Director, Program Management

Ref #: 15802

Location: Waterdown, Ontario

About the Role:

This leadership role is crucial for setting the strategic direction and managing the overall P&L performance of the Program Management function for the WESCAM business. The Director will oversee the Program Management function, ensuring adherence to company processes, policies, and systems. Responsibilities include managing cost, schedule, and technical performance across all programs, ensuring customer requirements are met, and directing all phases of development programs or projects from inception to completion while managing and meeting quarterly financial objectives. The role involves influencing senior leadership on new concepts and practices, recommending and implementing strategies, and developing operational plans to achieve short to long-term business goals. Additionally, the Director will build and maintain strong relationships with customers, industry partners, and internal stakeholders. Advanced management and leadership skills, broad business knowledge, strong financial acumen and extensive experience across related disciplines are required.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Manages performance and execution of WESCAM’s Program Management function, including all phases of program from inception through completion.
• Drives program execution to achieve key business and financial objectives, including orders, revenue recognition, operating income, and free cash flow for new and existing programs by quarter and year.
• Responsible for the cost, schedule and technical performance of company programs.
• Building strong cross functional relationships and leveraging them to achieve results.
• Creates alignment across functions and drives accountability to execute daily tasks and complex programs.
• Monitors and assesses program performance against plans (schedule and financial), identifies risks through a risk register, manages risk mitigation plans, and conducts reviews and approvals of major bids and proposals through opportunity, risk, and financial analysis.
• Establishes, grows and maintains close customer relationships, participates in the marketing and sales process, and actively promotes the organization’s capabilities and strengths and ensures that customer perspectives drive business decisions.
• Develops and implements root cause / corrective actions to initiate necessary program changes.
• Establishes the direction for new processes, systems, solutions, and products by conceptualizing, reasoning, and interpreting innovative solutions. Regularly tackles complex problem-solving and innovation opportunities, considering the implications for multiple areas of the organization and analyzing both near-term and long-term effects.
• Sets high standards for individual, team, and organizational performance through teamwork and empowerment; works tenaciously to meet or exceed challenging goals and fosters continuous improvement.
• Manages a team of Program Managers, Senior Managers, and other Program Management Office employees.
• Develop and implement PMO policies, procedures, and methodologies to ensure consistency and efficiency. Monitor to ensure compliance with established polices.
• Develop and manage the PMO’s governance framework, ensuring clear decision-making processes and accountability.

Required Capabilities

• Experience with commercial business models.  Prior experience with Defense companies is preferred.
• Prior program management and proposal management required. EVMS experience is beneficial.
• Proven experience to lead, engage and inspire high performing teams.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and grow an organization, establishing strategy and driving scalable process improvements.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to build and maintain relationships with leaders across the organization.
• Superior strategic, organizational, analytical and abstract reasoning skills with exceptional attention to detail.
• Proven record of success in a fast-paced development and manufacturing environment, with a strong sense of ownership, accountability, and ability to thrive under pressure.
• Exceptional oral and written communication skills, with a strong orientation to details, and the ability to make quick, informed decisions.
• Demonstrated ability to build relationships at all levels of an organization and work effectively across functions within a matrix environment.
• Experience with coaching and mentoring to develop a high performing, collaborative team.
• Strategic thinker with experience in developing plans and executing both short and long-term results.

Desired Education and Experiences

• Requires advanced business knowledge, general management and leadership capability to lead business area or functional teams. 
• Broad experience across multiple related professional disciplines within the organization, combining theory, past practical experience and the organization’s business practices. 
• Bachelor's degree with a minimum of 15 years of prior related experience. 
  • MBA is preferred.