Global Defence Programme Lead

Destinus; Madrid; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Destinus is seeking a Programme Manager to turn technical direction into disciplined execution across a multi-national European consortium. You will own the schedule, budget, risks, actions, and governance, coordinating with industrial partners and national stakeholders to keep delivery on track.

In this role you will lead a small senior engineering team, manage export-control procedures, and ensure milestones and reviews are tracked to closure in a regulated defense environment.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of programme or project management experience in defence, aerospace, or another regulated technical environment.
• Experience running complex multi-party or international programmes involving industrial and government stakeholders.
• Hands-on experience with export-controlled and/or classified programmes, including security, releasability, and information-control procedures.
• Strong experience with integrated scheduling, budgets, milestones, risk management, action tracking, and document control.
• Technical literacy to confidently follow engineering reviews and translate decisions into clear actions.
• Fluent professional English, with French, German, or Dutch considered a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own the integrated programme schedule across Destinus and partner work packages, tracking critical paths, dependencies, milestones, and deliverables
• Run the programme operating rhythm, including technical boards, work-package reviews and partner meetings, ensuring decisions and actions are tracked to closure
• Own budget tracking, programme risks, issues, and escalation to programme leadership
• Manage export-control, security, releasability, document control, and controlled information flows across consortium partners
• Coordinate partner deliverables, interfaces, data exchanges, and review preparation
• Support governmental and customer milestones with clear programme status, documentation, and reporting

Skills

Programme management

Defence industry experience

Stakeholder management

Export controls

Scheduling

Budgets

Risk management

Document control

Technical literacy

English proficiency

Foreign languages (French/German/Dutch

Job description

Destinus is seeking a Programme Manager to turn technical direction into disciplined execution across a multi-national European consortium. You will own the schedule, budget, risks, actions, and governance, coordinating with industrial partners and national stakeholders to keep delivery on track.

In this role you will lead a small senior engineering team, manage export-control procedures, and ensure milestones and reviews are tracked to closure in a regulated defense environment.