PMO Lead

Senior PMO

London

Contract - 6-12 months - Inside IR35

The purpose of the Lead PMO role is to provide, and continuously improve, the PMO service offering to a programme or major project including, importantly, an element of constructive challenge to ensure the quality and timeliness of its key deliverables. Programme data needs to be reviewed in the context of other projects and programmes, to understand the 'ricochet effect' - the impact of one or several moving components within a programme - such as the effect of slippage of a key milestone upon the risk profile, dependencies, plans and finances of other work streams and projects. This is a key value-add role where previous experience across the range of PMO activities will be called upon.

What does this job involve?

The Lead PMO will be responsible for quality, up-to-date data being maintained in Clarity, internal PPM tools, and being provided to the Portfolio Office. Lead PMOs will ensure their programmes stay within governance, escalate where necessary and are managed according to a robust quality plan. Deliverables of this role will include carefully planned and challenged key milestones; well-articulated and mitigated risks and issues; and thorough finance forecasts. Timely, high quality board packs will be provided to the Programme Board. There may be management of other PMO and Project Support staff, who will benefit from your experience and judgement.

Key areas for Lead PMOs will include:

• Facilitate project planning & dependency workshops
• Facilitate project RAID workshops
• Establish a robust change control process and provide assessment, challenge and guidance for all changes across the project or programme
• Drive value for money, including from external suppliers
• Establish robust control over the programme's finances, including producing, with the project accountant, regular reporting, variance analysis and forecast reporting for the PM and for discussion at the project/programme board.
• Be responsible for the process of producing a succinct yet thorough business case as part of the governance process; ensuring appropriate circulation and review of this key document
• Maintain project stakeholder plans, and propose appropriate interventions, in partnership with the Programme Manager
• Input into business change sessions with Project Manager
• Provide quality assurance of deliverables and independent stage gates as requested by the Portfolio Office
• Consolidate and summarise cross programme / portfolio risks and dependencies, escalating where necessary
• Be accountable for the quality and currency of data on Clarity, PPM tool; enabling accurate assessment of cross-programme and cross-portfolio risks, issues and dependencies

Essential Skills and Experience

• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
• Management of expectations through timely and appropriate communications
• Strong prioritisation skills.
• Ability to influence and build relationships based on trust.

Desirable

• Line Management experience
• QA experience
• Experience in managing suppliers would be an advantage
• Prince 2 Practitioner
• Managing Successful Programmes Practitioner
• P30 Practitioner
• APMP