Senior Program Manager - Mission Critical Operations

AECOM•Arlington, VA

15h•$190,000 - $225,000•Onsite

About The Position

AECOM is seeking a Program Manager - Mission Critical Construction. This role will operate at the cross-section between multiple divisional personnel, senior leadership, program management, and key stakeholders. This role will provide senior leadership and strategic oversight for the successful delivery of mission critical programs to include data center projects. The role has been established to strengthen leadership readiness for critical data center pursuits and to create a structured organizational approach to program management. This role operates at the intersection of business development, client management, and project delivery, ensuring that client pursuits are competitive, programs are executed efficiently, and financial and operational objectives are achieved. Partner closely with executive leadership, program managers, client account managers, and discipline leaders to support revenue growth, client satisfaction, and operational excellence across mission critical and data center construction programs. This position is ideal for a highly organized, business-minded leader with deep experience in managing complex data center/mission critical construction programs and supporting major proposal pursuits. The role sets the overall direction for the program, establishing the governance structures, delivery environment, and management systems required to achieve client, project, and AECOM overall outcomes. As the lead for program-wide integration and performance, supports functional leads across all aspects of delivery to ensure coordinated, safe, compliant, and efficient execution. The role promotes innovation, technology integration, and sustainability while fostering a collaborative, high-performing, and safety-led culture. The Mission Critical lead contributes to talent development, capability building, and organizational knowledge sharing within AECOM’s mission critical program management sector.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree + 10 years of related experience or demonstrated equivalency of experience and/or education, including 2 years of leadership experience.
Proven experience delivering programs within mission critical environments, managing complex data center construction.
Demonstrated capability integrating multidisciplinary teams across technical, project delivery, and stakeholder management functions.
Professional program or project management certification.
Demonstrated ability to build and mentor teams.
Experience with managing Mission Critical/Data Center construction projects and fast paced environments.
Relevant experience leading contacts, managing people, budgets, schedules, overseeing subcontractor performance, and working with stakeholders and governing agencies.
Demonstrated business development proficiency through program growth, proposal management, client development, and stakeholder alignment.

Nice To Haves

Experience with hyperscale mission critical/data center construction projects.
PMP or similar certifications preferred.
20 years of related experience.
Strong understanding of quality and safety culture, regulatory compliance, assurance, and governance expectations.
OSHA 30 certification with experience creating a strong safety culture.

Responsibilities

Provide senior leadership and strategic direction across the mission critical program lifecycle, ensuring alignment with project objectives, client needs, regulatory requirements, and organizational priorities.
Establish and maintain robust program governance frameworks to enable effective decision-making, assurance, and executive oversight.
Direct and integrate senior delivery leaders accountable for technical, commercial, operational readiness, stakeholder, and systems delivery across the program.
Lead, coach, and develop program leadership and delivery teams, supporting high performance, capability development, succession planning, and knowledge transfer.
Proactively identifies potential program problems or opportunities, analyzes the issues using all appropriate resources, develops alternatives and arrives at the most optimum approach to mitigate problems or exploit opportunities.
Leads cross-functional teams and coordinates activities across multiple departments to ensure program objectives are met.
Establishes and maintains strong relationships with key stakeholders, including clients, vendors, and executive leadership.
Implements and oversees risk management strategies to identify, assess, and mitigate potential program risks.
Drives continuous improvement initiatives to enhance program management processes and methodologies.
Travel expected to align with client and/or program requirements.