Director IT Program Management Office

Overview

Role Purpose

The Director of IT PMO leads the governance, oversight and continuous improvement of the IT project and programme portfolio. Reporting to the Group CIO, the role provides visibility across all IT change initiatives, ensuring consistent governance, clear accountability, effective reporting and strong control of scope, budget, risks, resources and delivery outcomes. The PMO establishes the portfolio framework and standards, while project and programme leaders remain accountable for delivery.

The Opportunity

Portfolio & Governance

• Lead and manage the PMO function and project governance framework.
• Maintain oversight of the portfolio of programmes and projects.
• Establish governance standards, methodologies, templates and reporting processes.
• Ensure projects have clear scope, objectives, timelines, budgets, risks and ownership.
• Support portfolio prioritisation based on business value, risk, resource availability and strategic objectives.
• Monitor project performance and ensure appropriate escalation of risks and issues.

Delivery Oversight

• Provide independent oversight and challenge to support successful project delivery.
• Monitor programme and project health, resource requirements and dependencies.
• Ensure appropriate controls are in place for scope, budget and change management.
• Support the development of recovery plans for projects requiring intervention.
• Oversee project closure activities, including lessons learned and benefits tracking.

Financial & Resource Management

• Maintain visibility of project budgets, forecasts and expenditure.
• Support effective resource planning and capacity management.
• Work with stakeholders to resolve competing priorities and resource constraints.
• Ensure governance processes are followed for significant investment decisions.

Stakeholder Management & Reporting

• Produce clear and concise portfolio reporting for senior leadership.
• Present portfolio performance, risks and delivery status to governance forums.
• Build effective relationships with business leaders, project teams, vendors and external partners.
• Act as a trusted advisor on project governance and delivery best practice.

Leadership

• Lead, develop and support PMO, project and programme management teams.
• Drive consistency in project delivery standards and ways of working.
• Promote continuous improvement and PMO maturity across the organisation.
• Foster a collaborative, delivery-focused culture.

Skills & Experience

• Significant experience within PMO, portfolio management, programme management or technology/business transformation environments.
• Proven experience managing project governance and portfolio processes.
• Strong understanding of project delivery methodologies, including Agile, Waterfall and hybrid approaches.
• Experience of portfolio planning, prioritisation, budgeting and resource management.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills.
• Experience presenting information to senior leadership and executive stakeholders.
• Excellent analytical, organisational and problem-solving skills.
• Relevant project management qualifications (e.g. PRINCE2, PMP, MSP, PgMP) desirable.

Personal Attributes

• Strategic thinker with strong commercial awareness.
• Delivery-focused and results-oriented.
• Pragmatic and solutions-driven.
• Confident communicator with the ability to influence stakeholders at all levels.
• Independent and objective in decision making.
• Strong leadership and coaching capability.
• Collaborative and people-focused.

Measures of Success

• Effective governance across the project portfolio.
• Improved visibility of project performance, risks and resource requirements.
• Consistent project delivery standards and reporting.
• Improved delivery predictability and stakeholder confidence.
• Effective prioritisation and utilisation of resources.
• Continuous improvement in PMO capability and maturity.