Head of Program, ANZ

Role overview

This leadership position is responsible for directing the full delivery of a programme portfolio across Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. The role ensures that agreed commitments are completed on schedule, within approved budgets, and to the required standard for a regulated aviation security environment. From contract handover through customer acceptance, the position owns end-to-end programme execution, leads a portfolio of parallel projects, develops a capable programme team, and serves as the primary escalation point for delivery risks.

Working in close partnership with the Market Head and commercial teams, this role helps safeguard margin, strengthen long-term customer relationships, and support business growth through strong execution. It is a management role with direct responsibility for team development, succession planning, and leadership across a matrix organisation spanning multiple functions and time zones.

Programme delivery responsibilities

The role covers the full project and programme lifecycle, including initiation, planning, monitoring and control, communication, and close-out. Where relevant, this includes completion of Product Lifecycle Process gates or Commercial Lifecycle tollgates, aligned to internal programme excellence processes. The head of programmes leads integrated and cross-functional teams to deliver committed dates, control costs, and maintain the right governance throughout delivery.

Programme execution must follow the standard operating rhythm used by Global Programmes, Finance, and Project Controls. Records and data must be kept up to date in the designated systems. The role also ensures that each project or programme carries the required planning and control documents, such as work breakdown structures, cost breakdown structures, responsibility matrices, schedules, resource plans, and risk and change controls, based on its complexity.

In partnership with site finance managers, the role is accountable for financial reporting across the portfolio and for ensuring the data is accurate, controlled, and aligned with Sales and Finance before being presented by the team as needed. It also owns cost and schedule baselines, forecast updates, scope control, variance analysis, and the tracking of corrective and preventive actions through monthly and ad hoc reviews.

Additional duties include mentoring programme team members, providing support based on experience, and deputising for senior global programme leaders when required. The role must actively promote collaboration across Global Programmes and the wider organisation, including the integration of commercial and technology workstreams where needed to support complete end-to-end delivery.

Commercial and customer-facing duties

For commercial programmes, the role supports competitive tender activity in line with the Commercial Lifecycle Process, including preparation of accurate compliance matrices and clear identification of technical requirements and risks. It also helps define opportunity requirements so that proposals remain commercially viable and executable.

Close collaboration with Sales is expected throughout bid strategy, proposal development, customer communication, and contract negotiation. The role may need to negotiate deliverables, specifications, requirements, budgets, contract values, and schedules with customers or end users. It also ensures that projects do not proceed without proper process reviews and that gross margin agreements are confirmed with Commercial Finance before complex order documentation is generated.

During delivery, the role acts as a senior customer interface and escalation route, managing progress reporting, change control, risks, issues, and contractual closeout while ensuring customer expectations are met within agreed scope. It also includes revenue recognition, financial reporting, and successful handover to Service.

People leadership

This position leads and develops a team of project management professionals. It requires identifying development needs, building individual development plans, maintaining succession plans, and ensuring that capability across the team remains strong. The role also requires disciplined application of project management practices across the entire remit and making effective use of expertise from across functions.

The head of programmes must understand the structure, roles, and competencies needed to deliver programme goals, and create an inclusive delivery environment that supports both project success and individual growth. The role works closely with site leadership to align with site priorities and to promote best practice, operational discipline, and continuous improvement.

Governance, policy, and procedures

The role is responsible for ensuring portfolio compliance with company policies covering ethics, health, safety, and environment. It also supports business change initiatives and contributes to the ongoing development and maintenance of the programme excellence process framework so that it continues to reflect current practices and improvements across the business.

A proactive attitude toward policy and procedure awareness is expected, using internal training material, process documents, and guideline resources as the first reference point for day-to-day decision-making.

Qualifications and knowledge

An internationally recognised professional qualification in project or programme management, equivalent to IPMA Level B or C, is essential. A degree or equivalent qualification in Business, Project or Programme Management, Technology, or Engineering is desirable.

Strong knowledge of programme management methods such as Waterfall, PRINCE2, and Agile is required, along with familiarity with planning methods, earned value management, and project controls. Awareness of complex integrated technology-based sensor systems and the role of cross-functional teams such as R&D, Legal, Finance, Supply Chain, and Service is also important.

The role calls for extensive senior-level programme management experience, preferably across engineering, technology, or construction and infrastructure environments. Experience across the full project lifecycle, portfolio management, and line management is desirable. The position also requires strong communication, problem solving, baseline planning, scheduling, forecasting, estimating, resource management, critical path analysis, risk tracking, change control, and continuous improvement capability.

Experience with tools such as SAP, Primavera, Oracle ERP, MS Project, Pertmaster, Active Risk Manager, Cobra, and Power BI is beneficial. Strong leadership, influencing skills, and the ability to manage multicultural teams in a matrix structure are essential, along with comfort working with ambiguity, producing executive-level reports quickly, and leading change into performance baselines. Occasional business travel within Australia and overseas is required.

Additional information

The employer offers training, career growth opportunities across local and global operations, an inclusive work environment, strong leadership, and a focus on safety and wellbeing. A flexible benefits range is available to support health, financial, and lifestyle needs for employees and their families.

The organisation describes itself as a global leader focused on helping make the world safer. It also states a commitment to equal opportunity, diversity, and inclusion, and confirms that all qualified candidates will be considered without discrimination based on protected characteristics.

Recruitment integrity notice

No payment is ever required at any stage of the hiring process. This includes interviews, testing, or any other recruitment step. Candidates are advised to watch for fraudulent requests and to use the company’s official careers channel when applying.