Senior Program Specialist

Your Work Shapes the World at Caterpillar Inc. When you join Caterpillar, you’re joining a global team who cares not just about the work we do – but also about each other. We are the makers, problem solvers, and future world builders who are creating stronger, more sustainable communities. We don’t just talk about progress and innovation here – we make it happen, with our customers, where we work and live.

Together, we are building a better world, so we can all enjoy living in it.

Career area:
Strategy

As a Senior Program Specialist
, you will play a key role in advancing strategic business initiatives that support global capacity growth and operational excellence. This highly visible position partners with leaders across manufacturing, supply chain, logistics, and operations to drive complex programs and deliver impactful business results. You will lead cross‑functional efforts, provide executive‑level reporting and insights, and help ensure critical initiatives remain aligned with organizational objectives.

Success in this role requires strong program leadership, strategic thinking, and the ability to influence stakeholders across multiple levels of the organization.

• Lead and coordinate complex programs and projects that support strategic business objectives and global capacity growth initiatives.
• Drive alignment across multiple facilities and cross‑functional teams to ensure successful execution of project deliverables.
• Manage project plans, timelines, risks, dependencies, and stakeholder communications.
• Monitor program performance and progress, identifying risks and implementing mitigation strategies to keep initiatives on track.
• Analyze operational and business data to develop insights, recommendations, and executive‑level reporting.
• Prepare and deliver presentations for senior leaders and executive stakeholders, translating complex information into clear business narratives.
• Facilitate cross‑functional problem‑solving efforts and drive resolution of issues impacting project success.
• Support long‑range planning activities while balancing tactical execution and day‑to‑day program management responsibilities.
• Ensure adherence to project management processes, governance standards, and reporting requirements.
• Build strong partnerships across operations, supply chain, logistics, engineering, and other business functions to achieve program objectives.

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Engineering, Operations Management, Logistics, or a related field, or equivalent experience.

• Tactical/Strategic Planning:
  Extensive experience and knowledge of effective planning techniques and ability to contribute to operational (short term), tactical (1‑2 years) and strategic (3‑5 years) planning in support of the overall business plan.
  • Develops, refines, and communicates tactical plans for own responsibilities.
  • Provides the right level of detail as input for strategic plan development.
  • Demonstrates the value and necessity of linking tactical plans to overall strategic plan.
  • Ensures attention to the detail and dependencies of existing departmental‑level plans.
  • Plans for allocation of resources in line with unit goals, technical and business objectives.
  • Ensures the planning process is integrated with the overall business plan.
• Analytical Thinking:
  Extensive experience and knowledge of techniques and tools that promote effective analysis; ability to determine the root cause of organizational problems and create alternative solutions that resolve these problems.
• Seeks discrepancies and inconsistencies in available information; explains variances.
• Organizes and prioritizes the sequence of steps to be taken to remedy the situation.
• Identifies many possible causes for a problem based on prior experience and current research.
• Quantifies the costs, benefits, risks and chances for success before recommending a course of action.
• Approaches a complex problem by breaking it down into its component parts.
• Chooses among a diverse set of analytical tools according to the nature of the situation.
• Flexibility and Adaptability:
  Extensive experience and knowledge of…