About this role
Airbus is committed to providing reasonable accommodations as an Equal Opportunity Employer to applicants with disabilities. If you require assistance or an accommodation to complete your application, please contact us at [email protected]
- Notice: Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal (https://kairosservicesinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/22-088_EEOC_KnowYourRights.pdf)
- Notice: Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination (https://kairosservicesinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/PayTransparencyPoster.pdf) (English)
- Aviso: Transparencia en el Pago No Discriminación (https://kairosservicesinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/federal-contractor-pay-transparency-spanish.pdf) (Spanish)
Job Description:
Airbus Helicopters, in Columbus, MS is seeking a Senior Manager, Civil Programs to oversee the end-to-end acquisition, completion, maintenance, and delivery of specialized aircraft across North American and global commercial markets.
In this high-impact, high-visibility role, you will lead a 6 to 8-person team of program managers and direct cross-functional teams of up to 50 contributors across Engineering, Flight Test, Quality, and Procurement. Operating with high autonomy, you will manage complex project budgets, drive Earned Value Management metrics ($SPI$/$CPI$), and serve as the primary customer champion for elite mission profiles including Air Medical, Law Enforcement, Utility, and Corporate/PBA.
Your Working Environment:
On the eastern border of Mississippi you’ll find Columbus, home to our Helicopter manufacturing and assembly lines and Center of Excellence for the entire North America region. It’s here that we produce the UH-72A Lakota Helicopters for the U.S. Army in addition to the H-125 aircraft for civil and commercial customers.
How We Care for You:
- Financial Rewards: Competitive base salary, incentive compensation which may include profit sharing schemes, retirement savings plan and the ability to participate in an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (“ESOP”)
- Work/Life Balance: Paid time off including personal time, holidays and a generous paid parental leave program.
- Health & Welfare: Comprehensive insurance coverage including medical (traditional and high-deductible health plans), prescription, dental, vision, life, disability, Employee Assistance Plan (“EAP”) and other supplemental benefit coverages.
Your Challenges:
Project Management – 70%
- Stakeholder Management: Sr. Manager, Civil Programs will work with various stakeholders to bring projects to completion on schedule, on budget and on quality. In doing so, you will ensure that all project team members: Understand the scope of their commitment
- Feel committed to their budget and schedule inputs
- Understand schedule (SPI) and budget (CPI) situation
- Customer Management: Guide customer through the aircraft acquisition and completion process
- Focus on customer experience and manage to contract.
- Ensure customer satisfaction, in good times and in bad times.
- Schedule Management: Develop project schedules in MS Project or Smartsheet – complete with predecessors, successors, planned and actual start- and finish dates, critical path analysis
- Track Schedule Performance Indicator (SPI)
- Budget Management: Develop project budgets with inputs from functional departments
- Track Cost Performance Indicator (CPI)
- Contract Management: Early involvement in the offer/proposal/sales phase
- Support sales and offers teams with technical advice, e.g. configuration, compatibility etc.
- Full ownership of contract from early in the process all the way through completion
Department Performance – 10%
- Configuration Management and Aircraft Acquisition:
- Based on market and customer demand work with the Sales & Marketing team to establish standard configurations as well as customer-specific configurations, and negotiate delivery of these airframes from the European production sites to meet delivery timelines
- Drive efficiencies through a balanced mix of production-line and post-production installations
- Master Scheduling
- Review project schedules with project managers in the Commercial Programs department on a regular basis and update master schedule accordingly with actual start/finish dates
- Customer Delivery
- Work to ensure high customer satisfaction at delivery and adjust delivery process and environment accordingly, i.e. on-site and off-site deliveries, as well as different customer segments, e.g. PBA vs. Utility vs. ALE vs. AME
- Product Improvements/Special Projects/Critical Projects
- Take charge of non-recurring projects and tasks, such as: Product Improvements Continuously work with Safety and participate in Safety Review Boards to ensure the interests of the Commercial Programs department are represented
- Special Projects New Product Developments
- Entry into Service
- Critical Projects Supply chain issues of unusual magnitude that drastically limit the Commercial Programs department to deliver on its commitments
- Quality issues of unusual magnitude that drastically limit the Commercial Programs department to deliver on its commitments
- Mitigate drivers of customer dissatisfaction
Delivery Experience - 10%
- Make a concerted effort to improve the delivery experience for all customers, with specific focus on PBA customers
- This may include the following: In coordination with the Facilities, Sales/Marketing and Finance teams, support evolution of the delivery center with feasibility studies, business cases, project execution etc.
Team Management – 10%
- Develop, monitor and measure individual and team performance metrics to ensure maximum efficiencies are achieved and individual performance is measured fairly and the same across functions.
- Provide leadership, expertise and support to team members.
Your Boarding Pass:
- Must have a Bachelor’s degree in an Engineering or Program Management discipline, or equivalent experience (4 years).
- Have ten (10)+ years' of experience in aerospace, manufacturing, or similar industry project management.
P referred: skills:
- Knowledgeable in FAA regulations.
- Knowledge of aircraft completions, maintenance and repair, or equivalent.
- Financial experience for budgeting purposes.
- Technical experience to comprehend technical data packages.
- Project/Program Management Certification
Travel Required:
- 20 - 30% Domestic and International
Citizenship:
- Must be a US Person under ITAR definition (U.S. Citizen, green card holder or person covered under our existing ITAR license)
Physical Requirements:
- Onsite 70% - 80% in Columbus, MS when not on travel
- Vision: able to see and read computer screens and other electronic equipment with screens, able to read documents, reports and engineering drawings. Daily
- Hearing: able to participate in conversations in person and via teleconference or phone and to hear sounds on the production floor including safety warnings or alarms. Daily
- Speaking: able to speak in conversations and meetings, deliver information and participate in communications. Daily
- Equipment Operation (personal computer, telephone, copies, fax machine, and related office equipment and using electronic identification card to enter building floors and internal doors): able to operate most office and personal electronic equipment. Daily
- Carrying: able to carry documents, tools, drawings, electronic equipment up to 10lbs/5kgs. Daily
- Lifting: able to lift documents, tools, drawings, electronic equipment up to 10lbs/5kgs. Daily
- Pushing / Pulling: able to push and pull small office furniture and some equipment and tools. Occasionally
- Sitting: able to sit for long periods of time in meetings, working on the computer. Daily
- Squatting / Kneeling: able to squat or kneel to retrieve or replace items stored on low shelving. Occasionally
- Standing: able to stand for discussions in offices or on the production floor. Daily
- Travel: able to travel independently and at short notice. Frequently
- Walking (include routine walking such as to a shared printer to retrieve documents): able to walk through office and production areas including uneven surfaces. Occasionally
- Personal Protective Equipment required: Required PPE includes, but is not limited to, Safety Shoes, Safety Glasses, Hearing Protection, Respirators/Masks, and/or Protective Gloves as required by site and/or customer site
- Administrative position only PPE required: Steel-toed shoes are required for all shop floor visits, appropriate hearing/eye protection may also be required when visiting the shop floor.
Take your career to a new level and apply online now!
A full job description will be provided to candidates who progress to the interview stage or any candidate upon request.
This job requires an awareness of any potential compliance risks and a commitment to act with integrity, as the foundation for the Company’s success, reputation and sustainable growth.
Company:
Airbus Helicopters, Inc.
Employment Type:
US - Direct Hire
Experience Level:
Professional
Remote Type:
On-site
Job Family:
Programme & Project Management <JF-PP-PM>
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Airbus provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetics, pregnancy, marital status, veteran status or other legally protected status. In addition to federal law requirements, Airbus complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, demotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, benefits and training. Airbus expressly prohibits any form of workplace harassment based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetics, pregnancy, marital status, veteran status or other legally protected status. As a matter of policy, Airbus does not sponsor visas for US positions unless specified. Only applicants with current work authorization will be considered. Airbus does not offer tenured or guaranteed employment. Employment with Airbus is at will, meaning either the company or the employee can terminate the employment relationship at any time, with or without cause, with or without notice. Airbus reserves the right to revise or change job duties and responsibilities as the need arises. This position description does not constitute a written or implied contract of employment.
By submitting your CV or application you are consenting to Airbus using and storing information about you for monitoring purposes relating to your application or future employment. This information will only be used by Airbus.
Airbus is committed to achieving workforce diversity and creating an inclusive working environment. We welcome all applications irrespective of social and cultural background, age, gender, disability, sexual orientation or religious belief.
Airbus is, and always has been, committed to equal opportunities for all. As such, we will never ask for any type of monetary exchange in the frame of a recruitment process. Any impersonation of Airbus to do so should be reported to [email protected] .