Principal, Enterprise Program Delivery Excellence- Program Manager

Waters Corporation; Wilmslow; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Waters Corporation in Wilmslow is seeking a Principal, Program Delivery Excellence to standardize and improve program management practices. This role involves defining methodologies, establishing governance, and mentoring program managers.

The ideal candidate will have 10+ years of experience in program management with significant leadership exposure and relevant certifications. The company values a global perspective in managing delivery excellence across regions and product lines.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of program or project management experience, including 5+ years in a leadership role.
• Proficiency in project and portfolio management software.
• Demonstrated success in implementing standardized practices across global organizations.

Responsibilities

• Define and maintain program delivery standards, methodologies, and playbooks.
• Establish program governance models for risk management.
• Build delivery capability through training and mentoring.
• Analyze trends across programs to drive continuous improvement.

Skills

Program management

Project management

Leadership

Risk management

Coaching and mentoring

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or Business

PMP, PgMP certification

Tools

Project management software

Portfolio management software

Job description

Overview

The Principal, Program Delivery Excellence is responsible for defining, standardizing, and enabling best‑in‑class program delivery practices across the enterprise. This role serves as a thought leader and capability owner for program management excellence, ensuring consistent execution, governance, and transparency across complex, cross‑functional, and regulated programs. Operating with a high degree of autonomy, it partners closely with R&D, program and project managers, and functional stakeholders to embed standardized methodologies, strengthen governance, build organizational capability, and drive measurable improvements in program execution performance.

Responsibilities

• Define, develop, and maintain enterprise‑wide program delivery standards, methodologies, templates, and playbooks to ensure consistency in program planning and business cases, integrated schedules, budgets, and resource plans, risk and dependency management, and stage‑gate readiness.
• Ensure standards are scalable across regions, product lines, and levels of program complexity.
• Establish and evolve program governance models that support disciplined execution, risk management, and decision‑making.
• Build enterprise program delivery capability through training curricula and onboarding materials, coaching and mentoring of program managers and engineering leaders, and contributing to certification and professional development pathways.
• Act as a trusted advisor on complex program challenges, helping teams apply standards effectively rather than mechanically.
• Act as a Program/Project Manager for a specific program as needed.
• Define and maintain program delivery KPIs and benchmarks, including schedule predictability, resource utilization, risk exposure, and execution health. Analyze trends across programs and provide executive‑level insights to drive continuous improvement. Support data‑driven decision‑making through clear, concise dashboards and performance narratives.
• Evaluate, select, and optimize program management tools and platforms to support standardized workflows, integrated planning, and real‑time visibility. Ensure tools reinforce enterprise standards rather than create fragmented ways of working.
• Build and sustain a global community of practice for program and project managers. Capture and share best practices, lessons learned, and continuous improvement opportunities across programs and regions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business, or a related discipline; advanced degree preferred.
• PMP, PgMP, or equivalent certification strongly preferred; experience in Life Sciences and regulated environments is a plus.
• 10+ years of program or project management experience, including 5+ years in a leadership, standards‑setting, or enterprise role.
• Proficiency in project management and portfolio management software.
• Demonstrated success implementing standardized program delivery practices across global, matrixed organizations.
• Proven ability to influence without authority and partner effectively with senior leaders.
• Willingness to travel domestically and internationally up to ~20%.

Company Description

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) is a global leader in analytical instruments, separations technologies, and software, serving the life, materials, food, and environmental sciences for over 65 years.

Equal Opportunity Employment

Waters complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws. Qualified applicants are considered without regard to sex, race, color, ancestry, national origin, citizenship status, religion, age, marital status, military service, veteran status, pregnancy, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, legally recognized disability, domestic violence victim status or any other characteristic protected by law. Waters is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and an affirmative action employer. All hiring decisions are based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.