Head of Strategic Programmes

DEA Aviation Ltd.; Retford; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading aviation company in the UK is seeking a Head of Strategic Programmes to oversee complex projects and drive innovation. This senior role requires strong leadership, technical acumen, and a customer-focused approach. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in program management, technical team leadership, and project methodologies. Join a dynamic environment by applying your skills to influence strategic outcomes.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of progressive experience in programme or project management.
• Experience managing multi-discipline hardware/software technical teams.
• Strong financial management skills including budgeting and forecasting.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute pre-sales strategy and capture plans.
• Support the generation of the technology roadmap.
• Engage with the CTO to reflect customer needs.

Skills

Technical acumen

Leadership

Strategic thinking

Customer focus

Business savvy

Communication

Collaboration

Adaptability

Education

Degree level education or equivalent

Professional project management certification (e.g., APM or Prince2)

Tools

Agile methodologies

Waterfall methodologies

Hybrid project management approaches

Job description

Head of Strategic Programmes

Department: Business Development

Employment Type: Permanent

Location: Gamston Airport, Retford

Reporting To: Gavin O'Connell

Description

DEA are recruiting for a Head of Strategic Programmes.

The Head of Strategic Programmes is a leadership role responsible for overseeing the delivery of DEA's most strategic, complex, and high-value programmes.

Leading the pre-contract technical boundary and reporting to the Head of Growth, the Head of Strategic Programmes will drive revenue and EBIT growth through the principles of ‘customer success’.

The Head of Strategic Programmes serves as the technical voice of our customers internally, translating customer needs and problems to effective and impactful technical solutions. This senior role will deputise for the Head of Growth as required.

Responsible for supporting the development of the technology roadmap (aligned to the DEA 3YP) and accountable for managing its subsequent implementation, the role will champion and stimulate innovation in order to improve overall outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

• Partner with Growth leadership to develop and execute pre-sales strategy and capture plans for Horizon-2 and Horizon-3 opportunities
• With the Technical Working Group, support the generation of the DEA technology roadmap.
• Support Horizon-3 value proposition development
• Engage directly with the CTO to ensure customer needs are reflected in the Technology Roadmap
• Support complex technical evaluations and proof-of-concept engagements
• Drive expansion opportunities by identifying customer needs and technical use cases
• Lead strategic bid and mobilisation phases prior to Service Delivery handover

Internal Relationships

• CTO
• Head of Delivery
• Head of Mission Systems
• SLT

Skills, Knowledge & Expertise

Attributes

• Impactful, causes outcomes to happen, accountable
• Able to mobilise others and manage projects to predictable outcomes
• Understands the need for internal stakeholder management and able to influence outcomes in support of Growth
• Able to identify and manage risk and demonstrate risk mitigation and retirement
• Comfortable with empowerment and delegation

Behaviours

• Takes the lead, happy to stand-alone
• Influencer, engages both internally and externally
• A listener who can operate at pace and under control
• Will challenge the status quo, can “disagree and commit” and will not “consent and evade”
• Can create order in ambiguous and complex situations
• Enjoys a fast paced environment
• Inspired by challenges
• Calm in crisis
• Anticipates

Key Competencies

• Technical Acumen: Deep understanding of technical architectures, integration patterns, and enterprise technology landscapes
• Leadership: Ability to inspire, develop, and retain top technical talent
• Strategic Thinking: Balance long-term vision with short-term execution priorities
• Customer Focus: Obsessive commitment to customer outcomes and satisfaction
• Business Savvy: Understand sales dynamics, revenue operations, business metrics and gain organisational support to develop market opportunities from prospects
• Communication: Translate complex technical concepts for both technical and business audiences
• Collaboration: Build strong partnerships across organisational boundaries
• Adaptability: Thrive in fast-paced, evolving environments

Technical Experience & Qualifications

• 5+ years of progressive experience in programme or project management
• Experience managing multi-discipline (hardware/software) technical teams in the development of value propositions, MVPs and POCs
• Proficiency in project management methodologies (Agile, Waterfall, Hybrid approaches)
• Strong financial management skills including budgeting, forecasting, and ROI analysis
• Data analysis and reporting (KPIs, dashboards, performance metrics)
• Educated to degree level or equivalent
• Professional project management certification (e.g. APM or Prince2)