Head of Portfolio PMO - Hertfordshire

Head of Portfolio PMO - Interim

• Start 1st of June, 2026
• Stevenage Head Office - hybrid working
• £1000 to £1200 per day - Inside of IR35
• Monthly rolling

A senior leadership role within the Strategic Projects and Management Office. The postholder is accountable for establishing, leading, and continuously improving the way the change portfolio is delivered. The role ensures that robust governance, delivery frameworks, quality standards, and assurance processes are in place to enable successful delivery of projects and programmes.
The role influences organisational delivery capability, providing the delivery framework, and expert support to project and programme managers. Driving consistency, transparency, and control across the change portfolio while enabling teams to deliver effectively is a key requirement.
This position requires a commercially minded, proactive, and experienced technology professional. The successful candidate will have a proven track record of managing complex portfolios and be confident engaging with C Suite stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities:
PMO Strategy & Leadership
* Operate PMO function as a centre of excellence for change governance, standards, and best practice.
* Lead, mentor, and develop PMO teams, fostering a high-performance and service-oriented culture.
* Act as a senior advisor to leadership on delivery capability, governance, and performance.

Governance and Control:
* Design, implement, and maintain a scalable governance framework across projects and programmes.
* Define and enforce stage gates, approvals, and assurance processes.
* Ensure compliance with organisational policies, audit requirements, and regulatory obligations.
* Provide independent oversight and challenge to delivery teams to ensure adherence to standards.

Frameworks, Standards, and Methodologies:
* Establish and maintain delivery frameworks (e.g., waterfall, Agile, hybrid) aligned to organisational needs.
* Define standard artefacts, templates, tools, and lifecycle processes.
* Ensure frameworks are pragmatic, scalable, and support delivery rather than hinder it.
* Drive adoption and consistent use of standards across all initiatives.
Quality Assurance and Delivery Oversight
* Define and implement quality control processes across all projects and programmes.
* Conduct health checks, audits, and assurance reviews to assess delivery confidence.
* Ensure accurate, timely, and consistent reporting of delivery performance, risks, and issues.
* Escalate systemic risks and delivery concerns to senior leadership with clear recommendations.
Continuous Improvement and Capability Development
* Drive continuous improvement of PMO processes, tools, and governance practices.
* Benchmark organisational maturity (e.g., P3M3) and implement improvement roadmaps.
* Establish lessons learned processes and embed knowledge sharing across teams.
* Lead communities of practice for project and programme management.
Support to Project and Programme Managers
* Provide guidance, coaching, and support to project and programme managers.
* Ensure clarity of roles, responsibilities, and delivery expectations.
* Enable effective planning, risk management, and stakeholder engagement practices.
* Support resolution of cross-project dependencies and resource challenges.
* Establish portfolio-level reporting standards and dashboards.
* Provide consolidated insights on delivery performance, trends, and risks.

Key Skills & Experience:
* Leads the establishment and operation of PMO functions - across Portfolio
* Defines governance frameworks, standards, and processes.
* Influences organisational adoption of consistent delivery practices.
* Provides guidance and assurance across projects and programmes.
* Significant experience operating within a PMO at enterprise level
* Proven experience designing and implementing governance frameworks
* Strong track record in delivery assurance, quality control, and reporting
* Experience supporting and enabling project and programme managers

Desirable Qualifications:
* Educated to degree level in a relevant discipline (e.g., IT, Business, Management, Engineering) or equivalent professional experience.
* Relevant professional certifications such as APM, PMP, PRINCE2, MSP, AgilePM, SAFe.
* Experience with Agile delivery frameworks (e.g., SAFe, Scrum at scale).
* Familiarity with portfolio and PMO tooling (e.g., Clarity, Planview, ServiceNow, Jira Align)

Please note you will receive an automated response advising you that we have received your CV.

Morgan Philips Group is a global talent solutions business that disrupts conventional thinking in executive search, recruitment and talent consulting. We operate in over 18 markets in Europe, North & South America, Asia, and the Middle East & Africa. We understand that the future is digital and social, so we embrace the latest technology, including video ads and CVs, as well as social recruiting. Our innovative services are tailored to the new world of work yet we do not lose sight of the fact that employees be they existing and potential are ultimately human beings.

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