Senior Program Manager – Sanford Advanced Manufacturing

Caterpillar Inc.•Sanford, NC

1d•$172,630 - $258,950•Onsite

About The Position

Caterpillar is developing a new advanced manufacturing campus in Sanford, North Carolina, to expand production capacity for compact track loaders and telehandlers. The modern, technology-enabled operation is expected to incorporate automation, robotics, digital production systems and integrated logistics capabilities to enhance safety, quality and operational performance. Employees will help build the products our customers rely on while developing skills in advanced manufacturing and supporting the continued growth of Caterpillar’s Cat Compact℠ business. Caterpillar is seeking an experienced Senior Program Manager to lead the integrated delivery of a greenfield smart manufacturing facility in Sanford, North Carolina. This highly visible leadership role will oversee a complex enterprise program consisting of seven interconnected workstreams: Building and Facility; Manufacturing Process Design; Procurement and Supplier Diversity; Information Technology and Operational Technology Systems; People Transformation; Commissioning and Startup Readiness; and New Source Introduction. This senior staff leader will serve as the strategic integrator and “chief of staff” for the program, connecting executive direction, cross-functional execution, organizational readiness, and program governance. Working across business and functional leaders, Human Resources, Communications, suppliers, and contractors, this leader will drive alignment, enable timely decisions, and provide an objective assessment of overall program health.

Requirements

Strategic Leadership and Integration: Ability to connect enterprise strategy to execution, align leaders and workstreams around shared outcomes, and advise senior stakeholders with an objective, organization-wide perspective.
Program Management and Prioritization: Knowledge of program planning, governance, execution, controls, and methods for organizing and prioritizing work; ability to coordinate complex workstreams, manage dependencies and competing demands, and maintain progress against key deliverables through structured program leadership.
Program Governance and Controls: Knowledge of decision rights, operating rhythms, controls, escalation methods, and accountability practices; ability to create transparency, drive timely resolution, and ensure commitments are completed.
Enterprise Change Management: Knowledge of stakeholder impact, readiness, adoption, and organizational change practices; ability to partner across Human Resources, Communications, and business to coordinate change across a complex program.
Collaboration and Influence: Ability to build trust, navigate competing perspectives, and align leaders and teams around shared program outcomes.
Decision Making and Critical Thinking: Knowledge of tools and techniques for making effective decisions; ability to analyze complex information, evaluate alternatives, and take timely action.
Risk Management: Knowledge of processes for identifying, assessing, mitigating, and monitoring risks; ability to protect program outcomes related to safety, quality, cost, schedule, and readiness.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree and/or Project Management Professional, Program Management Professional, Lean, Six Sigma, Agile, or comparable certification.
Experience leading large-scale, complex programs involving multiple interconnected projects, functions, stakeholders, and delivery teams.
Strong capabilities in program governance, controls, integrated planning, change management, scheduling, risk management, and execution, including experience establishing decision forums, operating rhythms, and escalation processes.
Demonstrated experience managing significant budgets, forecasts, resource plans, and financial performance.
Proven ability to influence senior leaders and stakeholders without relying solely on direct authority.
Strong decision-making and critical-thinking skills in complex business environments.
Experience managing competing priorities, resolving conflict, and leading cross-functional teams.
Demonstrated ability to operate as a senior strategic advisor and integrator, connect strategy to execution, challenge assumptions, and provide an objective assessment of overall program health and risk.
Clear executive communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to translate complex program information into concise messages and communicate effectively up, down, and across the organization.

Responsibilities

Lead the integrated program management strategy for the development, construction, readiness, and startup of an advanced manufacturing facility in Sanford, North Carolina.
Manage and align seven program workstreams, coordinating scope, budget, schedule, risks, dependencies, resources, decisions, and key deliverables. Workstreams include: Building and facility – Construction, infrastructure readiness, site development; Manufacturing Process Design – Product flow, process design, capacity planning, equipment readiness; Procurement and Supplier Diversity – Sourcing, supplier readiness, procurement strategies; Information Technology & Operational Technology Systems – Integration of business and plant systems; People Transformation – Workforce planning, organizational readiness, change management; Commissioning & Startup Readiness: Testing, validation, issue resolution, ramp-up planning; New Source Introduction & Supplier Qualification – Coordinate suppliers, sourcing, and production.
Lead the program governance structure, including leadership operating rhythms, decision rights, executive governance forums, controls, escalation paths, accountability, and closure of key actions.
Build and manage the integrated master schedule, identifying critical-path activities, cross-workstream dependencies, resource constraints, and mitigation plans.
Integrate information across all workstreams, translate executive direction into coordinated action, prepare leaders for key decisions, and ensure decisions and commitments are carried through execution.
Monitor program budget performance, forecast resource requirements, assess variances, and support informed investment decisions.
Lead and develop program and project management professionals while fostering collaboration across teams and functions.
Own the integrated view of program health across scope, schedule, cost, quality, safety, organizational readiness, dependencies, and emerging risks. Provide leaders with timely, objective assessments and recommended actions.
Drive commissioning, production ramp-up, workforce preparedness, supplier readiness, and operational handoff activities.
Lead the integrated change management approach across all workstreams, partnering with Human Resources and Communications to align leaders, assess stakeholder impacts, build organizational readiness, coordinate messaging, and support adoption of new ways of working.
Lead the program communication strategy, ensuring consistent, timely, and audience-appropriate communication to executive leaders, workstream teams, employees, and key stakeholders across the organization.