Director, Integrated Program Management

Sierra Nevada Corporation•Herndon, VA

5d•Hybrid

About The Position

As Director, Integrated Program Management, you'll be responsible for sharing your program management experience, skills, and best practices and providing business area leadership for program management processes, tools, and training in partnership with corporate program process oversight and compliance teams. This role is the accountable representative of the business area to drive program strategic plans and direction, leading change efforts, and focusing and motivating Program Managers to achieve established goals. This role will provide support, training, guidance, structure, and leadership to the business area Program Management community with the objective of influencing and improving Program Planning & Execution. The Mission Solutions and Technologies (MST) business area provides affordable, turn-key command/control, communications, integrated ISR, force protection and security solutions worldwide. The MST team has a long legacy of supporting the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, commercial and international customers with years of experience in platform operations, engineering and full lifecycle management across domains – air, land, sea, space and cyber.

Requirements

Minimum 10-12 years of directly relevant aerospace/defense program management experience, including 7+ years as the primary owner of cost, schedule, and technical performance on complex programs.
Understanding of Control Account Manager (CAM) responsibilities and EVMS system description requirements sufficient to coach program teams and support compliance.
Full lifecycle program leadership from program inception through completion, demonstrating repeatable execution in highly regulated environments.
Proven ability to lead and influence Program Managers and program teams, including those outside direct reporting lines: setting execution expectations, driving accountability, coaching, and building PM capability aligned with Business Area (BA) standards.
Demonstrated success leading teams through complex, dynamic, and ambiguous conditions, with strong decision-making skills: clearly stating the BLUF (bottom line up front), highlighting what matters most, simplifying complex information, triaging issues, balancing resources, and making timely, well-reasoned decisions that drive the biggest impact (80/20).
Ability to manage multiple high-visibility IPM initiatives concurrently (process, tool, training, and oversight improvements), ensuring alignment with BA strategy, Enterprise process requirements, and CFO-owned EVMS/Pricing & Estimating domains.
Accountable BA liaison for coordinating Integrated Program Management People, Process, and Tool innovations and improvement efforts on behalf of the BA, in partnership with the Corporate Integrated Program Management team: partnering with corporate teams to identify priorities that produce timely, value-added results, and representing the BA's interests by providing input to corporate process improvements and initiatives.
Attends Corporate-sponsored project meetings for Pricing and Estimating, PMPs, Baselining and Execution, Tools, Training, and Estimating and EVMS DFARS Compliance, and participates in Quarterly Corporate meetings to present BA plans and results; assigns BA SME delegates or Continuous Improvement teams, as necessary, to support working-level meetings and objectives, per the discretion and guidance of the BA.
Establishes and maintains an effective engagement and communication cadence within the BA to ensure ideas and decisions are vetted and aligned with Senior Leadership's strategy and goals.
Supports Organizational Change Management and Training coordination for agreed-upon priorities and goals, and leverages best practices, trends, and innovations from outside SNC to inform decisions, support project demands, and inform and train the BA's PM community.
Demonstrated ability to lead PMO governance and surveillance across multiple programs: conducting internal program compliance reviews or audits (e.g., PMPs, IMS, risk and opportunity registers, EVMS readiness), driving corrective action to closure, and addressing issues identified in Program KPIs and Program Performance Metrics with teams at the Program, BU, and/or BA level to improve program performance.
Proven expertise preparing proposals, BOEs, business cases, specifications, ROMs, and coordinating engineering, production, and support resources to meet schedule and cost objectives.
Strong capability in conflict resolution, strategic thinking, communication, briefing, cross‑functional collaboration, and stakeholder alignment at the executive level.
Demonstrated success in customer relationship management, including resolving complex issues, identifying requirements, and shaping new business opportunities.
Financial acumen sufficient to interpret program performance data and advise BA leadership on execution decisions.
Ability to obtain and maintain a Secret U.S. Security Clearance.
U.S. Citizenship status is required as this position needs an active U.S. Security Clearance for employment.
Non-U.S. citizens may not be eligible to obtain a security clearance.

Nice To Haves

Certification in PMP, EVP, and/or PMI-SP
Experience with Microsoft Project, Deltek Cobra and/or Power Bi
Prior experience in successful completion of Program IBRs, JSRs and Internal Surveillances
Practical EVMS experience on programs subject to DFARS EVMS requirements (e.g., as a PM, CAM, or program control lead), including prior Control Account Manager (CAM) experience or hands-on EVMS program ownership: baseline management, variance analysis, EAC/ETC development, surveillance readiness, and formal customer reporting.
Experience driving standardization and adoption of PMO standards, templates, gate reviews, and execution practices across multiple programs, in partnership with corporate and finance organizations.
Advanced skills in assessing external competition by gathering data from multiple, often disparate, qualitative and quantitative sources and synthesizing it into meaningful reports and presentations
Previous management experience; ability to recruit employees; assign, direct, and evaluate their work; and oversee the development and maintenance of staff competence
Demonstrated passion for ideation and innovation, as well as motivating others to act by creating a shared sense of vision or purpose.
Ability to quickly grasp technical concepts and understand complex technical and program interdependencies
Possess a strategic mindset, linking technology and business
Understanding of Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR)/Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations (DFARS) and Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) compliance
Background in the Aerospace and Defense Industry, the US Department of Defense (Civilian), NASA/Civil or commercial space and/or US Military, with an understanding of defense, aerospace, intelligence, and adjacent markets

Responsibilities

Own BA program management processes: standardized PMO templates, gate reviews, and program tiering aligned with enterprise policy.
Own BA program management tools, analytics, and automated reporting, including agentic workflow automation, that complement Corporate certified business systems; ensure program data integrity and readiness for CFO-owned EVMS and Pricing & Estimating.
Oversee BA risk and opportunity management: review program risk and opportunity registers as required, ensure programs apply risk management in accordance with company policies and procedures, and ensure risks and opportunities are integrated with schedule and cost baselines.
Serve as the two-way link between Corporate IPM, BA executive leadership, and BA programs: translate enterprise policy and priorities into BA practice, escalate program and BA needs, barriers, and improvement ideas to Corporate.
Align BA program management priorities with corporate strategy and ensure timely, value‑added outcomes.
Maintain a strong communication cadence across the BA, ensuring decisions and initiatives reflect senior leadership direction.
Enable BA program execution by providing standard processes, tools, templates, and training programs that need to plan and execute costs, schedule, and technical objectives.
Ensure BA programs have the processes, tools, and training needed to meet EVMS system description and DFARS/CAS requirements (baselining, variance analysis, EAC/ETC), in partnership with the CFO-owned EVMS organization.
Support program readiness for EVMS reviews (IBRs, JSRs, surveillances) and track resulting corrective actions to timely closure.
Conduct periodic program compliance and health assessments against corporate policy, BA standards, and DFARS/EVMS system description requirements, covering PMPs, IMS health, risk and opportunity registers, gate-review adherence, and EVMS readiness; set the BA surveillance cadence, report findings to BA leadership, and track corrective actions to closure.
Lead and mentor Program Managers, CAMs, and IPM staff to elevate program planning rigor, execution maturity, and EVMS discipline.
Build strong relationships with BA executives, program managers, functional leaders, and Corporate IPM as the go-to resource for program management process, tool, and training needs.
Partner with functional leaders to ensure programs have the processes, tools, and training needed for effective resource planning, allocation, and staffing, and support PM capability development and career pathing across the BA.
Identify and integrate best practices, industry trends, and innovative approaches to strengthen program execution.
Lead change management initiatives tied to corporate priorities; coordinate BA training requirements and schedules with Corporate IPM and support Corporate IPM in developing training.
Represent the BA in corporate forums, quarterly reviews, and project meetings (Pricing & Estimating, PMPs, Tools/Training, EVMS compliance).
Ensure programs have the processes and tools to manage budgets, forecasts, and financial performance; develop proposals; and manage contract and subcontract requirements.
Own BA standards and templates for program management plans (PMPs), schedules, and reporting.