Senior Director, Project Management

Blue Bird Corporation•Troy, MI

9d•Onsite

About The Position

Blue Bird (NASDAQ: BLBD) is recognized as a technology leader and innovator of school buses since its founding in 1927. Our dedicated team members design, engineer and manufacture school buses with a singular focus on safety, reliability, and durability. School buses carry the most precious cargo in the world – 25 million children twice a day – making them the most trusted mode of student transportation. The company is the proven leader in low- and zero-emission school buses with more than 25,000 propane, natural gas, and electric powered buses sold. Blue Bird is transforming the student transportation industry through cleaner energy solutions. For more information on Blue Bird’s complete product and service portfolio, visit www.blue-bird.com. The Sr Director, Project Management will lead the end-to-end program management office for the Blue Bird Chassis Business Unit as Blue Bird assumes design, manufacturing, sales, and service responsibility for the next generation medium-duty F53/F59 stripped chassis. This leader will translate the strategic opportunity into an integrated operating plan that delivers a successful launch with backlog, on time, on budget, with product and people continuity, competitive price, delivery, and quality, acceptable customer and dealer experience, retained critical talent where economically viable, acceptable returns, and a sustainable business model.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in engineering, business, operations, supply chain, or a related field required; advanced degree preferred.
10+ years of progressive program management, product launch, operations, engineering, or business transformation experience, preferably in commercial vehicles, automotive, manufacturing, or industrial products.
All candidates must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States and will be required to provide proof of employment eligibility at the time of hire.
Demonstrated experience leading large, cross-functional programs with executive-level visibility, external partner coordination, capital investment oversight, and complex launch timelines.
Strong financial acumen, communication skills, stakeholder management capability, and discipline in project governance.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree preferred.
Exposure to difficult or complex projects a plus.
Ability to anticipate and understand customer needs and provide guidance
Excellent interpersonal and customer relationship skills to handle difficult and sensitive matters.
Strong project management skills.
Ability to influence stakeholders
Effective communication and ability to communicate complex details in a clear manner.
Working in a collaborative team and balancing the needs of individual stakeholders while delivering corporate objectives.

Responsibilities

Build and lead the integrated program management structure for the chassis business unit across design, procurement, industrialization, manufacturing transition, sales, marketing, service, dealer readiness, IT infrastructure, customer continuity, and business launch readiness.
Own the overall master project plan, governance cadence, milestone discipline, risk register, escalation process, KPI dashboard, and cross-functional decision-making forum.
Ensure seamless collaboration with Ford, Detroit Chassis Products, Body Builders internal business leaders, engineering, operations, supply chain, finance, legal, HR, sales, IT, service, and dealer network stakeholders.
Drive launch readiness for Q1 2028 production, including backlog readiness, product continuity, quality expectations, chassis related certification, customer transition plans, and scalable long-term operating processes.
Establish and monitor with finance a mechanism to manage product costs throughout the development to ensure acceptable returns.
Coordinate all project workstreams to protect budget commitments, capital investment plans, resource allocation, commercial commitments, customer experience, and sustainable profitability.
Lead the three director-level project management roles, ensuring clear accountabilities, issue resolution, aligned priorities, and executive-level visibility.
Provide concise executive updates to the business unit leader and senior leadership team on progress, risks, decisions required, and critical path dependencies.
Integrated launch plan delivered on time and on budget.
Clear governance model with disciplined milestone tracking, executive visibility, and rapid escalation of risks.
Continuity for customers, dealers, builders, fleets, products, people, and service support.
Business positioned for expanded total addressable market growth, technology leverage, platform scalability, and sustainable returns.