Head of PM, Specialty Projects

Job Title: Head of PM, Specialty Projects

Working Pattern: Full time

Working location: Indianapolis, IN

The Head of PM, Specialty Projects plays a pivotal role as a strategic enabler for the business. This role delivers strategic oversight, compliance, operational direction, and governance across a complex portfolio of high-value projects, ensuring alignment with business strategy, regulatory expectations, and organizational priorities.

Why Rolls-Royce?

Rolls-Royce is one of the most enduring and iconic brands in the world and has been at the forefront of innovation for over a century. We design, build and service systems that provide critical power to customers where safety and reliability are paramount.

We are proud to be a force for progress, powering, protecting and connecting people everywhere.

We want to ensure that the excellence and ingenuity that has shaped our history continues into our future and we need people like you to come and join us on this journey.

Rolls-Royce has been recognized as the top employer in the Engineering & Manufacturing category on the prestigious Forbes Top Employers for Engineers list for 2025. This ranking highlights our commitment to innovation, employee development, and fostering a collaborative environment where engineers can thrive.

At Rolls-Royce, we are committed to creating a workplace where all employees feel respected, supported, and empowered to do their best work. We foster a welcoming and innovative work environment that invests in you, giving you access to an incredible breadth and depth of opportunities where you can grow your career and make a difference.

Rolls-Royce is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristics.

What you will be doing:

The Head of PM, Specialty Projects will support delivery excellence, capability growth, continuous improvement, and lead FAR15 internal implementation and modification plans in Defence.

Key Accountabilities:

• Work within the Defence PMO to provide strategic oversight, governance, and performance reporting across multiple delivery streams, including FAR15 programmes.
• Build and maintain the FAR15 framework for Defence North America
• Translate strategic priorities into executable delivery plans and frameworks that drive clarity, consistency, and accountability
• Coach and challenge Programme Directors and Delivery Leaders to build delivery discipline, manage systemic risks, and resolve complex operational issues
• Implement strategies for Agile, flow-based, and waterfall delivery models, ensuring these methodologies are embedded effectively across teams
• Apply deep understanding of business drivers to influence senior leaders and customers to shape delivery outcomes and strengthen strategic relationships to drive adoption of standards, resolve delivery challenges, and secure resources
• Own and maintain standards that enable PM professionals to excel, including process simplification, tool deployment, and methods improvement

Who we’re looking for:

At Rolls-Royce we put safety first, do the right thing, keep it simple and make a difference. These principles form the behaviours that guide us and are an essential component of our assessment process. They are the fundamental qualities that we seek for all roles.

Basic Requirements:

• Associate’s degree with 10+ years of experience in program or project management, OR
• Bachelor’s degree with 8+ years of experience in program or project management, OR
• Master's degree with 6+ years of experience in program or project management, OR
• JD/PhD with 3+ years of experience in program or project management, OR
• 12+ years of experience in program or project management in lieu of a degree
• To be considered for this position, you must be a US citizen or Permanent Resident

Preferred Requirements:

• Subject Matter Expert level FAR15 knowledge
• Experience of working as the leader of a large project with significant personal accountability for Quality, Time, Cost and Performance
• Membership / accreditation level of externally recognized Project Management Professional Bodies (e.g., PMI, APM)
• Qualified to degree level in Project/Program Management or equivalent.
• Proven people and stakeholder management skills at all levels of an organization
• Exposure to non-core project management roles such as purchasing, commercial, engineering Operations etc.
• Proven ability to lead and train all levels in Project/Program Management competencies

What we offer:

We offer excellent development opportunities, a competitive salary, and exceptional benefits. These include bonus, employee support assistance and employee discounts.

Your needs are as unique as you are. Hybrid working is a way in which our people can balance their time between the office, home, or another remote location. It’s a locally managed and flexed informal discretionary arrangement.

As a minimum we’re all expected to attend the workplace for collaboration and other specific reasons, on average three days per week.

For fully remote roles, employees can live in any state except Idaho, Nebraska, Nevada, Vermont, and Wyoming.

Relocation assistance is available for this position.

Closing Date: February 9, 2026

Benefits

Rolls-Royce provides a comprehensive and competitive Total Rewards package that includes base pay and a discretionary bonus plan. Eligible employees may have the opportunity to enroll in other benefits, including health, dental, vision, disability, life and accidental death & dismemberment insurance; a flexible spending account; a health savings account; a 401(k) retirement savings plan with a company match; Employee Assistance Program; Paid Time Off; certain paid holidays; paid parental and family care leave; tuition reimbursement; and a long-term incentive plan. The options available to an employee may vary depending on eligibility factors such as date of hire, employment type, and the applicability of collective bargaining agreements.