Programme Manager

Holt Engineering; Lower Blandford St Mary; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 56,000; Full time

Job summary

Holt Engineering in Bournemouth is seeking a Programme Manager to own customer programmes end-to-end from sales handover through to closure. You will lead an Integrated Project Team and maintain performance across delivery, quality, cost and weight, coordinating with stakeholders and maintaining programme governance.

The role demands strong planning, negotiation and exceptional communication in a fast-paced, multi-workstream environment with high customer interaction.

Qualifications

• Around 5+ years’ experience in a Programme/Project Manager role delivering complex engineering programmes.
• Strong customer-facing communication, able to influence, negotiate and protect relationships under pressure.
• Proven ownership of programme plan, milestones, actions and delivery commitments.
• Experience managing change control, risks, and budget performance (P&L awareness welcomed).
• Confident leading cross-functional IPTs and holding people to dates and deliverables.
• Comfortable working in a high-pressure environment with multiple workstreams running in parallel.
• Degree-level education in Engineering, Science, Business or similar (or equivalent experience).
• Formal PM qualification is useful (APM PMQ, PRINCE2 Practitioner, Agile Practitioner).

Responsibilities

• Manage programmes through the full lifecycle from sales handover to closure, with budget responsibility and delivery ownership.
• Act as the first point of contact for customer communications and manage customer queries through to resolution.
• Lead customer and internal meetings, ensuring the right people attend and actions are closed to date.
• Build and maintain the programme plan, keeping milestones and deliverables controlled and visible.
• Negotiate and agree due date changes with customers and internal stakeholders when required.
• Ensure internal gate reviews happen to plan and that checklist discipline is followed across departments.
• Control scope changes using a clear change log, managing MCP/CCP activity and approvals.
• Coordinate budget changes with the finance partner and keep financial performance tracked and visible.
• Maintain programme documentation: actions, minutes, gateway checklists, milestone packs and audit files.
• Own the risk register and review it weekly, ensuring mitigations remain valid and actively progressed.
• Run an effective IPT rhythm: priorities, dependencies, critical path, escalation and accountability.
• Supervise BFE activity to ensure timely placement and receipt to support development, test and production.
• Ensure IFE test equipment is on the correct software level and functional to meet contract specs.
• Be the focal point for key milestones and technical reviews (PDR, CDR, FAI and others).
• Provide regular progress reporting and ensure visibility of programme status and customer feedback.

Skills

Customer-facing communication

Negotiation

Cross-functional IPT leadership

Planning & scheduling

Stakeholder management

Education

Engineering/Science/Business degree or equivalent

Formal PM qualification (APM PMQ, PRINCE2, Agile)

Tools

MS Office

MS Project

Job description

Programme Manager

Bournemouth

Programme Manager salary: £49,500 - £56,250

Please note: only applicants with the full-time, permanent right to work in the UK will be considered.

Programme Manager Overview:

• Own customer programmes end-to-end from sales handover through to closure
• Lead an IPT and protect contract performance across delivery, quality, cost and weight
• Run the programme plan, milestones and gate reviews with tight control of actions and dates
• Manage scope change, budget control and risk management without slippage
• Be the main customer interface and keep stakeholders aligned and accountable

This Programme Manager role reports to the Head of Programmes and takes full ownership of assigned customer programmes from the point sales hands over through to programme closure. The Programme Manager will lead an Integrated Project Team (IPT) structure and maintain programme performance against contractual obligations, covering delivery, quality, cost and weight. This is a fast-paced Programme Manager position with complex engineering development, certification testing, external interfaces and high-level customer interaction, requiring strong planning, negotiation and programme governance.

Day-to-day responsibilities of a Programme Manager

• Manage programmes through the full lifecycle from sales handover to closure, with budget responsibility and delivery ownership
• Act as the first point of contact for customer communications and manage customer queries through to resolution
• Lead customer and internal meetings, ensuring the right people attend and actions are closed to date
• Build and maintain the programme plan, keeping milestones and deliverables controlled and visible
• Negotiate and agree due date changes with customers and internal stakeholders when required
• Ensure internal gate reviews happen to plan and that checklist discipline is followed across departments
• Control scope changes using a clear change log, managing MCP/CCP activity and approvals
• Coordinate budget changes with the finance partner and keep financial performance tracked and visibleMaintain programme documentation: actions, minutes, gateway checklists, milestone packs and audit files
• Own the risk register and review it weekly, ensuring mitigations remain valid and actively progressed
• Run an effective IPT rhythm: priorities, dependencies, critical path, escalation and accountability
• Supervise BFE activity to ensure timely placement and receipt to support development, test and production
• Ensure IFE test equipment is on the correct software level and functional to meet contract specs
• Be the focal point for key milestones and technical reviews (PDR, CDR, FAI and others)
• Provide regular progress reporting and ensure visibility of programme status and customer feedback

What they’re looking for - Programme Manager

• Around 5+ years’ experience in a Programme Manager / Project Manager role delivering complex engineering programmes
• Strong customer-facing communication, able to influence, negotiate and protect relationships under pressure
• Proven ownership of programme plan, milestones, actions and delivery commitments
• Experience managing change control, risks, and budget performance (P&L awareness welcomed)
• Confident leading cross-functional IPTs and holding people to dates and deliverables
• Comfortable working in a high-pressure environment with multiple workstreams running in parallel
• Strong working knowledge of MS Office, with MS Project capability preferred
• Degree-level education in Engineering, Science, Business or similar (or equivalent experience)
• Formal PM qualification is useful (APM PMQ, PRINCE2 Practitioner, Agile Practitioner)

Compliance and security notes - Programme Manager

• Some roles are governed by security and export control rules which can affect eligibility
• Baseline personnel security standard is required, with higher levels of vetting for certain programmes
• Travel between sites will be required, with occasional international travel depending on programme needs

What’s on offer - Programme Manager

Programme Manager salary: £49,500 - £56,250

• A Programme Manager role with high customer visibility and genuine ownership from sales handover to closure.
• Exposure to complex engineering development, certification activity and major programme milestones.
• A structured IPT environment where planning discipline and performance delivery are taken seriously.