Director of Program Management

Riverbend Energetics; East St. Louis (IL); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary and benefits

401(k) with company match

Growth and leadership opportunities

Job summary

Riverbend Energetics seeks a Director of Program Management to lead the Programs organization and serve as the on-site people leader for the PM Department supporting defense energetics contracts. This role reports to the VP of Programs and drives disciplined PM practices across the full contract portfolio.

The Director will build staffing models, implement SOPs, and transition to dashboards that automate program data delivery, while mentoring Senior PMs toward director-level responsibilities.

Qualifications

• Experience leading a PM organization within defense, aerospace, manufacturing, or government contracting.
• Proven ability to translate strategy into day-to-day execution, staffing, and processes.
• Experience managing managers and developing talent, including succession planning.

Responsibilities

• Manage and develop the Program Manager team with coaching and performance management
• Own enterprise-wide program governance with IMP, IMS, risk register, and CDRL
• Build headcount models and plan hires against contract pipeline
• Establish SOPs integrating Programs with Engineering, Supply Chain, Operations, and Finance
• Move from pull to push data models with dashboards and cadences
• Review EVMS, IMS, and contract cost performance; escalate risks to execs
• Represent Programs in SLT reviews with executive status summaries
• Support bid/Proposal activity validating schedules and resources
• Mentor Senior PMs toward Director-level responsibilities

Skills

Program management

People leadership

EVMS/IMS/CDRL

Executive communication

Staffing planning

SOP development

Bid/proposal support

Portfolio governance

Education

Bachelor's degree (Business/Engineering/Science)

Job description

About The Role

Riverbend Energetics is seeking a Director of Program Management to lead our Programs organization and serve as the on-site people leader for the Program Management Department supporting RBE's defense energetics contracts. Reporting to the VP of Programs, this business unit-level role is accountable for program performance, organizational health, and PM team development across RBE's full contract portfolio. The Director will translate enterprise program strategy into day-to-day execution, staffing, and process discipline across the Programs function, and will serve as the primary driver of the transition from ad hoc program support to a disciplined, institutionalized program management practice.

Riverbend Energetics is seeking a Director of Program Management to lead our Programs organization and serve as the on-site people leader for the Program Management Department supporting RBE's defense energetics contracts. Reporting to the VP of Programs, this business unit-level role is accountable for program performance, organizational health, and PM team development across RBE's full contract portfolio. The Director will translate enterprise program strategy into day-to-day execution, staffing, and process discipline across the Programs function, and will serve as the primary driver of the transition from ad hoc program support to a disciplined, institutionalized program management practice.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage and develop the Program Manager team, including workload balancing, coaching, and performance management
• Own enterprise-wide program governance, ensuring every active contract has a current Integrated Master Plan (IMP), Integrated Master Schedule (IMS), risk register, and CDRL tracking mechanism in place
• Build and maintain organizational headcount and staffing models for the Programs function, partnering with HR to plan and time new Program Manager hires against the contract pipeline
• Establish and enforce Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) governing how the Programs function integrates with Engineering, Supply Chain, Operations, Quality, Contracts, EHS, Facilities, and Finance
• Drive the Programs function's transition from a pull model — in which Program Managers chase status from other departments — to a push model, in which dashboards and defined reporting cadences deliver program data automatically
• Review program baseline documentation, EVMS performance reporting, and contract cost performance across the portfolio; elevate cost, schedule, or performance risks to the VP of Programs and executive leadership as appropriate
• Represent the Programs organization in Strategic Leadership Team (SLT) reviews, providing executive program status summaries and organizational health metrics
• Support bid and proposal activity by validating schedule, resource, and production feasibility assumptions prior to submission
• Own talent development and succession planning within the Programs organization, including mentoring Senior Program Managers toward future Director-level responsibility
• Partner with the VP of Programs on annual program strategy, business development alignment, and organizational design as RBE's portfolio grows

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Science, or a related field
• 10 or more years of program or project management experience in a defense, aerospace, manufacturing, or government contracting environment
• Prior experience managing managers, with direct accountability for the performance and development of other Program Managers
• Demonstrated ownership of a program portfolio, business unit budget, or P&L, including cost performance reporting and forecasting
• Working knowledge of Earned Value Management Systems (EVMS), Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) development, and CDRL or data item management
• Experience managing DoD contract types (CPFF, FFP, T&M) and familiarity with the defense acquisition lifecycle (MDD, MS A/B/C milestones, DoDI 5000.02)
• Demonstrated experience building or scaling a program management function, including staffing plans, SOP development, or organizational design
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with demonstrated comfort presenting program status and organizational health metrics to executive leadership
• Must be a U.S. citizen and eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) security clearance
• Ability to pass a background investigation consistent with Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) regulatory requirements applicable to the manufacture of explosive components

Preferred Qualifications

• Warfare Acquisition University (WarU) Program Management Practitioner or Advanced certification (formerly Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA)), Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, or equivalent
• Experience in energetics, munitions, or other regulated defense manufacturing environments
• Familiarity with Systems Engineering Technical Review (SETR) events — including SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, and PRR — and the interface between technical and programmatic risk
• Experience standing up dashboards or reporting infrastructure that shifted a program organization from a pull to a push data model
• Prior experience partnering with Supply Chain, Quality, EHS, or Facilities functions on cross-functional process design
• Active DoD Top Secret/SCI (TS/SCI) security clearance

What We Offer

• Competitive salary and benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, and 401(k) with company match
• The opportunity to build and shape a growing Programs organization from the ground up at a mission-focused defense manufacturer
• A highly visible role in RBE's continued growth, with direct exposure to executive strategy and business development planning

Key Requirements

• PM Organization Builder & Process Institutionalizer: Riverbend is explicitly transitioning from ad hoc program support to a disciplined PM practice. The Director must architect the SOPs, governance cadences, staffing models, and cross-functional integration mechanisms that make this transformation stick. This is the defining challenge of the role — someone who can only manage existing mature processes will fail here.
• Defense Portfolio Governance Fluency (EVMS, IMS, CDRL): The Director owns enterprise-wide program governance across a live DoD contract portfolio involving CPFF, FFP, and T&M contract types. Weak EVMS or IMS discipline creates cost overruns, schedule slippage, and compliance exposure on federal contracts. This is non-negotiable for a role accountable for portfolio-level cost performance reporting and escalation.
• People Leadership of Program Managers: This is a manager-of-managers role responsible for coaching, performance managing, workload balancing, and developing a PM team — including succession planning toward future Director-level talent. At 150 people, RBE's Programs organization is small enough that the Director's direct influence on each PM's capability materially impacts contract execution quality across the entire portfolio.
• Cross-Functional Authority & Executive Communication: The Director must drive process integration across Engineering, Supply Chain, Operations, Quality, Contracts, EHS, and Finance — functions that do not report to them — while also representing Programs credibly in Strategic Leadership Team reviews. At a defense manufacturer with active contracts, the inability to influence peer functions or communicate concisely to executives creates governance gaps that surface as contract performance problems.
• Regulated Defense Manufacturing Environment Experience: Riverbend manufactures energetic components, detonators, and CAD/PAD systems under ATF regulatory oversight and DoD customer scrutiny. Program Managers at RBE must navigate EHS constraints, ATF compliance touchpoints, and safety-driven production limitations that do not exist in standard defense electronics or systems integration environments. A Director without exposure to regulated manufacturing will underestimate these friction points when validating bid assumptions or building staffing models.

About Riverbend Energetics

Riverbend Energetics is a defense and industrial manufacturer based in Alton, IL. We develop and produce energetic materials and specialty munitions for U.S. defense and allied customers. Our mission-critical work demands precision, safety, and a commitment to excellence.