Program Manager – Defence – Jeddah

Program Manager - Jeddah (KSA)

Our client is a major manufacturing Group in Saudi Arabia which supports a range of sectors including defence. With continued growth in this particular sector for a range of products and systems, they are seeking a NEW senior level Program Manager to be based in Jeddah on a permanent basis to support the successful and timely delivery of a defence manufacturing program.

Being a Saudi national, the Program Manager should have strength in communication and leadership and be able to lead an established team working across the organisation.

Specifically, reporting to the Operations Lead, the Program Manager will:

-    Be single point of accountability for delivery of assigned Defence programs, ensuring integration, governance, baseline performance, cost control, and risk management across the full program life cycle.

-    Exercise program-level authority across all assigned scope, schedule, cost, quality, risk, and compliance dimensions, with enforceable decision rights over the program as defined in the Program Charter, the Program RACI, and the Delegation of Authority Matrix

-    Protect customer commitments through cross-functional readiness, disciplined execution, and proactive communication through approved program channels.

-    Lead the Integrated Program Team, ensuring accountability for program deliverables across functions within the approved governance framework.

-    Where assigned, sponsor and direct the Program Lead in day-to-day execution of delegated work-packages, retaining single-point accountability for program delivery, customer commitments, and contractual outcomes

Additional accountabilities include:

-    Integrated Program Delivery: Own end-to-end delivery of assigned programs against approved scope, schedule, cost, and quality baselines, ensuring milestone achievement and delivery confidence

-    Integrated Program Team Leadership and Direction: Lead and direct the Integrated Program Team through matrix leadership, with the authority to set program priorities, assign program tasks, direct execution sequencing, and require performance from all functional contributors against program commitments, in accordance with the Program Charter and Program RACI.

-    Functional Performance Enforcement: Hold functional teams accountable for delivery of program commitments through structured performance feedback to functional heads, formal escalation through the program governance instruments, and triggering corrective action where program objectives are at risk

-    Program Decision Authority: Make binding program-level decisions on scope, schedule, cost, quality, risk, and execution within the boundaries of the approved Program Charter and Decision Rights Matrix, with escalation to the Head of Operations for matters that exceed the defined Delegation of Authority

-    IMS Baseline and Schedule Governance: Own IMS baseline integrity, milestone health, and critical path visibility, coordinating with Planning on feasibility and recovery

-    Customer Interface and Contractual Coordination: Act as the primary program interface for customer status, milestone alignment, and issue resolution, coordinating with Contracts on formal communications, changes, and claims

-    Risk, Issue, and Opportunity Management: Own end-to-end management of program risks and issues, driving mitigation, escalation, and closure across functions

-    Cross-Functional Readiness Integration: Integrate production, material, and quality readiness inputs, ensuring commitments are not made without confirmed readiness and escalating gaps as required

-    Change Impact Integration and Reporting: Lead integrated assessment of changes across scope, schedule, cost, and risk, providing clear reporting and escalation to stakeholders and the Head of Operations

-    Program Lead Sponsorship and Development: Where assigned, direct and develop the Program Lead through structured delegation, coaching, and readiness assessment, supporting succession and continuity objectives

To support this role, suitable candidates should have/be:

-    Bachelor's degree in engineering, Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations, Business, or related field. Engineering background preferred.

-    PMI PgMP® preferred.

-    IMS, program controls, earned value principles, risk management, defence program execution, or lean manufacturing training preferred.

Experience & Skills

-    7-10 years of progressive experience in program, project, or integrated delivery leadership within manufacturing, industrial, or regulated environments.

-    Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional execution across planning, supply chain, production, quality, and related functions-with ownership of delivery outcomes against defined milestones or customer commitments.

-    Proven experience operating in matrix organizations, driving accountability across functions without direct line authority.

-    Strong experience in managing customer interfaces, including program status, issue resolution, and delivery alignment with external stakeholders.

-    Practical experience in schedule-driven execution environments, including milestone management, recovery planning, and coordination of dependencies across functions.

-    Demonstrated ability to operate in developing or evolving environments, maintaining execution discipline, structure, and accountability despite gaps in systems, data, or processes.

-    Experience in defence, aerospace, or similarly regulated industries is preferred, but not required where strong program execution capability is demonstrated.

This is a permanent position and is to be site based in Jeddah.

Your CV will be forwarded to Jonathan Lee Recruitment, a leading engineering and manufacturing recruitment consultancy established in 1978. The services advertised by Jonathan Lee Recruitment are those of an Employment Agency.
In order for your CV to be processed effectively, please ensure your name, email address, phone number and location (post code OR town OR county, as a minimum) are included.

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