Lead Programme Manager

Background

The world around us is experiencing significant change, the greatest in generations.

At McLaren Applied, we’re accelerating the response to that change. Our vision is that our people and technologies will pioneer a better future. Our mission is to achieve breakthroughs in performance.

We’re at the cutting edge of innovation in industries including automotive transportation and motorsport. We create solutions that drive efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

We want to help to reduce the carbon footprint and become more sustainable. Our focus is on electrification and telemetry, control and analytics.

Purpose of the Role

This role provides leadership for our programme management activities within the motorsport business unit. It reports to the Director of Products, Programmes and Engineering and forms a key part of our new product development, maintenance and support capability.

The Lead Programme Manager is required to:

• Provide a clear vision and purpose for the motorsport Programme Management team and hold responsibility for overall delivery of the portfolio of projects.
• Actively manage a programme, coordinating internal and external resources and providing primary point of liaison for customers.
• Lead the team of Programme Managers, mentoring and developing team members, setting the standard for programme and project management competence and working practices

The role would suit someone with a technical background supported by extensive experience working in a programme management position within in a technical new product development environment.

Previous experience in any aspect of the motorsport industry would be an advantage.

Location

This role is based at our head office in Woking. We have a hybrid working policy with the expectation of a minimum of three days a week in the office. There is a strong focus on supplier and customer engagement and occasional travel to their locations is to be expected.

The Team

The Motorsport Programme Management team are responsible for the delivery of innovative, commercially viable products and services on time and to budget.

New product developments are for motorsport applications covering a diverse range of categories including Electronic Control Systems, High Performance Components, Electrification applications and off car Software.

Programme Managers are empowered to deliver results with support from across the organisation. The team specialise in coordinating activities across engineering, production, business and external supplier functions, supported by a project governance framework and product lifecycle process.

Principle Accountabilities

Programme Management strategy

• Develops the vision and strategy for the delivery of the overall motorsport product portfolio, ensuring alignment with the product roadmap and business objectives
• Owns and develops the programme delivery process, determining the cross company activities, programme phases, milestones and governance required to control effective and efficient programme delivery.
• Owns and maintains the motorsport programme delivery budget

Programme Management

• Leads Programme planning for new customer engagements, ensuring competitive and realistic resource requirements, budgets and schedules are prepared
• Manages an active programme, owning the delivery plan, managing and motivating the delivery teams while giving commercial and process guidance to ensure successful delivery.
• Organises projects using a structured product development framework, with appropriate project phases and milestones.
• Facilitates governance & stakeholder management by ensuring regular reviews of progress and facilitating problem resolution across functions.
• Pro-active management of risks, issues and opportunities including management of change from a defined commercial/technical baseline
• Implements appropriate project reporting including escalations where appropriate
• Ensures projects are suitably resourced, resolving resource and capability gaps
• Manages the relationship between customers, suppliers and internal project team

Team leadership

• Manages the team of programme managers and is responsible ensuring the team has the right competency and capacity to meet the ongoing needs of the motorsport business unit
• Defines the processes and working practices required by the programme management team
• Sets clear objectives with supporting development plans and manages team performance expectations

Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications and Experience

• Engineering degree qualification or equivalent combination of education and work experience in technical product development and delivery. Professional qualification in project management is desirable.

• Record of accomplishment in a programme or multi-project management role within a technical product development environment and can demonstrate the application of appropriate programme control and governance

• Strong leadership skills with the ability to clearly direct the programme team towards the key objectives, defend against delivery risks and navigate through challenges

• Ability to make high quality programme level decisions and facilitate solving problems that may fall outside of own area of expertise.

• Knowledge of the complete product lifecycle including hands on experience using a product development process to organise and control the development of new products

• Strong understanding of engineering disciplines including mechanical, hardware and software development, together with an awareness of engineering best practice

• Combination of commercial and technical acumen with ability to see and understand the big picture while managing the important project details

• Excellent stakeholder and people management skills, including supplier and customer interfacing

• Highly organised and can use appropriate tools for controlling a project including project planning, issue, risk and task management and project budgeting

• Clear and concise communicator with ability to run effective meetings, report project status and escalate issues appropriately

• Proven ability to lead and motivate a team, setting clear objectives and managing team performance.

What we can offer you

In return for everything you bring to the table, we can ensure an exciting, challenging role in a dynamic business surrounded by some of the best people in their respective fields.

At McLaren Applied we firmly believe it’s the relationships and friendships we create while working that make us special. We’re also aware that the world is changing and we are part of that change. We all want and need different things from our work and home lives, so, if you have commitments outside of work, we’re open to talking through flexible working options that work for you and us.

• Annual leave (25 days + bank holidays, pro-rated for part time colleagues).
• Enhanced Company Maternity, Paternity and Adoption leave and pay.
• Flexible working policies, including Hybrid Working.
• Life assurance to the value of 4 times base salary
• Opportunity to join the McLaren Applied Pension Plan
• Company funded individual private healthcare with the opportunity to extend to partner or spouse and/or dependents at a discounted rate.
• Ride-to-work with Evans Cycles – take advantage of the Government’s Cycle-to-Work scheme which offers savings of up to 42% on the cost of a new bike, cycling accessories and components.
• Electric car scheme – opportunity to drive a brand-new car in a more affordable way through this salary sacrifice scheme. Employees are eligible to join the scheme after successful competition of their probationary period.

Our values

OWNERSHIP

OPENNESS

BRAVERY

INGENUITY

HUMILITY

McLaren Applied are committed to Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) and promote DEI in all we do. McLaren Applied are also members of the UK Government Disability Confident Scheme.