Job Description

The IT Business Demand Manager is a senior-level, highly autonomous role responsible for shaping, prioritizing, and maturing new work requests across BAE Systems' IT systems and value streams. Positioned at the intersection of business strategy, technology delivery, and enterprise planning, this role ensures that demands entering the pipeline are thoroughly validated, strategically aligned, and fully prepared for seamless transition into project initiation.

This individual develops advanced analytical approaches, applies expert-level judgment, and solves complex problems that frequently require ingenuity, creativity, and cross-organizational coordination. The Demand Manager functions with consultative direction, sets long-range intake objectives, and drives demand management strategy with minimal supervision.

The role serves as an advisor, consultant, and key liaison to senior leaders and stakeholders across BAE Systems. Decisions and recommendations made in this role directly affect financial investments, resource allocations, technical outcomes, and strategic alignment across portfolios.

The Demand Manager supports required project preparation activities, including defining high-level project needs and objectives, developing 50/50 ROM estimates, mapping stakeholders, preparing preliminary resource plans, and completing readiness checklists before handing off to a Project Manager for initiation. When capacity allows, the Demand Manager will also support project coordination activities as needed, such as schedule updates, task tracking, communications, and meeting support.

Demand Intake, Clarification & Business Systems Analysis

• Lead enterprise demand intake with expert-level ability to elicit needs, validate business cases, and mature requirements.
• Perform deep business systems analysis of complex workflows, cross-functional processes, and ambiguous or high-impact requests.
• Develop advanced concepts, frameworks, and decision models to clarify problem statements and solution paths.
• Prepare high-quality, non-technical summaries and strategic briefs for technical and executive audiences.
• Identify complex risks, constraints, and opportunities requiring creativity and novel approaches in resolution.

Strategic Triage, Prioritization & Value Alignment

• Serve as the primary filter and evaluator of incoming demands, determining whether each request warrants full project execution, becomes a Small Managed Effort, or can be managed via action tasks.
• Exercise expert-level judgment to evaluate demands based on strategic alignment, financial impact, enterprise risk, and resource availability.
• Operate with consultative direction to shape long-range intake strategies and capacity planning.
• Create and refine advanced prioritization models that may serve as precedent for future organizational decisions.
• Ensure PMs receive fully prepared, high-quality project charter packages, minimizing rework and accelerating time to kickoff.

Stakeholder Engagement, Enterprise Advisory & Relationship Management

• Build and maintain a deep network across BAE Systems business sectors, programs, and IT organizations.
• Serve as a consultant and spokesperson for strategic demand management topics, objectives, and long-range objectives.
• Advise senior-level external personnel (internal customers across sectors) on complex technical and business matters.
• Guide requestors through budgetary planning, procurement implications, licensing considerations, vendor involvement, and compliance needs.
• Ensure alignment between business objectives, funding pathways, portfolio strategy, and technology feasibility.

Demand Pipeline Governance & Process Innovation

• Provide enterprise-level visibility into the demand pipeline, shaping intake governance and improving throughput.
• Innovate and refine advanced intake processes, templates, maturity criteria, and readiness checkpoints.
• Manage small work efforts with disciplined cadence, dashboards, KPIs, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Develop new applications of Lean-Agile intake methods, value stream optimization techniques, and hypothesis-based analysis.

Project Initiation Support

• Create project charters, business cases, stakeholder analyses, and high-level scope definitions.
• Develop 50/50 ROM estimates, preliminary resource plans, risk identification, and kickoff readiness documentation.
• Support early planning of project strategy, impacts, dependencies, and organizational alignment.
• Transition prepared projects to PMs with initiation artifacts and minimal information gaps.

Required Skills and Education

• Bachelor's degree and 10+ years professional experience or equivalent.
• Demonstrated ability to work virtually self-supervised and drive long-range organizational goals.
• Expertise in business systems analysis, enterprise workflow mapping, and complex problem framing.
• Advanced capabilities in charter development, ROM estimation, initiation planning, and stakeholder engagement.
• Proven ability to develop innovative approaches, solve unusually complex problems, and influence enterprise-level decisions.
• Highly proficient communication skills across technical, business, and executive audiences.
• Experience shaping business and strategic plans, including budgetary and resource planning.
• Mastery of Microsoft Project, Excel, Word, PowerPoint.

Preferred Skills and Education

• PMP, Agile, SAFe, Lean Sigma, or equivalent certifications.
• Certifications in Business Management and Technical Applications.
• Cost Account Management and Earned Value Management experience.
• Experience with Lean-Agile frameworks, value stream optimization, or strategy execution.
• Hands-on experience with ServiceNow SPM or other enterprise work management platforms.
• Experience working in matrixed organizations and advising senior stakeholders.

Benefits Information

Employee Benefits: At BAE Systems, we support our employees in all aspects of their life, including their health and financial well-being. Regular employees scheduled to work 20+ hours per week are offered: health, dental, and vision insurance; health savings accounts; a 401(k) savings plan; disability coverage; and life and accident insurance. We also have an employee assistance program, a legal plan, and other perks including discounts on things like home, auto, and pet insurance. Our leave programs include paid time off, paid holidays, as well as other types of leave, including paid parental, military, bereavement, and any applicable federal and state sick leave. Employees may participate in the company recognition program to receive monetary or non-monetary recognition awards. Other incentives may be available based on position level and/or job specifics.

Intern Benefits: Temporary employees generally are not eligible for BAE Systems benefits, but can elect to participate in the 401(k) savings plan. Temporary employees working 20+ hours per week are eligible for medical benefits, the employee assistance program, and business travel accident insurance.

Please note: Some benefits may be different for union employees that are governed by a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) or for positions covered by a wage law called the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act (SCA).