Smiths - Senior Programme Manager Transformation

To plan, coordinate and implement significant transformation in the Portfolio, Innovation and Digital Team in Smiths Detection, we are seeking a highly experienced Senior Programme Manager Transformation to lead and drive complex transformation initiatives within our organization.

This role will focus on the transformation of embedded systems, configuration management, and the implementation of engineering transformation solutions. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in systems engineering, proven experience managing large-scale transformation programs, and the ability to engage with stakeholders at all levels to ensure successful delivery.

This includes team leadership covering both project delivery and support.

The Senior Programme Manager level within Smiths Detection is a versatile role and day-to-day duties will vary in accordance with the needs of a portfolio, however, the overall job purpose remains the same.

Duties:

• Programme Leadership: Oversee and manage large-scale embedded system transformation projects, ensuring alignment with business objectives and engineering requirements.
• Configuration Management Transformation: Lead efforts to modernize and optimize configuration management processes, ensuring robust data integrity, traceability, and compliance with industry best practices.
• Engineering Transformation: Drive the implementation of engineering transformation solutions, including systems engineering, aligning processes, tools, and technologies with business strategy.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Work closely with senior leadership, engineering teams, IT, and external partners to define and execute transformation roadmaps.
• Risk & Change Management: Identify risks, dependencies, and challenges within transformation initiatives, developing mitigation strategies and managing change effectively.
• Governance & Compliance: Ensure all transformation activities adhere to relevant standards, regulations, and best practices in systems engineering and enterprise solutions.
• Resource & Budget Management: Manage programme budgets, allocate resources effectively, and track progress against key milestones and deliverables.
• Continuous Improvement: Identify opportunities to enhance processes, tools, and methodologies to drive efficiency and business value.
• Drive effective project governance and delivery excellence across the portfolio of projects/programmes in the market.
• Verify compliance and undertake continuous development, optimisation, maintenance and training of methods, processes, work instructions and tools with the aim of achieving the highest quality standards across the entire Commercial Lifecycle Process.

People and Talent Management:

• Ensure disciplined application of project management across entire remit.
• Effective leadership and development of assigned project management professionals.
• Identify development activities to support professional development needs of team members in conjunction with building individual development plans.
• The Senior Programme Manager Transformation will effectively exploit and develop the knowledge of people from all functions in the field of Transformation.
• Map programmes or work and understand the different role profiles, team structures and competencies required to deliver the goals and objectives of the project/programme.
• Create inclusive and coordinated project/programme environments to maximise the effectiveness of teams to achieve project/programme success and for individuals to develop.
• Internationally recognised professional qualification in project management (equivalent to IPMA level B/C or APMQ) desirable.
• Degree qualification (HND minimum) in relevant discipline (Business/Project Management or Technology/Engineering) desirable.

Knowledge and skills:

• Extensive experience in programme management, specifically leading large-scale transformation programmes within embedded systems, including ERP and configuration management.
• Experience in industries such as aerospace, defence, automotive, or manufacturing, where configuration management and systems engineering play a critical role.
• Familiarity with PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) systems and engineering toolsets.
• Knowledge of digital transformation frameworks and methodologies.
• Strong understanding of systems engineering principles, engineering processes, and their impact on enterprise-wide transformation.
• Proven experience in engineering transformation initiatives, particularly in complex technical environments.
• Demonstrated ability to deliver transformation programs within agile, waterfall, or hybrid methodologies.
• Knowledge of ERP solutions (e.g., SAP, Oracle, or similar), configuration management tools, and best practices.
• Experience in stakeholder management, including engagement with executives, IT teams, and engineering functions.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to make data-driven decisions.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and negotiation skills.
• Relevant certifications (e.g., PMP, PRINCE2, Agile, ITIL) are desirable.

Competence and Abilities:

• Ability to demonstrate strong leadership and interpersonal skills with a natural passion to deliver against commitments.
• Ability to communicate at all levels of the organisation recognising the level of details that is required for a particular audience.
• Significant ability to build and manage a multicultural team in a matrix environment and influence people outside of direct reporting relationships.
• Advanced vision, attention to detail, highly organised and proven ability to work under own initiative developing methods and procedures for new assignments.
• Significant ability to influence and act as a champion for project/programme governance, particularly those related to project/programme management.
• Lead the production and control of baselined, fully logic linked, cost and resource loaded plans, with appropriate milestones utilising approved work breakdown structures and techniques.
• Capable of producing special reports for the Senior Leadership Team within short timescales and comfortable working with ambiguity.
• Leading the application of change activities from proposal through to integration into the Performance Measurement Baseline.

Planning and Decision Making:

• Responsibility for planning, organising and executing assigned projects.
• Operate in accordance with a delegated authority, making prompt decisions to resolve problems and escalating issues in a timely manner.
• Required to operate autonomously in accordance with strategic direction from line manager.

Impact and Scope:

• This is a senior professional project and team leadership role with accountability for the successful delivery of major projects that span the Portfolio, Innovation and Digital Business Area.
• Failure to achieve required outputs would result in impact to major divisional organisational objectives.

You’ll also have the flexibility to choose from a wide range of benefits to suit your lifestyle, offering you and your family support from a health and wellbeing, financial and lifestyle perspective.

Join us and work for a world-leader, with the benefits and training to reward your dedication and skills. Be part of a team where we are making the world a safer place.

Diversity & Inclusion:

We are proud to be an inclusive company with values grounded in equality and ethics, where we celebrate, support, and embrace diversity.

At no time during the hiring process will Smiths Detection, Smiths Group, nor any of our recruitment partners ever request payment to enable participation – including, but not limited to, interviews or testing. Avoid fraudulent requests by applying jobs directly through our career’s website (www.smithsdetection.com/careers)

We are proud to be an inclusive company with values grounded in equality and ethics, where we celebrate, support, and embrace diversity.

At no time during the hiring process will Smiths Group, nor any of our recruitment partners ever request payment to enable participation – including, but not limited to, interviews or testing. Avoid fraudulent requests by applying jobs directly through our career’s website (Careers - Smiths Group plc)

Every minute of every day, Smiths Detection’s threat detection and security screening technology helps to protect people and infrastructure, making the world a safer place.

Smiths Detection, part of Smiths Group is a global leader in the development, manufacture and management of security and detection solutions designed to make the world a safer place. Our technology provides threat detection and screening solutions for customers in our key markets: aviation, ports and borders, defence, and urban security.

Our expertise spans 21 global offices, seven manufacturing sites and five R&D centres, with a global network of 3,000 dedicated colleagues contributing towards over 40 years at the frontline of advances in safety and security.

This results in careers built on variety and the opportunity to work on a range of state-of-the-art solutions, where you can develop your knowledge and experience every day.