PMO Lead

The Metropolitan Police Service is currently recruiting for an interim PMO Lead to join a major business transformation programme for an initial contract until the end of March with a high chance of extension until late 2027.

The role is based in Holborn, Central London and offers hybrid working 3 days on site required per week. The rate for this role will be £500 per day umbrella, however they will go higher for the right candidate.

You would play a key role in supporting the delivery of the Met Business Services (MBS) Programme , which is establishing a new business services operating model and delivering transformational technology across Rostering, Finance, HR and Commercial functions, alongside a new outsourced transactional services contract.

This is a highly visible leadership opportunity within a complex programme environment, responsible for leading the PMO function and ensuring robust governance, programme controls, reporting, planning and assurance arrangements are in place to support successful delivery.

The successful candidate will provide strategic oversight of programme governance, planning, risk management, benefits realisation and financial controls, while partnering with senior stakeholders, project managers and delivery partners to drive programme outcomes.

The Ideal Candidate

You will be an experienced PMO professional with a proven track record of leading PMO functions within large-scale transformation programmes. You will be comfortable operating in a complex stakeholder environment, providing challenge, insight and assurance to programme leadership teams while maintaining a strong focus on delivery and governance excellence.

You will possess excellent organisational, analytical and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to translate complex programme information into meaningful insight for senior decision-makers. Experience within the public sector or a similarly complex and regulated environment would be highly desirable.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities

• Lead the provision of governance and secretariat services to Programme Boards, ensuring effective decision-making, escalation and assurance processes.
• Develop and deliver high-quality programme reporting, dashboards and management information to support senior stakeholder decision-making.
• Oversee integrated programme planning activities, including portfolio schedules, critical milestones and programme roadmaps.
• Ensure robust programme controls and change management processes are implemented and consistently applied.
• Lead the management of programme Risks, Assumptions, Issues and Dependencies (RAID), ensuring mitigation actions are tracked and delivered.
• Coordinate the onboarding of programme and consortium resources to support effective deployment across workstreams.
• Lead the tracking, reporting and assurance of programme benefits, ensuring alignment with approved business cases.
• Act as custodian of programme information, ensuring effective document management, version control and accessibility of key artefacts.
• Provide assurance on the quality, completeness and readiness of programme deliverables.
• Embed lessons learned and continuous improvement practices throughout the programme lifecycle.
• Support financial management activities, including purchase order processing, receipting and budget monitoring.
• Partner with Project Managers, workstream leads and delivery teams to ensure consistency of standards and governance compliance.
• Lead and develop the PMO function, driving continuous improvement of methodologies, processes, tools and templates.

Skills and Experience

• Significant experience leading a PMO function within a programme, portfolio or transformation environment.
• Demonstrable experience supporting complex business and technology transformation programmes.
• Strong knowledge of programme governance, planning, risk management, dependency management and change control.
• Proven experience developing executive-level reporting, dashboards and programme insights.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, including Excel, PowerPoint and Microsoft Project.
• Recognised Project or Programme Management qualification such as PRINCE2, MSP, Agile or APM.
• Experience of benefits realisation, programme assurance and performance reporting.
• Strong financial management experience, including programme budgeting, forecasting and expenditure tracking.
• Experience managing third-party suppliers and contractors within a programme environment.
• Excellent communication, presentation and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence at senior levels.
• Proven leadership capability with a collaborative, proactive and delivery-focused approach.
• Ability to operate effectively within a complex, fast-paced and evolving environment.

If you have the PMO leadership experience, programme governance expertise and stakeholder management capability required for this opportunity, apply now and we'll be in touch.