Head of Portfolio Management Office

British Council; Greater London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

An international organization based in London seeks a Head of Programme Management Office (PMO) to lead governance and assurance for a major transformation initiative. The role involves overseeing project performance, developing PMO standards, and collaborating across global teams. Candidates should have significant experience in PMO leadership and relevant professional accreditations. This is a fixed-term position for 2 years with high-level stakeholder engagement and oversight responsibilities.

Qualifications

• Significant experience leading complex PMOs or portfolios in large global or matrixed organisations.
• Strong understanding of governance assurance risk across major programmes.
• Proven success in building and maturing PMO frameworks tools and reporting processes.
• Skilled in providing high-quality programme insight and assurance to executive governance boards.
• Experienced in managing cross-functional and geographically dispersed teams.
• Proficient in portfolio management tools and translating data into actionable insight.

Responsibilities

• Lead governance assurance and reporting for the Global Change Programme Board and Investment Board.
• Monitor delivery plans, timelines, milestones, and benefits.
• Drive the development and standardization of PMO tools, templates, and dashboards.
• Act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders and sponsors, managing stakeholder relationships.

Skills

Governance & Assurance

Programme Oversight

Frameworks & Tools

Compliance & Audit

Professional Expertise

Education

Relevant professional accreditations (e.g. APM, ChPP, MSP, P3O, PMI PgMP/PMP)

Tools

Power BI

Verto

Job description

We support peace and prosperity by building connections understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide. For 90 years we have shaped brighter futures through education arts culture language and creativity.

Working with people in over 200 countries and territories we are on the ground in more than 100 countries.

We connect. We inspire

Role Purpose

The Global Change Programme is a major transformation initiative designed to deliver a portfolio of growth efficiency and asset sale projects worth 250 million over five years. At the heart of this programme the Head of Programme Management Office (PMO) provides strategic leadership oversight and direction for the Global Change PMO ensuring that Investment Board processes run seamlessly to support successful delivery. This role is critical in establishing robust governance assurance and reporting mechanisms that enable informed decision‑making by the Global Change Programme Board Senior Leadership Team and Trustees.
The postholder will lead the development of PMO capability frameworks and standards that underpin effective programme delivery acting as the single source of truth for performance and impact. By driving consistency transparency and alignment across the portfolio the PMO ensures dependencies are mapped blockages removed and projects executed efficiently.
This position requires a balance of strategic oversight and operational execution strengthening governance data integrity and delivery assurance while fostering collaboration and continuous improvement. Through actionable insight timely reporting and effective coordination across global teams the Head of PMO plays a pivotal role in enabling the British Council to achieve its ambitious transformation goals and deliver a 50 million annual improvement in financial performance by 2030.

Main Accountabilities

The Head of PMO is responsible for leading governance assurance and reporting for the Global Change Programme Board and Investment Board ensuring that all processes run smoothly and decisions are informed by accurate timely and insight-driven data. This includes maintaining a single source of truth for programme performance managing the monthly reporting cycle and producing comprehensive reports that highlight progress risks dependencies and benefits realisation. The role chairs the Programme Working Group setting agendas facilitating discussions and tracking key actions while safeguarding data integrity and compliance with governance standards.
In addition the postholder provides programme oversight and actionable insight by monitoring delivery plans timelines milestones and benefits offering analysis to support evidence-based decisions and identifying cross-programme risks with appropriate mitigation strategies. They ensure assurance on business cases prior to submission establish early warning mechanisms for delivery risks and maintain robust frameworks for decision-making.
The role also drives the development and standardisation of PMO tools templates dashboards and guidance championing continuous improvement and ensuring alignment with corporate policies and best practices. Leadership responsibilities include managing PMO Analysts fostering professional growth and ensuring resources are deployed effectively while deputising for the Director of the Global Change Programme Office when required.
Stakeholder management is a critical aspect with the Head of PMO acting as a trusted advisor to senior leaders and sponsors building strong relationships across corporate functions and regional teams and ensuring transparency with internal audit and external bodies such as NAO and FCDO. The role represents the PMO in internal and external forums promoting best practice and lessons learned.
Finally the postholder embeds PMO as a value-adding function by facilitating learning sessions standards training and post-implementation reviews implementing mechanisms to measure effectiveness and supporting the transition of closed programmes into business-as-usual operations. They also ensure the smooth running of the Investment Board by managing agendas briefing notes and papers providing independent assurance on business cases and change requests and working closely with Finance on prioritisation and investment monitoring.

Role specific skills

• Governance & Assurance: Leads governance frameworks and reporting processes that enable informed decision-making and uphold data integrity.
• Programme Oversight: Monitors delivery performance risks dependencies and benefits across the transformation portfolio.
• Frameworks & Tools: Develops and embeds PMO standards dashboards and tools to ensure consistency and visibility.
• Compliance & Audit: Ensures PMO operations meet governance and audit requirements supporting transparency and accountability.
• Professional Expertise: Applies recognised portfolio and change management methodologies (APM PMI P3O Prosci).

Knowledge & Experience

• Minimum / Essential:
  • Significant experience leading complex PMOs or portfolios in large global or matrixed organisations.
  • Strong understanding of governance assurance risk across major programmes.
  • Proven success in building and maturing PMO frameworks tools and reporting processes.
  • Skilled in providing high-quality programme insight and assurance to executive governance boards.
  • Experienced in managing cross-functional and geographically dispersed teams.
  • Proficient in portfolio management tools (e.g. Power BI Verto) and translating data into actionable insight.
  • Relevant professional accreditations (e.g. APM ChPP MSP P3O PMI PgMP/PMP or equivalent).
• Desirable:
  • Experience in the public sector non‑profit or donor-funded environment.
  • Experience leading PMO maturity assessments and implementing improvements.
  • Knowledge of digital PMO enablement and dashboard automation.

Professional Qualification and Certification

• Minimum/essential:
  • Relevant professional accreditations (e.g. APM ChPP MSP P3O PMI PgMP/PMP or equivalent).

Location: London UK

Contract Type: Fixed term 2 years

Pay-band: SMP

Requirements: Candidates must have the pre-existing legal right to work in the UK at the time of application. Mobility / relocation / visa sponsoring support will not be provided.

Closing date for applications: Friday 28 November 2025; 21:59 UK Time

A connected and trusted UK in a more connected and trusted world.

Equality Diversity and Inclusion Statement

We are committed to equality diversity and inclusion and welcome applications from all sections of the community as we believe that a diverse workforce gives added depth to our work. The British Council is a Disability Confident Employer. The Disability Confident scheme helps challenge attitudes increase understanding of disability and ensure staff are drawn from the widest possible pool of talent. We guarantee an interview for disabled applicants who meet the minimum role requirements. We welcome discussions about specific requirements or adjustments to enable participation and engagement in our work and activities.

Safeguarding Statement

The British Council is committed to safeguarding children young people and adults who we work with. We believe that all children and adults everywhere in the world deserve to live in safe environments and have the right to be protected from all forms of abuse maltreatment and exploitation as set out in article 19 UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child) 1989. Appointment to positions where there is direct involvement with vulnerable groups will be dependent on thorough checks being completed in line with legal requirements and with the British Counsels Safeguarding policies for Adults and Children.