Senior Program Manager

Wilcox Industries; Newington (NH); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Wilcox Industries is seeking a Senior Program Manager to oversee and mentor program managers and complex defense programs, ensuring cost, schedule, performance, and risk objectives are met. You will coordinate product strategy, development, transition to production, and sustainment, with the potential to supervise other PMs.

The role requires strong understanding of defense technologies and excellent project management skills, plus the ability to travel up to 20% domestically and internationally

Qualifications

• BS in an engineering, computer science, or related technical field; or BA in business with 10+ years’ experience leading highly technical projects.
• Excellent project management skills; ability to develop and execute program plans, schedules, and budgets.
• Proven track record of successfully managing complex technical programs, preferably in the defense industry.

Responsibilities

• Manage a staff of Program Managers to deliver products and services meeting customer expectations.
• Keep Director of Programs informed of program progress and risks.
• Set objectives, budgets, and timetables to achieve goals; align projects with business roadmap.
• Identify and evaluate B2B partnership opportunities; coordinate product development and production transition.
• Develop program plans, schedules, and budgets to meet cost, schedule, and performance targets.
• Forecast revenue and orders; manage material requirements for production increases.
• Plan milestones and reviews; allocate resources to meet objectives.
• Support leadership with reporting structures to monitor progress across projects.
• Plan product development and improvements to meet projected market demand.
• Manage subcontractors and suppliers to ensure contractual obligations and quality.
• Support business development and proposal activities.
• Develop and deliver client presentations targeting staff to C-level.

Skills

Verbal and written communication

Interpersonal and negotiation

Organizational skills

Time management

Analytical and problem solving

Mentor and leadership

Risk management and monitoring

MS Office and MS Project

Education

BS in engineering/CS/related field

BA in business + 10+ years leading technical programs

Tools

Microsoft Project

Microsoft Office Suite

Job description

The Senior Program Manager plays a critical role in our organization by supporting the Leadership Team through oversight and mentoring program managers and complex technical and production programs to ensure cost, schedule, performance, and risk objectives are met. This position requires a strong understanding of the defense industry, the technologies associated with our combat systems and headborne systems products, as well as excellent project management skills. The Senior Program Manager is responsible for maintaining operational excellence throughout the entire product lifecycle and will coordinate product strategy, product development, transition to production, and production sustainment efforts. The Senior Program Manager may be required to supervise and/or mentor program managers and associate program managers.

Roles & Responsibilities

• Manage a staff of Program Managers, if required, to deliver products and services that meet and often exceed the customer’s expectations
• Keep the Director of Programs and/or Leadership Team informed of all program progress
• Set objectives, assign tasks, allocate budgets and agree to timetables for achieving intermediate and overall goals
• Align the outcome of the projects with the organization’s overall business roadmap and goals
• Communicate strategy to the project team and ensure that individual project goals align with the strategy
• Identify and evaluate B2B (Business to Business) partnership opportunities
• Develop and maintain program plans, schedules, and budgets to achieve cost, schedule, and performance targets
• Plan the Short-Term Forecast for revenue and order tracking
• Conduct order management to balance internal and external priorities
• Forecast material requirements to support program production increases
• Plan programmatic milestones and reviews to meet overall program objectives and work to align resources to accomplish goals
• Support the Director of Programs and/or Leadership Team in establishing a formal reporting structure to obtain the information needed to coordinate and monitor progress across all projects
• Plan formal product development and product improvement programs that determine specifications for new products and improvements to existing products to create and/or meet projected market demand
• Manage subcontractors and suppliers in coordination with Supply Chain Management to ensure compliance with contractual obligations, quality standards and establish working relationships external to Wilcox to leverage in future growth
• Support internal business development activities, including proposal development and resource planning
• Develop, execute and deliver quality solution-focused client presentations targeting clients from staff to C-level

Qualifications & Requirements

Education & Experience

• BS in an engineering, computer science, or related technical field, or a BA in a business discipline and 10+ years’ experience leading highly technical projects, or an equivalent combination of education and experience
• Excellent project management skills, including the ability to develop and execute program plans, schedules, and budgets
• Proven track record of successfully managing complex technical programs, preferably in the defense industry

Required Skills/Abilities

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Excellent interpersonal and negotiation skills
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail
• Excellent time management skills with a proven ability to meet deadlines
• Excellent analytical and problem‑solving skills
• Excellent mentor and leadership skills
• Experience with risk management, issue resolution, and performance monitoring
• Proficient with Microsoft Office suite, including Microsoft Project
• Regular on‑site attendance is a necessary function of this position.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally up to 20% as required
• Wilcox is a U.S. government defense contractor, and this position requires access to export‑controlled technology. Qualified candidates must be legally authorized to access U.S. government‑controlled technology prior to beginning work.

Preferred Skills/Abilities

• Master’s degree in engineering, computer science, business or related technical field
• Certificate in Project Management Professional (PMP) Agile Program Management: Certified Product Owner or Certified Scrum Master

Physical Requirements

• Must be able to sit, stand, walk, talk, hear; use hands and fingers to handle and touch objects, tools, or controls to work in a production environment. Vision abilities required include close vision, distance vision, color vision, and the ability to adjust focus to work. Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer. Must be able to lift 25 pounds at times