Senior Programme Manager - Generic Product Development

Rolls - Royce SMR; East Midlands; Hybrid; GBP 85,000 - 105,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus – 30% target

Benefits Allowance – £8,500 p.a.

Pension – 12% employer

Job summary

Rolls-Royce SMR seeks a Senior Programme Manager to lead major engineering design packages within our Generic Product Development programme. You will report to the Project Director, delivering complex, cross-functional scopes of work to quality, budget, and schedule.

The role requires leading multi-disciplinary teams, maintaining governance, and managing risks in highly regulated settings, with budgets of £100m+. Hybrid working across Derby, Manchester, and Warrington supports flexible delivery.

Qualifications

• Degree in engineering, science, or technology (or equivalent experience).
• Strong programme and project management skills, ideally with APM, PRINCE2 or similar qualifications.
• Proven experience delivering complex engineering projects in highly regulated environments.
• Ability to lead multi-disciplinary teams and manage budgets of £100m+.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills across all levels.

Responsibilities

• Lead planning, execution, and delivery of engineering design packages aligned with programme objectives.
• Act as the primary point of contact for work package delivery, ensuring integration into the overall design programme.
• Build strong relationships with internal teams, customer programmes, and external partners.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams including engineering, safety, supply chain, and supporting functions.
• Manage risks, issues, and change control processes throughout the project lifecycle.
• Maintain robust governance and reporting on progress, KPIs, and resource utilisation.
• Drive process improvement and champion delivery excellence.

Skills

Programme management

Stakeholder management

Communication

Budget management

Risk management

Education

Engineering degree or equivalent

Chartered Engineer (preferred)

Tools

Primavera P6

MS Project

ARM

SAP

Power BI

Job description

Senior Programme Manager

Locations: Derby, Manchester, Warrington with Hybrid Working

Salary: We anticipate paying a salary between £85,000 - £105,000

Rolls-Royce SMR is developing a standardised, modular nuclear power station designed to deliver clean, affordable energy. Our mission is to create a product that is over 90% common across deployments, regardless of customer or site.

About Us

Rolls-Royce SMR is developing a standardised, modular nuclear power station designed to deliver clean, affordable energy. Our mission is to create a product that is over 90% common across deployments, regardless of customer or site.

The Role

We are seeking an experienced Senior Programme Manager to lead delivery of major engineering design packages within our Generic Product Development programme. Reporting to the Project Director, you will be accountable for delivering complex, cross-functional scopes of work to quality, budget, and schedule.

What You’ll Do:

• Lead planning, execution, and delivery of engineering design packages aligned with programme objectives.
• Act as the primary point of contact for work package delivery, ensuring integration into the overall design programme.
• Build strong relationships with internal teams, customer programmes, and external partners.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams including engineering, safety, supply chain, and supporting functions.
• Manage risks, issues, and change control processes throughout the project lifecycle.
• Maintain robust governance and reporting on progress, KPIs, and resource utilisation.
• Drive process improvement and champion delivery excellence.

What You’ll Have:

• Degree in engineering, science, or technology (or equivalent experience).
• Strong programme and project management skills, ideally with APM, PRINCE2 or similar qualifications.
• Proven experience delivering complex engineering projects in highly regulated environments.
• Ability to lead multi-disciplinary teams and manage budgets of £100m+.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills across all levels.

Ideally you will also have:

• Chartered Engineer status or membership of a relevant professional institution.
• Familiarity with tools such as Primavera P6, MS Project, ARM, SAP, Power BI.

Why Join Us?

At Rolls-Royce SMR, we value diversity and inclusion. We offer flexible working arrangements and reasonable adjustments to support individual needs. You’ll be part of a team shaping the future of clean energy, working on projects that make a real difference.

Pay And Benefits

We anticipate paying a salary of between £85,000 - £105,000 DOE plus:-

• Bonus - Performance related target opportunity 30%
• Benefits Allowance – £8,500 per annum, enabling you to create a bespoke package
• Pension - 12% employer and 6% employee contributions.
• Holidays - 28 days holiday (+ public holidays) and the ability to buy or sell up to 4 days.
• Private Medical Insurance - BUPA single cover health care
• Life Assurance - 6x pensionable pay
• £250 - One-off payment for new starters for home office purchases

We are Rolls-Royce SMR

Rolls-Royce SMR is a rare employer because it blends the world-class brand of Rolls Royce with an exciting start-up that has a hugely challenging mission. We’re doing work that contributes to the survival of the planet. Because of our mission, there’s a pace and energy that is palpable, and our leaders draw you in with their passion, energy, and determination.

We’re one of a handful of employers who can genuinely say we’re a strengths-based organisation – our people are here because of what makes them great, and our job is to help them make the best contribution of their careers doing work they love.

The start-up mentality coupled with our strengths-approach to people means there are opportunities to grow in ways and jobs you probably would be barred from doing in more traditional companies.

Each Rolls-Royce SMR power station will have the capacity to generate 470MW of low carbon energy, equivalent to more than 150 onshore wind turbines and enough to power a million homes. It will provide consistent baseload generation for at least 60 years, helping to support the roll out of renewable generation and overcome intermittency issues

Pay Range:

£85,600.00

£112,350.00

Why Join Us?

• A flexible, inclusive, and supportive working environment.
• Opportunities for career growth in a rapidly scaling business.
• A culture that values diversity, innovation, and continuous learning.

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all backgrounds. Inclusivity is important to us, and as a Disability Confident organisation, we are committed to fair, supportive, and continually improving recruitment practices that ensure everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

Confidence can sometimes hold us back from applying for a job. But we’ll let you in on a secret: there’s no such thing as a ‘perfect’ candidate. If you feel you meet 75% of the requirements for this role, we would love to hear from you.

Also, if you are considering a career move or a sector-jump, please get in touch – we welcome applications from people with transferable skills.

Our Application Process

• Obtaining Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) clearance
• Satisfactory completion of a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check
• Satisfactory completion of a basic financial probity check