Head Of Project Management Office (Pmo)

The Wildlife Trusts; Peterborough; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

The Wildlife Trusts is seeking a proven Head of the Project Management Office to bridge strategy and delivery across a fast-growing charity. You will design, scale, and run an organisation-wide PMO, oversee a core team of project managers, and coordinate complex programmes and grant-funded portfolios with senior leaders.

You will work closely with the Executive Office to prioritise initiatives, establish lean governance, and embed disciplined delivery across the federation, driving value and

Qualifications

• Proven track record of leading portfolio, programme and delivery management functions in a complex organisation.
• Experience designing and scaling a PMO or delivery function from the ground up.
• Ability to implement lean, agile project governance structures that fit a charity culture.
• Skilled at turning insights into action-ready information for leaders.

Responsibilities

• Oversee a core team of project managers.
• Coordinate complex strategic programmes and investments.
• Establish and mature portfolio and delivery governance across the organisation.
• Partner with the Executive Office and Senior Leadership Team to align strategy and delivery.
• Drive disciplined delivery and transparent reporting for leadership.

Skills

PMO Leadership

Portfolio Management

Delivery Management

Lean Agile Governance

Stakeholder Management

Change Management

Coaching & Leadership

Job description

Permanent, Full Time (35 hours per week)

Office facilities are available at our Newark office (Tuesdays to Thursdays) for those within easy travelling distance.

Closing date for applications: 20 September 2026
First interviews: 29 September 2026 (Online Interview) & 30 September 2026 (Online Interview)
Second interviews: 9 October 2026 (Online Interview)

About Us

The Wildlife Trusts are a grassroots movement of people from a wide range of backgrounds and all walks of life, who believe that we need nature and nature needs us. We have more than 945,000 members, over 33,000 volunteers, 4,100 staff and 600 trustees. There are 46 individual Wildlife Trusts, each of which is a place-based independent charity with its own legal identity, formed by groups of people getting together and working with others to make a positive difference to wildlife and future generations, starting where they live and work.

Every Wildlife Trust is part of The Wildlife Trusts federation and a corporate member of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts, a registered charity in its own right founded in 1912 and one of the founding members of IUCN – the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Taken together this federation of 47 charities is known as The Wildlife Trusts.

The next few years will be critical in determining what kind of world we all live in. We need to urgently reverse the loss of wildlife and put nature into recovery at scale if we are to prevent climate and ecological disaster. We recognise that this will require big, bold changes in the way The Wildlife Trusts work, not least in how we mobilise others and support them to organise within their own communities.

About You

As Head of Project Management Office (PMO), you will help our fast-growing organisation bridge the gap between strategy and execution. This is a greenfield opportunity, and you will be responsible for designing, scaling, and executing a right-sized, organisation-wide project delivery function. You will oversee an interesting investment and grant-funded portfolio, coordinate complex strategic programmes, and directly manage a core team of project managers.

Working closely with the Executive Office and Senior Leadership Team, you will ensure that strategic initiatives are prioritised, sequenced and delivered effectively so that benefits are realised and change is successfully embedded into business as usual. You will establish the PMO as a trusted centre of excellence, supporting confident decision making, disciplined delivery and transparency across RSWT and The Wildlife Trusts.

As Head of the Project Management Office, you will have a proven track record of leading portfolio, programme and delivery management functions in a complex organisation. Ideally, you will have experience of designing and scaling a PMO or delivery function from the ground up – you will be comfortable setting up lean, agile project governance structures which respect our charity’s culture while driving operational maturity. You will be confident using portfolio and delivery management tools and reporting approaches and are skilled at turning insight into action ready information for leaders.

You will be able to communicate complex information clearly, provide constructive challenge, and build trust with stakeholders across the organisation.

As a leader, you will have experience developing and leading high performing teams, fostering collaboration, strategic thinking and continuous improvement. You will be committed to building organisational capability — coaching others, championing good practice and creating communities of practice that strengthen delivery confidence over time.

If you are a pragmatic leader with a passion for disciplined delivery and helping organisations achieve meaningful change, we encourage you to apply for this role

Our Culture

At RSWT, people are at the heart of everything we do, we are committed to promoting positive wellbeing, supporting our colleagues to grow, make a meaningful contribution and help deliver greater impact for nature, climate and communities. Through learning, development and collaboration, we aim to foster an inclusive, supportive and values-led culture where colleagues feel confident to share ideas, contribute their perspectives, challenge constructively and learn from experience. We are committed to providing a safe, respectful and inclusive environment and maintain a zero-tolerance policy towards any form of discrimination, harassment (including sexual harassment) or abuse. This extends to all interactions with our employees by third parties, including clients, contractors, suppliers and visitors.

We encourage everyone to bring their authentic selves to work and to feel comfortable and confident in their working environment. Whether working from home, in the office, outdoors or in the community with key stakeholders, we trust colleagues to use their judgement and managers’ guidance to dress appropriately reflecting our values and professionalism.

Learning and Development

At RSWT, we believe that learning and development are essential to helping people thrive, grow and make a real impact. From a supportive induction that helps you feel welcomed from day one, to formal qualifications, mentoring opportunities and access to high-quality learning from across The Wildlife Trusts, we’ll support your development in a way which works best for you. You can explore new skills through our learning platform - WildLearn, join colleagues from across the federation through Wild About Learning external training, take part in Communities of Practice or stretch yourself through cross-team projects and new challenges. We’ll also support you to share your expertise and build connections with colleagues from across the Federation. Whether you learn best through training, collaboration, hands‑on experience or by developing others, you’ll find a wide range of opportunities to grow your knowledge, share your skills and build your confidence.

Safeguarding

Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts take our Safeguarding responsibilities extremely seriously and are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and adults at risk. Please click here to read our commitment statement. For applicable roles, applicants must be willing to undergo checks with past employers and Disclosure and Barring Service checks at the eligible level.

The Wildlife Trusts embrace passion, respect, trust, integrity, pragmatic activism, and strength in diversity. We are passionate in promoting our aims, and we pride ourselves on being inclusive. We strongly encourage applications from people who are underrepresented within our sector, including those from minority backgrounds and people with disabilities. We are committed to creating a movement that recognises and truly values individual differences and identities.