Program Management Office Manager

Role Overview

The Program Management Office (PMO) Manager will establish and oversee the enterprise PMO, driving the execution of strategic projects, transformation programs, and top organizational priorities. This role ensures centralized governance, prioritization, resource allocation, monitoring, and delivery adherence according to defined objectives, timelines, budgets, and quality criteria.

Core Responsibilities

• Develop, lead, and continuously improve an enterprise-wide PMO framework including governance, methodology, standards, and reporting.
• Maintain and oversee a comprehensive portfolio of strategic projects and initiatives.
• Define and enforce governance processes such as stage gates, approvals, reporting protocols, and escalation methods.
• Ensure clear project scope, ownership, milestones, deliverables, finances, and success metrics.
• Impose uniform project management standards and tools organization-wide with strong documentation and governance throughout project lifecycles.
• Translate executive strategies into detailed execution plans, coordinating multi-departmental initiatives and tracking progress against objectives.
• Lead high-impact strategic and transformation projects directly when required and guarantee actions from strategic decisions are clearly assigned and followed up.
• Manage and prioritize the overall project portfolio with executive management, highlighting conflicts, resource limits, and dependencies, and advising on necessary adjustments.
• Prepare executive dashboards and reports with project status, risks, budgets, and key decisions for senior leadership oversight.
• Act as the liaison for cross-functional coordination of major initiatives, resolving issues, managing dependencies, and facilitating governance meetings.
• Support major organizational transformations such as digital, operational, regulatory, and technological changes with clear business cases and track benefit realization.
• Implement rigorous project risk management and escalation protocols, conduct project health reviews, and maintain compliance with regulatory and operational standards.
• Ensure project accountability through KPI monitoring, risk mitigation plans, and independent challenge on execution progress.

Key Stakeholders

Internally, this role collaborates closely with the CEO, Executive Management, Heads of Business, Investment, Operations, IT, Finance, Risk, Compliance, HR, Marketing, Corporate Services, and Quality Assurance. Externally, it engages with strategic consultants, technology partners, professional advisors, vendors, and other stakeholders involved in strategic programs.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Finance, Engineering, Technology, Project Management, or related field.
• Preferred: MBA or relevant postgraduate degree.
• Preferred certifications include PMP, PRINCE2, Agile, MSP, PgMP, or similar.
• 10 to 15 years of experience in relevant roles with extensive leadership of PMOs, complex transformation programs, or strategic initiatives.
• Strong background in banking, investment management, financial services, consulting, or regulated sectors favored.
• Proven track record of coordinating multiple projects with interdependencies and engaging with senior executives.
• Experience setting up or enhancing enterprise-wide PMO frameworks is highly advantageous.

Preferred Background

Candidates with experience at Big 4 consulting firms are especially encouraged.