• Experience managing budgets, risks, schedules, resources, suppliers and project performance.
• The ability to lead cross-functional teams and build strong relationships with technical specialists, customers and senior stakeholders.
• Experience working across both Agile and traditional Waterfall delivery environments.
• An understanding of change management and programme-level frameworks such as MSP and P3M.
• Ideally, experience or knowledge of Tactical Communications systems, including their design, development, integration, deployment or operation.
• A degree in a relevant discipline such as Engineering, Business or IT, or equivalent professional experience.
• Professional project/programme management accreditation such as APM PMQ, PRINCE2, PMP or SAFe Agilist would be advantageous.

Why join us?

This is a particularly exciting time to join the business.

As we continue to grow, we want to develop our Programme Management capability alongside it, creating opportunities for talented Programme Managers to broaden their experience, take on greater responsibility and play an important role in delivering our future programmes.

For someone who enjoys working at the intersection of engineering, technology, customers and delivery, this role offers the opportunity to make a tangible contribution within a complex and evolving defence environment.

You'll be joining a business where Programme Management isn't simply about tracking plans and reporting progress. It's about leading delivery, solving problems, influencing stakeholders and helping multidisciplinary teams turn complex requirements into successful outcomes.

Salary for this position is £62,000 to £78,000, depending on experience plus our excellent flexible benefits package.

We offer hybrid working - for this role ideally we are looking for an average of 2 days per week per month on site.

We pride ourselves in being a great place to work with a shared sense of purpose, offering impressive benefits: 

• A compressed nine-day fortnight and compressed hours - which means every other Friday off. 
• A personalized career development plan, alongside regular progress reviews - supporting and valuing your progression within the Company. 
• A flexible working environment where your contributions are recognized and rewarded with flexible benefits 

We believe in maintaining a diverse workplace - inclusive of beliefs, cultural background, job experiences, thoughts and ideas. If who we are and what we do resonates with you, we welcome you to join our inclusive team!

Our success is fuelled by our colleagues and the wide variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills they bring to the Company.

We are a Disability Confident Employer, as such we offer an interview to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for the job.
Please email [email protected] if you would like your application to be considered under the DC Scheme.

All successful/appointed applicants must be able to obtain a level of UK Security clearance that is appropriate for the role and undertake suitable Right to work checks