Program Specialist Government & Defense

Mercedes-Benz North America Corporation•Atlanta, GA

6d•Onsite

About The Position

As Program Specialist, Government and Defense, you will be the operational backbone of Mercedes-Benz NA's newly established Government and Defense business team. Reporting to the Head of Business Development, Government and Defense, you will be the first team hire and the primary interface between the BD function and the broader Mercedes-Benz corporate structure, including MBUSA, MB AG, and other MB entities in North America and at headquarters. You will own the team's internal operating rhythm: budget tracking, purchase order management, weekly synchronization meetings, and cross-entity coordination. Customer-facing business development is led by the Head of BD; your role is to make sure everything behind that is organized, on time, and well-connected inside Mercedes-Benz.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Economics, Engineering, Public Administration, International Affairs, or a related field.
Minimum 4 to 6 years of experience in program management, project management, business operations, strategy execution, or a similar role.
Demonstrated experience managing budgets, tracking purchase orders, and interfacing with corporate finance or procurement functions.
Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple parallel workstreams simultaneously without losing accountability.
Exceptional communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build consensus across diverse stakeholders inside a large, complex organization.
Proficiency in Microsoft 365 (Excel, PowerPoint, Teams) and project management tools.
Demonstrated comfort operating in a new or early-stage business team, building operating cadence and producing structured output without an established playbook.

Nice To Haves

Existing relationships across Mercedes-Benz departments and entities, with demonstrated ability to navigate a large, matrixed corporate structure.
Experience with U.S. government or military contracting, federal sales operations, or federal-services capture support.
Experience in the automotive industry, with a working understanding of its corporate and operational dynamics.
German language proficiency.
Familiarity with AI productivity tools (Microsoft Copilot, large language models, AI-assisted document generation); prior experience building AI-augmented workflows is a plus.
Experience with strategy execution frameworks and cross-functional team leadership.

Responsibilities

Serve as the BD team's primary interface with MBUSA, MB AG, and other Mercedes-Benz entities, navigating the corporate structure to identify the right internal contacts, build working relationships, and move approvals, requests, and information efficiently through the organization.
Own the team's budget execution: track spend against approved budget lines, process purchase orders and vendor invoices, coordinate with MBNAC finance, and flag variances early with recommended corrective action.
Plan, schedule, and run the team's weekly synchronization meetings with MBNAC and MBUSA stakeholders in Atlanta, producing structured agendas, decision logs, and action-item tracking to maintain accountability across the group.
Organize and lead the full meeting cadence: weekly stand-ups, monthly leadership reviews, internal stakeholder syncs, and quarterly business reviews with senior leadership.
Manage timelines and deliverables across all business-team workstreams: milestone tracking, decision log, risk register, and an integrated dashboard reporting against published KPIs.
Interface with relevant MB departments to align the team's program-management cadence, reporting standards, and milestone frameworks with established Mercedes-Benz practices.
Track progress across all workstreams and provide concise executive updates on status, risks, and opportunities; conduct variance analyses and coordinate corrective actions with responsible stakeholders.
Proactively identify potential roadblocks and escalate early, acting as both a constructive challenger and a reliable support resource for the departments the team depends on.
Coordinate execution support resources including interns, graduate capstone projects, and outside consultants to maintain a lean, capital-efficient operating posture during the startup phase.
Support the Head of BD with document production, presentation preparation, and administrative needs as the business team builds out its operating model.

Benefits

Competitive salary plus an annual bonus based on company performance and/or personal yearly performance
Fifteen (15) additional corporate holidays
Mercedes-Benz Employee Lease Program
Outstanding medical, dental, and vision insurance
Employer-paid short and long term disability
On-site exercise facilities
Generous paid Family Leave Programs - Six Weeks for New Parents
Adoption Expense Reimbursement Programs - up to $6k per child
Tuition Assistance Scholar Program - receive up to $8k in vouchers to complete business-related coursework ($6k for undergraduate, $8k for graduate)
401(K) with match