Senior Programme Manager

Role Purpose

We are seeking a Senior Programme Manager to lead a critical and complex ISTAR Programme for the Ministry of Defence. This role operates under a multi-year contract and reports directly to the MD Digital Intelligence. You will serve as a mentor to other Senior Programme Managers, leveraging your extensive experience to add significant value to our operations.

You will be fully responsible and accountable for understanding and delivering the project/programme vision, objectives, and benefits. This includes leading and motivating Project Managers within the programme to embed health and safety practices, ensure effective team collaboration towards shared goals, and deliver outputs and/or outcomes on time, within scope, and within budget, while adhering to all security requirements.

Accountability extends to overall project/programme performance throughout its lifecycle, including baseline management and budget delivery. You will ensure relevant governance and assurance activities are undertaken (in line with the BMS and PLF) to achieve successful customer delivery.

Key Accountabilities

• Integrated Planning: Shape and structure the programme to achieve the vision, ensuring projects have appropriate Project Management Plans (PMPs) and secured resources. Manage resource capacity, coordinate dependencies, and ensure early issue resolution. Identify and ensure full understanding of programme benefits. Own and define the Programme Management Plan.
• Budget & Cost Control: Collaborate with the Portfolio Office to ensure accurate programme controls and performance information. Proactively manage performance throughout the lifecycle, identify cost-saving opportunities, and mitigate cost increase threats. Drive delivery excellence for revenue, profit, and cash collection.
• Risk & Issue Management: Proactively identify and assess risks at project/programme level, plan and implement responses, and address issues affecting delivery. Record and monitor risks and issues as per the BMS, ensuring threats and opportunities are managed according to best practice. Make informed decisions using risk information, escalating to senior leadership where appropriate, and ensuring clear escalation routes.
• Reviews: Evaluate project performance within the programme, challenge, guide, and support Project Managers. Potentially manage by exception and act as "Delegated Authority" on other programmes, "Chairing" programme reviews. Report programme progress and status at internal/external reviews to IDTLs (UK Only), Customers, and/or Partners.
• Stakeholder Management: Foster a collaborative approach, engaging and influencing internal stakeholders (Finance, Commercial, People, Enterprise Services, Portfolio Office, Technical & Supply Chain) and external stakeholders. Ensure ongoing commitment, utilize communication management for timely information exchange, and build strong customer relations based on understanding expectations, reliability, responsiveness, and providing assurance. Focus on customer needs and strategic objectives.
• Commercial Management & Change Control: Lead pre and post-contract discussions, collaborating with the Commercial function to understand contractual obligations and minimize risk while optimizing financial reward. Manage internal and external changes to project scope.
• Quality Management: Work with Technical Leads to ensure project/programme outputs meet defined scope, contractual requirements, stakeholder expectations, and are fit for purpose. Create a Quality Management Plan (QMP) if applicable and ensure compliance with internal processes, standards, and contractual regulations.
• Requirements Management: Capture, assess, and justify stakeholder wants and needs to satisfy programme requirements and benefits.
• Assurance: Attend Decision Point reviews, undertake Delegated Authority roles, and assure other projects/programmes within delegation.
• Business Development & On Contract Growth: Build and strengthen customer relationships to extend existing work or identify new sales opportunities. Triage customer needs through Decision Point governance and support bidding activities.
• Programme Recovery: Support programmes of concern by establishing recovery plans, potentially including baselining activities.

You will be responsible and accountable for leading and delivering high complexity projects and programmes, embodying QinetiQ values and behaviours. Act professionally with all stakeholders, demonstrating accountability, setting high standards, and inspiring a high-performance culture. Think beyond programme boundaries to consider benefits and impacts.

Key Competencies

• Lifecycles
• Governance Arrangements
• Reviews
• Assurance
• Supply Chain/Procurement
• Commercial
• Stakeholder Engagement & Communication Management
• Conflict Resolution
• Leadership
• Team Management
• Requirements Management
• Quality Management
• Integrated Planning
• Resource Management
• Budgeting & Cost Control including Performance Management
• Risk & Issue Management
• Change Control
• Resource Capacity Planning

Experience / Qualifications & Key Capabilities/Knowledge

• APM PMQ, ChPP, PMI PgMP or AIPM CPPD, Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) Foundation & Practitioner, or working towards equivalent certification.
• Recognised expert in the job area, providing advice and guidance to senior leaders.
• In-depth knowledge of programme management and the full project lifecycle.
• Ability to plan and manage programmes and/or processes independently, providing guidance to others.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills for complex challenges.
• Extensive experience (typically 10+ years) in project teams and leading programmes.
• Experience implementing and refining strategies and plans independently, collaborating with stakeholders.
• Active engagement in developing new processes, standards, or plans.
• Coaching, reviewing, and delegating work to lower-level professionals; mentoring and supervising professionals.
• Extensive experience with project management tools such as Microsoft Project, SAP, and/or Oracle.
• Very strong time management and organizational skills.
• Ability to thrive in a collaborative, fast-paced, and goal-driven environment.

Candidates must have the ability and willingness for MOD DV clearance.

Many roles in QinetiQ are subject to national security vetting. Applicants who already hold the appropriate level of vetting may be able to transfer it. Some roles have additional restrictions related to nationality or previous nationalities.

All applicants for this role must be eligible for SC clearance as a minimum.